Byron, Bluesfest, Rain, and mo....

So, here we are at Bluesfest in amazingly cool Byron Bay. This place is kinda my mecca - on the beach, cafes everywhere, people on every corner playing (or attempting to play) music, kids with shaggy hair, and long dresses, dreadlocks and bare feet covering the streets. It's been an interesting trip thus far, with rain pissing down, trying to saddle up next to jess on our twin blow up mattress that manages to deflate itself every night. Jess, not so surprisingly, has come down with whooping cough. Who, in 2009, gets fucking whooping cough. I told her she might as well find a leather strap to bite down on while we perform surgery with a butter knife out back. Thank God I get to sleep next to her in a moist, muggy tent with no ventilation for the next 5 nights. How lucky am I? Aside from that, Bluesfest has been a pretty ridiculously fun time. Honestly, the music is cool . Really cool, actually. But I'm not gonna lie and say it's what I would see or listen to if I had my choice. It's no Coachella, it's no ACL - put it that way. But shit, it is fun. Everyone is super chilled out and laid back, and there are kids everywhere and weed everywhere and I haven't seen one fight break out. Not bad so far. We've seen Blue King Brown, Michael Franti, Ayo, Xavier Rudd, Zappa's son, and Blind Boys of Alabama absolutely blew my mind. Luckily, we've also been camping with some really cool dudes, who invite us to hang under their tarp when the rain comes down, and keep us supplied with booze and joints on a regular basis. After a few, they are completely fucking hysterical, and I'm having a hard time getting over Chris's nickname - they call him Cow because all a cow eats is grass and that's how much of a stoner he is. ha! Too much. Last night, poor Jessie had to head back to the tent early due to her tuberculosis, mano-aids virus, and I was left to fend alone. I ended up running into some fellas we met in Sydney one night (who may give us a lift back, fingers crossed) and while I was shooting Franti up front, met a photog from RS Australia. We hung in the vip for a drink, and then I ended up meeting this DJ and his friend who took me to a beach party, where I helped some 14 year old kids build a bon fire, played guitar, discussed the decline of the music industry with some bloaks, and chilled under the stars till nearly 4am. These are the memories I was hoping to create and more importantly remember on this trip. Even though the weather sucks, my feet are homeless, and I am so uncomfortably broke, I can safely say that I'm having the time of my life. On to Day 3, Ben Harper, That 1 Guy, Blues Traveler, more mud, more rain, more friends, and of course, more stories.