Gobs In A Gale (& A Fail) On S Platte In 11 Mile Canyon 30Mar23

Despite the forecast of 50° high and 25 mph winds (which were very accurate) I headed to 11 Mile today anyway. The good news on conditions was that it deterred most folks from coming ~ there were only 7 cars parked in the canyon on the way up @ 10am. I didn't fish long due to the gale force wind (and chilly conditions therefore) but I fished almost anywhere I wanted ahead of the last bridge. I caught a dozen nice 16"-19" cutbows today on almost every bug I tried. It is still midge season out there and the winners today were pop top (maroon & olive versions), money midge, top secret, epoxy olive with electric blue flash thorax, and egg; no one hit the blood midge. Even the perdigon scored a couple. I did load the camera in backwards so all the good effort to photograph the fish was for naught ~ each movie was like every other, looking over my shoulder. Heh heh... whoops. I left at 2pm, satisfied for sure but tired of the tussle with the wind. The RFT5 dispatched itself well ~ poking my nymph rig through holes in the wind. There was zero bug sign and the fish were harder to identify with the ripples and waves on the water ~ but I knew where they should be (and were).

Sonoran Swing 22Mar23-29Mar23

Kala & I headed to Phoenix to visit friends & family during their normally epic springtime. We've definitely revived travel as we haven't been "home" to the Sonoran Desert for the pandemic years... and we've missed our buddies there. We flew down so didn't tote bikes & golf clubs and that informed our activities a smidge. We first rolled into the Karenowski & Jimmynowski digs to reconnect with K and her kids (Jeff & Michael - friends of Matt's from our time in PHX)... outdoor living, like at the Man Cave, is stellar.

The week prior was 10° cooler than normal for this time of year ~ and it was rainy then too. So, it's gonna be a Sonoran superbloom year and we headed out to Diamondback Cove at Bartlett Lk to catch the poppies and other flower blooms. Nothing yet is out from the cacti but the flowers & and flowering bushes were awesome. Too, you can see even more rain threatening and we saw some rarer pink and white poppies.

We had tasty foods at Karen's and great fine Italian out at Rusconi's. Then on Friday we caught up with Letha. We enjoyed meeting her friend Linda and dining on her fine pork tenderloin potato soup and snickerdoodles. We also introduced her to Ted Lasso, which she really enjoyed. The next day we were able to catch some very good Mexican food at Mexicana when we grabbed lunch with our old friend DavidK... always fun.

Back in the cave we enjoyed a favored IPA called Church Music and a spa soak as well as some D1 lax games Jimmy put on for me, which was very nice.

We awoke late the next day, shall we say. So, the ladies went awalkin' and I hung low with Jimmy and watched some more games. Sunday night we joined Jim & Susan in McCormick Ranch for regaling. It was a blast to see them (no pic). Monday we rousted my old mate Swish; we've only known each other 60+ years so yeah. We ate lunch @ Chop Box "where it all happens" at Tatum & Shea and enjoyed the all too short time with him.

That afternoon Letha was able to transport us south of South Mtn to our dear friends Steve & Anne. We aligned quickly over some stellar Gordon wine selections from their cave and then grabbed Italian from a local cafe. I did share some Real Life Lore stuff which Steve especially seemed to appreciate. We retired early for our 6:20am tee time @ The Foothills GC on Tuesday. Very nice, very early ~ Steve is literally now the only member at FH after a change in ownership and a hike in pricing ~ but at 22 years a member, he's family there. It was an awesome day with Steve and the temps hitting 80 and me on the struggle bus. That's not 'cause I didn't bring my gear, it's 'cause I don't have the skills. The ladies biked on a keen loop here in the south.

We had good salads for lunch at the Hilltop - a local eatery and bar. Later we were off to downtown Phoenix for excellent Mex food at Bario Cafe. Even the street art in this 'hood was stellar Mexican-influenced.

Wednesday I worked on the blog a bit while Steve hit another 80 and the ladies rode again. Then we hiked up Telegraph Pass through South Mtn (from the south side) and saw a bunch of cool blooms, including an early blooming hedgehog cactus and a weird yellow ball flower plant. It was a good hike past petroglyphs preceding a great lunch at Chelsea's Kitchen before we were dropped at the airport.

