{"id":4054,"date":"2016-10-12T20:40:32","date_gmt":"2016-10-13T01:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/?p=4054"},"modified":"2016-10-12T20:40:32","modified_gmt":"2016-10-13T01:40:32","slug":"king-biscuit-festival-day-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/?p=4054","title":{"rendered":"King Biscuit Festival Day 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 1 of King Biscuit<\/p>\n

We skipped the first day of the King Biscuit Festival for our day in Vicksburg.\u00a0 Today, we would join the masses to listen to blues music, eat great food, and imbibe a bit.\u00a0 The weather promised to be a bit warm today with a cooler evening.\u00a0 At least it wasn\u2019t raining like the last time.\u00a0 The high would be 88 and sunny.<\/p>\n

We got up and shuffled about our morning before we packed up and headed over to the Rest Haven for breakfast.\u00a0 Now, we are in the south and things move at a different pace here.\u00a0 We got inside and someone let us know to just sit down.\u00a0 It was fairly full, but mostly regulars by the look of them.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t in any hurry, so we thought we shouldn\u2019t be either.<\/p>\n

It took a bit to get menus and the waitress\\cashier\\owner came by to take our order.\u00a0 We ordered omelets, side of gravy, grits, and toast with coffee.\u00a0 Somewhere along the way, my side of gravy got lost.\u00a0 It took about 15 to 20 minutes to get it to the table.\u00a0 It was worth the wait though.\u00a0 The sausage in the omelet and gravy were wonderful.\u00a0 This was a great start to the day ahead.<\/p>\n

Before we left town, I had to stop by the grocery store for supplies and try to find a hairbrush.\u00a0 I left mine at home and had nothing to curl these bangs with.\u00a0 Uncurly bangs are a recipe for disaster.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t get them out of eyes!\u00a0 I picked up picnic supplies for the stage area as well as some snacking stuff.\u00a0 When we checked out, I saw the manager from the restaurant where we just left go across the front of the store.\u00a0 He nodded hello.\u00a0 Wow, I felt like I belonged in town.\u00a0 Forgot how a small town could be.<\/p>\n

After getting gas at the busiest station I\u2019ve ever been in, we let the navi (GPS) take us out of town.\u00a0 I had no idea where this was going.\u00a0 It seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere.\u00a0 Rich assured me it was headed to Helena.\u00a0 We went past a Blues marker and Rich mentioned he saw it.\u00a0 Then I saw the Stovall Farms sign.\u00a0 No way?\u00a0 This is the Stovall Plantation site?\u00a0 Where Muddy Waters grew up and worked?<\/p>\n

I turned the car around to go back to the sign.\u00a0 Sure enough, it was a Blues marker for the location of the house where Muddy Waters grew up and lived.\u00a0 This is the house where his grandparents brought him after his mother died when he was 2.\u00a0 So cool to find this thing.\u00a0 We took pictures and then got back on the road.<\/p>\n

We popped out onto Hwy 49 going west across the Mississippi River into Helena, Arkansas.\u00a0 Since we had been here once before, I knew right where I wanted to park.\u00a0 The local high school has parking for $5.\u00a0 The donation goes to help their athletic department.\u00a0 Seems like a really good cause.\u00a0 The location is close to the festival and easy to get out.\u00a0 The young ladies were in place and ready to take money.<\/p>\n

We walked down to Will Call to pick up our wristbands for admission.\u00a0 The festival itself is free.\u00a0 However, seating in the Main Stage area costs you.\u00a0 I figured it was worth the first time to see the faces of the performers.\u00a0 And it was.\u00a0 So I paid again to sit down and face the stage.\u00a0\u00a0 We picked up our commemorative t-shirts at the same time.<\/p>\n

Back at the car, we loaded up the wagon with chairs and other necessary items to enjoy the day.\u00a0 After entering the stage area, we found that the right side of the stage was pretty open.\u00a0 It meant hopping the wagon over the railroad tracks, but that was pretty easy.\u00a0 We set up chairs and settled in.\u00a0 Then it was time for a foray into food.<\/p>\n

