ROADIE FOR A DAY

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE SOMERS RECORD (07-21-22)- Please remember small business in your town during this coronavirus pandemic

     The Pleasantville Music Festival was back in 2022 after a few years in dormancy. It wasn't dead, just living in a state of suspended animation. Once it got woken up, it was as good as new. When the Festival comes to town I enjoy volunteering for the Stage Crew, toting the bands' gear on and off, helping to set stuff up and getting in people's way whenever necessary.

     It's also my way of giving back to the community. I try give back a little more than usual so that the community owes me one, and I don't have to give back as much next time, but then the community gives me a little extra and I have to give back to the community again. It's a merry-go-round I can't get off.

     The weather was perfect for the Festival, a little hot but not humid, plenty of water around if you needed it, but none falling from the sky. My friends Matt and Anne were there as usual, volunteering on the hospitality crew, and I thank them for their hospitality. Parking is the most strenuous part of the day if you're not on the crew. It's easier if you just sell your house and move to Marble Avenue so that you can walk. Once you get there though, you have all the comforts of home, especially if you bring a comfortable chair from home.

     The headliner this year was X Ambassadors, and I was assisting with their gear so that they could get in an early sound check. Some have even called me the "5th Ambassador." Also in attendance were Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze fame, Paula Cole and many others. Crash Test Dummies filled in for 10,000 Maniacs, who were a last-minute scratch. I heard that 7,000 of the maniacs fell ill, but roadies are notorious gossips. 

     One thing I love is that the folks who assemble the day put the music first, and the lineup is well-curated, with a song for everyone, something old, something new, something borrowed and something blues. Aspiring hopefuls get a voice along with seasoned veterans, and local talent is featured as well. My job is called Stage Crew, but I'm basically a roadie. And I'll tell you, life on the road can get pretty lonely. I was on the Parkway for 20 minutes, and soon I started to get lost in my thoughts. I was lost before I knew it, and for quite some time after. This is my 4th year with the crew, and I'm hoping that soon I'll be entrusted with a flashlight, or someday even a walkie-talkie. I'm not getting my hopes up, because I tend to be too much talkie and not enough walkie.

     I was chatting with the cops on one of those rare occasions when they didn't ask to chat with me first. They said that the Festival usually goes pretty smoothly, with the possible exception of one or two guys that become a little potted in the Beer Garden. The police ran a bomb-sniffing dog through the Main Stage and the backstage area, and I was afraid the dog would stop right in front of me, having detected one of my jokes, two at the most. Okay three, but that's my final offer.

     I was in the shade keeping an eye on things at the the equipment tent next to the Main Stage. Things were going pretty smoothly but a small bird walked in, brown with a gray-speckled breast. I didn't recognize it, didn't identify itself, and I was already susipicious because it walked in instead of flew in. I gently but firmly escorted it back out. It's the first time I've ever had to explain to a bird that NOBODY is allowed in the equipment tent without a blue wristband. 

     I was done with my lunch so I wandered over to the zer waste bins, and the volunteers there can tell you exactly what is garbage and what is recyclable. I had a paper plate, a piece of aluminum foil and a plastic knife and fork. They told me all that stuff should go in the recycling bin, and that my sneakers should go in the garbage bin.

     Next year I'll have a retractable key chain and about 30 keys that I have no idea what they open, and I'll be in a big hurry to open them, and I won't have a lot of time for chit-chat. So if you see me at the Festival and you come up to say hello but I'm on the walkie-talkie with one finger in my ear and the other fingers giving you the "hold on I'll be with you in a minute" sign, it means that there is no one on the other end.