Awesome Sonoran Swing '23 ~ thanks everybody for hosting, driving, guiding, drinking, cooking, and living the vibe with us.

Decent Fishing On PT @ NC 21Mar23

It was a nice day and I drove down to Pueblo for some fishing. The tailwater was pretty crowded and I basically only fished the farm and hook weir after a guide with two guests departed these. Nonetheless all my bugs seemed to be productive on the now full spawning cutbows. I caught lots of elder teenagers (16"-17"-18"-19"), males & females, and one battered 20"er male. The olive Perdigon, the Awesome, the Pop Top and especially the Blood Midge produced this day ~ despite little bug sign. Flows have been dropped to ~130cfs and visibility has improved. The RFT5 dispatched well and landed clean but for one hookup. Colorado is heating up.

I did get a number of questions from nearby fishermen ~ "what'cha usin'."

GR8 Weekend With Brantleys In Summit ~ Excellent Ani DiFranco Concert @ Riverwalk 17Mar23-20Mar23

Scott & Peg reserved a nice weekend at the Nest with us. Even though we couldn't easily get in our garage, our prep on "the short side" stall made Scooter's approach pretty easy. We kicked off Fri night with some nice wines and shrimp fra diavlo as well as some auditing of new educational material on Nebula. Fun start. On Saturday we hike the frozen Dillon Rez on a sunny, but chilly & windy day. Of course we stopped at ORB/Bird for lunch and a new Magic Mountain hazy. We liked it enough to score some 4 packs for later ~ one being my free-ish Summit Can club pickup.

Sat night we headed to Breck for a nice meal at Aurum (gold room), one or Kala & my favs for tastes, especially during happy hour, for the deal seeker lurking in all of us. And, a live concert from Ani DiFranco, at River Walk. It's OK for the ladies this time; assigned seats! The opener for Ani was Pietra Brown, who records on Ani's record label. She was OK; indie folk with possibly good songs ~ the sound, or she, made hearing the lead voice clearly, tough. Most of the show she was accompanied just by her acoustic guitar and a plugged-in lady on standing bass. The pic shows the one time an organist also joined her.

Ani DiFranco was excellent. Her show energy was clear; her vocals were awesome; her protest vibe was evident and strong; her band was cool and complimentary; her songs were classics ~ anthems to some in the crowd. And, I really appreciated seeing one of the OG of DIY and no compromises. The sound was somewhat "fixed" for her sets, or her voice was that much more forward, at the Riverwalk. Very  good show. We retired soon after returning from Breck.

Sunday we chose to hike the Blue River and then hit the Summit Co breweries that S&P had not been to yet. Peg finally scored some Moroccan desert chinos while Scott & I hit Syndicate. Then we all enjoyed the tropical hazy @ Steep. We tapped the ORB MMs once back home and had extensive music training on the NestT, as well as a nice spa soak.

Great weekend with great friends.

March Music Appreciation ~ Philly Focus & Others 16Mar23

We just passed the Ides of March and I am still diving on The Beths even further. The writing is super special and the show this week was awesome... enough/not enough ~ The Beths played "Expert In A Dying Field" on CBS Morning show on 04Mar23.

I kick this "appreciation" forward with Philadelphia freedoms... I am very much looking forward to seeing some of these bands live in the coming weeks. Some recent drops from keen Philly artists include...

• War On Drugs @ Austin City Limits “Harmonia’s Dream” 27Jan23
• Screaming Females With OV Of “Mourning Dove” 15Feb23
• Sweet Pill @ Living Arts Full Show 15Jan23
• Lizzie McAlpine @ Fallon “Ceilings” 02Mar23

On with the rest of the show... Serious hope blooms with Sunny War (On Kimmel Live “Got No Reason” 15Mar23) getting top coverage; she's got wild frenetic and unique guitar skills. Her writing is righteous. Enjoy.

New Pornographers just announced another album, "Continue As A Guest" and a summer tour. I hope Neko comes with them, at least to the Gothic in Colorado. There's a good OV single, oddly written with DanB, who's left the band, HERE from 15Feb23.

