Home

30th Annual Oopstock (Felst) Music Party

Leave a comment

30 years?  How did that happen?

Here’s what we looked like ten years ago.

Lets Get COVID in New Hampshire!

1 Comment

We thought we had narrowly escaped COVID with our collective departure from Italy.  But it was not to be.

Everything was looking good, from the could-have-been-worse schlep through the Zurich train station with the enormous guitar case (no carts?!  no humans who help?!), through wine tasting in SwissAir First Class, to smooth arrival in Boston.

My trusty ally and friend Spoolia was there to scoop me.

And driving into Newton it was as if we hadn’t even left Italy!  Heck, dinner even was Italian, but pronounced incorrectly.

Mabel was impressed, and this is a dog not really impressed by much!

So it was off to New Hampshire for some music.  And a side of accidental COVID.

Oopstock has been going strong for 29 years.  Many of the usual folks were in attendance. But get this: there was a professional sound guy, and there were high school kids manning the grill.  Holy cow, so upscale!!

This made my life much easier (not to mention Rhine’s).  Here are my feet on the table where the sound board USED to be positioned way back when I was the sound guy.  The hombre to the right is Steve.  He ran great sound.

The usual instrument pod.

The East German Gold Medal Swim Team Captain.

New blood with high charisma.

Where’s Aubrey did an iteration of the Into the Unknown game.  We all missed Sogol’s dancing.  But here is the picture that April made.

 

The Moose Hut guys also got whacked by COVID.  Chris was down and didn’t make the party.  As a result, a game of musical chairs around who plays what instrument resulted.  Zack played drums?!

Everybody missed Romey.

There was, in deference to Italy, a Negroni session mid-day.

The sun set.  The babies went to bed.

And the bands came out under the actual light show.  FWIW, LED lights still attract shit tons of mosquitos.

Guy Ferrari played some original music.  Tight.

Moose Hut became Moose Nut or maybe Moose Butt.

And then it was the Grayhounds (a quasi-iteration on Splatterfoot with a new guy named Paul whaling on guitar).

Sadly, Rhine was infected the whole time.  He started feeling symptoms Sunday.  And I got it from him.  I am pretty sure this all started with the Italian villa art collective (and I secretly wonder about their self-reported negative test results before our performance).  So many years of top notch risk management come tumbling down when you change your risk stance.  WHOMP.

A view from the stage.  We played electric until 10 then shifted to the campfire where this year’s highlights were a complete treatment of one side of the Pink Floyd Animals record, and a coveted iteration of Hangin.

\

Then it was off to Spain to become a vector.  Unknowingly. Alas.

Special thanks to Spool for making this all possible and to Rhine and April for persisting with the music party even in a summer crammed with art and fun.

 

 

Nancy Griffith memorial

Leave a comment

During the 28th annual Oopstock, we spontaneously performed this version of Nanci Griffith’s song “Love at the Five and Dime” as a memorial.  Nanci died the day before we performed this song.

Thanks for the music, Nanci.

 

 

April Claggett Gets Big

Leave a comment

Birthday Show in New Hampshire: Where’s Aubrey

Leave a comment

Where’s Aubrey
photo by Tom Singleton

What’s the best way to celebrate birthday 52? With a show in New Hampshire of course. Where’s Aubrey played a show in the middle of nowhere in New Hampshire for a receptive audience at the Mole Hill Theater. As always, we played a benefit performance, this time for the LEAF (nutritious lunch) program of a public charter school operating out of the same revamped machine shop where we played the show.

Alstead

A machine

We played our sets right next to a huge blue machine. Not sure what it actually used to do. Stamp out complete cars??

Where’s Aubrey and the big blue machine

The show was high energy and fun, one of the best we’ve played.

Where’s Aubrey: Gary McGraw and Rhine Singleton

Laying into the fiddle

Rhine sings

Mando and the big blue behemoth

Where’s Aubrey in Alstead, NH

no silly allowed? definitely no silly.

fiddle and the big blue behemoth

What kind of stuff does it take to play an acoustic act??

the stage

Well, to be fair, we played our two set show. Then after a break we electrified the whole thing with drums, bass, and electric guitar. The LEAF Cutters were born. Dancing happened. Much fun was had.

=====
A message from Rhine

Dear Friends and Music Lovers –

Because you and so many others turned out last Saturday night, we not only had a total blast playing music, we raised $1250 for the healthy lunches program at the LEAF school through donations at the door. The silent auction brought in another $1000, so the event truly was a smashing success!

And, you were a wonderful audience to play for. So, we’re sending our heartfelt thanks. Hope to see you at another music event before too long!

fin

Apothecary Shed Welcomes Paloma and Willie

1 Comment

It’s Spring. Time for new leaves and new arrivals at the Apothecary Shed.

Spring Leaves at the Shed

Spring Leaves at the Shed

They come from the great white north where there is still snow on the ground.

Big Trailer from NH

Big Trailer from NH

On an eight hour trailer ride.

Welcome Willie

Welcome Willie

Welcome Paloma

Welcome Paloma

The Herd

The Herd

Hey, is that a carrot?

Hey, is that a carrot?

The Department of Fuel Additive Creation

Leave a comment

This message brought to you by the Department of Fuel Additive Creation, from an undisclosed location in NH.

The headquarters building

The headquarters building

Rocket fuel creation device

Rocket fuel creation device

Rye-related fuel source.

Rye-related fuel source.

Into the creation device.

Into the creation device.

Gauges and doohickies.

Gauges and doohickies.

Number crunching for heads, tails, and faints.

Number crunching for heads, tails, and faints.

A run.

A run.

Daggum that fuel is hot.

Daggum that fuel is hot.