Down on the street, we walked through the vendors to determine what might be good.\u00a0 We settled on curry goat from the International Food tent.\u00a0 They were cooking up all kinds of good things on large griddles.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t had curry goat in a few years.\u00a0 Time to try it once again.\u00a0 Rich got tamales from one of the local vendors. With our food, we headed back to get beers and settled down to music.\u00a0 Rich got an Oktoberfest and I got something called Love Honey, which was a bock.\u00a0 The beer helped since the curry was a little more than on the spicy side.\u00a0 Still great though.<\/p>\n

The first act was Blind Mississippi Morris.\u00a0 He must have been blind to where that bright neon green suit!\u00a0 Put your eyes out!\u00a0 He was a great harmonica player though.\u00a0 Next, The Mike Wheeler Band came on.\u00a0 These guys are from the Chicago area.\u00a0 Really enjoyed listening to them play.\u00a0 This would be our first CD buy of the festival.<\/p>\n

Rich went down to Bubba\u2019s to stand on line for a CD and get Mike to sign it.\u00a0 That\u2019s one of things I love about these festivals.\u00a0 You buy a CD and get to talk to the people you just saw.\u00a0 Rich had to wait for a while since a lady with Big City Rhythm and Blues was talking to Mike.\u00a0 He came back with a great story about standing there with Mike while she talked.\u00a0 Nothing like getting the gossip from the source.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be checking out the Mike Wheeler Band at home, too.<\/p>\n

Kenny Neel and his entire family seemed like they were on stage as the next act.\u00a0 Mr. Teddy, the owner for a juke joint in Louisiana where Kenny\u2019s family has played for something like 6 generations, introduced Kenny.\u00a0 The brothers play in the band.\u00a0 Kenny brought a nephew on to play for the crowd.\u00a0 He said he was working to bring up the next generation of Neels to carry on the tradition.<\/p>\n

Mike Zito came out next.\u00a0 I\u2019ve tried to see him play before with no luck.\u00a0 Strange, he sounds little like John Mellencamp.\u00a0 I did enjoy the music though.\u00a0 Anson Funderburk and the Rockets came out next.\u00a0 This band is a local favorite and plays here every year.\u00a0 This year, they had a new lead singer named Ray.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t catch his last name, but he was awesome.\u00a0 For those who don\u2019t know the name, Anson Funderburk was a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds back in the day with Kim Wilson.<\/p>\n

The sun was going down at the point.\u00a0 It had been a very hot and sweaty day for us.\u00a0 The temp was somewhere around 90 with the sun beating down.\u00a0 We had our umbrellas on the chairs to shade us, but that didn\u2019t cut the heat.\u00a0 After the sun went behind the trees, we realized we didn\u2019t bring our jackets.\u00a0 It was chilly out on the levee with no coat.\u00a0 I had a blanket I brought, but Rich didn\u2019t get a cover up.\u00a0 Luckily, the temp was only in the mid 70s by the time the show was over.\u00a0 Still warm enough not to freeze, but a bit chilly with the wind.\u00a0 Coats tomorrow for sure.<\/p>\n

The next group was from New Orleans.\u00a0 The Rebirth Brass Band was a group of young men who won a Grammy this year for their work.\u00a0 They were absolutely amazing.\u00a0 Two trumpets, two trombones, one sax, and 2 percussionists.\u00a0 They made the music into an art form.\u00a0 Rich didn\u2019t care for the brass (and a little woodwind and percussion) too much, but he admitted it was very good.<\/p>\n

That brought us to the headliner for the evening.\u00a0 John Mayhall is 82 years old.\u00a0 He is known as the Grandfather of British Blues.\u00a0 He and his band, the Bluesbreakers, have started or promoted the careers of some the premier musicians in Britain.\u00a0 Here are a few:\u00a0 Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Jack Bruce, Mike Taylor, Peter Green, Walter Trout, and Coco Montoya.<\/p>\n

From a history perspective, this is one of those guys you have to see.\u00a0 His show turned out to be really great.\u00a0 He did it all.\u00a0 He played guitar like a master, handled the organ and synethizer with ease, and managed a pretty good harmonica.\u00a0 The drummer and bassist with him were from Chicago.\u00a0 They were great at rounding out the sound for him.<\/p>\n

