Cat Shirts and Man Buns

I didn't see this exact cat
shirt, but this conveys the idea...

Much has already been written about last weekend's inaugural Eaux Claires Festival, but I can't resist adding my observations to the mix.

• The sound quality was amazing. Even pretty far away from the stage, the sound was clear and the mix was great. Big video screens also helped the crowd-averse enjoy the event while maintaining our personal space.
• The sound was also good because, for the most part, the festival goers were really into the music and not too loud and drunk or constantly talking during the sets.
• IT WAS HOT. STICKY AND HOT.
• The guidebook for the festival that included poetic descriptions of the musicians was beautiful. I stopped reading it at lunch on Saturday because I was starting to cry at the restaurant. 
• Not as many man bun sightings as in Uptown, but they were a noticeable presence. The other fashion highlight was all the awesome cosmic cat and kitten shirts. 



Oh, Eau Claire(s)

• A big draw of the festival for me was that it was in Eau Claire. EC is not exactly my hometown (I only have a home township) but it's still one of my old stomping/staggering grounds and the fact that such a prominent event was taking place there filled me with pride. 
• I'm not a fan of festival food or food trucks in general, but the Eaux Claires selection was especially weak (lots of fried food that you had to wait in long lines for). Thank goodness Kind was giving away energy bars, and we discovered the wonder of Jonny Pops. I was so into the festival I survived for 8 plus hours on Friday fueled only by a Kind bar and a Jonny Pop...and booze.
• Even though they ran out of wine by Day 2, the fact that they served wine at all, and other non-beer drinks, and the lines were relatively short, was a big yay! It was also much appreciated that the port-a-potty lines never got too long. 
• A food deficit + alcohol surplus / extremely hot weather = especially intense Amy grooving/dancing to the Tallest Man on Earth. 
• I get unreasonably stressed out by trying to buy a t-shirt at a concert setting. Thank goodness I could order one when I got home using the interwebs. 
• Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls had an awesome western shirt with unicorn heads on it.
• Getting to hear the Indigo Girls perform one of "our" Chamy songs live ("The Power of Two") was a Open Heart by Jane Seymour moment...and we've really slacked off on our IG appreciation over the years and need to step it up on that front. 
• The lead singer of Phox swore a lot more than I expected the frontwoman of a mellow, groovy band to. It was all happy swearing, though, as she f&*%# loved the audience. 
• I've always liked Sufjan Stevens music when I've heard it, but was really impressed by the intensity of his performance (and the muscles of his arms, and the fact that he's 40 and looks in his late 20's). I definitely want to get into his music more, although it does seem pretty heavy (especially the music with the dead mother themes). 
• Best overheard quote (while standing in the alcohol line): "That's not a therapy dog, that's just a hippie dog."
• Best quote aimed directly at us, from the bus driver of the shuttle bus: "Did they have anybody from the 70's there?"
• Weirdest exchange with a guy lucky not to get a verbal or physical smack down for "correcting" Chad's grammar: 
• Chad: "After yesterday's the rain, I was surprised the grounds weren't wetter or muddier."
• "Grammar" Guy": "You mean MORE WET and MORE MUDDY?"

Andrea Swenson's blog on the Current does a lovely job of capturing the feel-good vibe of the event. She sums it up so well: "There is nothing else like the joy of connecting with this many other humans through music." I agree, even if I like to keep a certain amount of distance from other said humans and their man-buns. My favorite communal moment was the sing along to the National's "Bloodbuzz Ohio."

Or, as the aforementioned tear-inducing festival guidebook said in its description of the Indigo Girls: "It is not the twinning of the voices, for they are not the same; it is not the blending of the voices, for they are strong apart. Is is the raising of the voices, and with them the spirits of untold thousands who hear: these songs are yours." Thanks Eaux Claires, for giving us a bunch of songs, new and rediscovered.