Rozzi's voice and stylings are amazing IMO, she sang a cover live of AlanisM's "Hand In My Pocket" on 20Feb23, which killed.

Madison Cunningham @ Vevo “All I’ve Ever Known" 28Feb23 ~ yep, worth it.

Impacted PT On The Ides 15Mar23

I went to the PT on the nice warm day before the snow; I don't know why everyone else had the same idea today but the Ark out of Nature Center was mobbed. Though I did not see any fish in fishermans' nets ~ it could've been noob lessons. Flows have been bumped up and there was terrible visibility with sediment in the river. I didn't stay long but caught several fish, including one decent 18"er which was pure rainbow! The others were smaller and all were caught on winter midges like the pop top or blood midge.

The Beths @ Summit Were Fabulous 14Mar23

Yoho & I caught The Beths and opening act Sidney Gish at the Summit Music Hall tonight. Know that the Beths are really The Beeeths, as they are an Auckland quartet and an "e" is always long sounding there. The show was completely fabulous. We dined prior at ChoLon right on Blake near the club. After Chinese we arrived ~10min prior to doors open as usual but were shocked to discover we were 150th in line! I didn't expect these artists to have become that popular but the line, and the ultimately packed house, were aware fans of both acts.

Sidney Gish was a very pleasant surprise. Her one woman show was killer. She played back guitar loops created live just moments prior in each of the seven songs she sang. Total indie rocker delivery with a mostly strong voice and always sharp playing. Her writing was keen like Americana stuff flown through Austin and landed in NYC. Hailing from Boston, graduating from Northeastern, and now in New York, she's been touring with The Beths recently but has her own set of rabid fans who knew every word. With good reason... she was very good and a joy to hear. She's dropped LPs, Ed Buys Houses and No Dogs Allowed and a recent "Dubl Single" Filming School (she played both songs from this at the show). Check her out on the Bandcamp links above or your own streamer; she's worth the time.

That was all fine, and a nice surprise, but we came for The Beths, and they delivered solid punches all the way. This Auckland, NZ quartet is an understated but over-delivering tight team. Many refer to the four part harmonies on choruses; some recognize the keen breaking voice and writing of their lady lead; I say just try to keep up with their guitar speed, including, or especially, Stokes, and rapid cool AF lyrics. Whatever, all this was on full display @ Summit. Bandleader Elizabeth Stokes named the band after herself and posted her 1st song on SoundCloud, Idea/Intent, in 2014... she sang this rocker for us at Summit, which she'd not done in a long time; very cool.

Her main collaborator for some long time, since jazz school, delivers searing smoke on his Les Paul, and fine backing vocals, along with the beat boys. Despite the small kit, Tristan Deck knows it and hits it hard, and his self effacing choruses are clean with the other guys. Benjamin Sinclair is the bass dude with more emotion delivered than most in this role; his backup singing is sweet as well.

Elizabeth Stokes

Jonathan Pearce

Tristan Deck

Benjamin Sinclair

Again with all that said, the main Beth is Stokes; she writes the songs, sings the leads, and shreds the lead licks. Lunar Vacation. She's a novelist documenting her vibe, sometimes with existential dread... very good songs. And, even with fandom and success, there appears no pretense. Her work ethic and desire and skill is wildly apparent, just in the music and singing, 'cause that's what matters to her and we feel it. The show was good at every step. Even the NZ kingfish had its place @ the show ~ BTW, Kala & I did have delicious NZ kingfish sashimi on multiple occasions when in the north of the N Island recently. I was able to snag the setlist this time at Summit ~ albeit digitally via photo... she used shorthand titles but you get the idea clearly enough.

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The Beths are awesome and clearly ones to always watch. They've reached up again with their 3rd full album, the excellent Expert In A Dying Field. Listen to all their stuff on Bandcamp HERE; shout out to bandcamp.com for returning more to artists and providing a solid distribution system for recorded media. I recorded two songs fully from the show: "I Want 2 Listen" and "I'm Not Getting Excited." Excuse the phone-only recordings but yeah... so good.