At the end, they were fighting over who got to introduce John to the crowd as the final bow.\u00a0 John seemed OK with letting them fight for the mic.\u00a0 The drummer won the contest and handled the job with precise drummer skill.\u00a0 By the way, John and I share a birthday about 50 years apart!<\/p>\n

Now for the bad news.\u00a0 We were into the Anson Funderburk part of the show when a group of 5 girls and three boys sat on the grass behind us.\u00a0 Immediately, they started talking loud to hear each other over the music.\u00a0 These kids were somewhere in their 20s.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t pay any attention to the music around them.\u00a0 One by one, the people around them moved.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t notice that they bothered anyone.\u00a0 Rich refused to move, but it gave me excuses to turn around and stare at them from time to time.\u00a0 At one point, I thought Rich was going to yell at them.\u00a0 They were babies who had no idea how rude they were.<\/p>\n

Around gossip, Facebook, and other inane things, it turns out the girls drove down on a lark.\u00a0 They had no place to stay and little or nothing with them.\u00a0 They were sitting on the ground and couldn\u2019t see anything.\u00a0 The boys at least had a hotel room.\u00a0 From the conversation I couldn\u2019t help but overhear, the girls were sleeping in the car down by the marina that night.\u00a0 Wow, that\u2019s more than I would have done at that age.<\/p>\n

When John Mayhall came on stage, this group of kids seemed to know the name.\u00a0 However, they knew the first two lines of one song.\u00a0 That\u2019s about the extent of their knowledge.\u00a0 I was totally amazed that they would spend that kind of money to sit on the grass and not listen any of the music.\u00a0 What a waste of time and money.\u00a0 I wondered how they afforded that for all of them.<\/p>\n

When the music was over, we stood up to pack.\u00a0 The area behind was littered with dozens of beer cans and containers.\u00a0 The kids got up and didn\u2019t attempt to pick up after themselves.\u00a0 I wanted to scream at them for being so ignorant about their surroundings or what someone else was going to have to do to clean up their mess.\u00a0 Who lets their children do this sort of thing!<\/p>\n

Let it go!\u00a0 It took a while to breathe deep and let the stress drain from me after dealing with that mess.\u00a0 I wanted to so punch a parent for not doing their job.<\/p>\n

We got back to the car through the crowd.\u00a0 After unloading the wagon and packing things away, it was time to hit the road.\u00a0 We got in line and made our way to the bridge over the Mississippi.\u00a0 Now this bridge is very steep.\u00a0 I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as we drove over it in the daylight.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t any better at 10:15 PM.<\/p>\n

Traffic was slow going down 49.\u00a0 At one point, we were all passing a VW mini bus that couldn\u2019t do over 50 at best.\u00a0 Once we got to 61, it was 70 miles an hour all the way into Clarksdale.\u00a0 Some of the cars were going a bit faster than that.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t tell you how fast because they zoomed by and left only tail lights.\u00a0 We arrived at the hotel and gathered our stuff to take up.<\/p>\n

We got into the lobby as other festival attendees were returning.\u00a0 Everyone was talking about the experience and asking questions.\u00a0 Once up stairs, it was hot showers and decompressing before turning in for the night.\u00a0 There\u2019s always tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\"Stovall<\/a>
Stovall Plantation site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rich<\/a>
Rich with the Muddy Waters’ boyhood home site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Our<\/a>
Our set up for the day<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hanging<\/a>
Hanging in the shade from the heat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"All<\/a>
All settled in to watch the music<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"First<\/a>
First act on stage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kenny<\/a>
Kenny Neel on stage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mr.<\/a>
Mr. Teddy at the end of Kenny Neel’s set<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mike<\/a>
Mike Wheeler trying to walk through the crowd<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mike<\/a>
Mike Zito and band on stage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Anson<\/a>
Anson Funderburk and the Rockets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rebirth<\/a>
Rebirth Brass Band<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 1 of King Biscuit We skipped the first day of the King Biscuit Festival for our day in Vicksburg.\u00a0 Today, we would join the masses to listen to blues music, eat great food, and imbibe a bit.\u00a0 The weather promised to be a bit warm today with a cooler evening.\u00a0 At least it wasn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4054"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4070,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4054\/revisions\/4070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}