It's still all a little hazy but I think my mind is starting to function
again after being blow to bits this weekend. Congrats to Mike Nicholson
for taking Sparklefest to the next level. It was the epicenter of the
rock! It was great to see old friends and make new old friends. It truly
is the people that make it extra special.

While some appealed to me more than others, every band delivered a top
notch performance. The venue was great and the sound near perfect. The
energy level rose steadily each night and every band had to be on the
top of their game to keep up. By Friday night, groupie girl Beth Lennon
observed that we may have found the epicenter of the rock. As the night
went on, you could walk around the room and feel strange vibrations from
different spots in the venue. Saturday the whole room was that way and
by the end of the night it was obvious, it was the epicenter of the
rock. 

Personal highlights that I can remember right now include:

Cliff Hillis - Gets better every time I see him. Extra bonus points for
having Doug Edmunds sitting in on drums and vocals. Cliff finished his
set with a cover of "Beautiful" that proved once and for all that any
song is much better when played with guitars.

The Van Deleckis - Jamie Hoover is God. Great playing, killer songs and
probably the best harmonies of the fest. Did I mention Jamie Hoover?

In-Line Six - A broken down van, an almost cancellation and the closing
slot Friday night. Those who witnessed the performance now know what
southern rock is supposed to be. Long live Tim Lee.

All of Saturday night - 

Robbie Rist kicked it off with a rousing solo electric set that made it
plain and clear this was a rock show. 

Bobby Sutliff was fantastic and might possibly have the most righteous
tone of any guitar player on the planet even if he refuses to agree with
me. 

Boss Martians were the real deal and I get to see them again with The
Shazam Tuesday and Wednesday night. Eat your heart out.

The Fiendish Minstrels rocked and brought back something sorely missing
from rock music of recent years, capes.

Terry Anderson and The Olympic Ass-Kickin' Team whipped up a big batch
of southern fried rock that would have made your momma proud. Now that's
a power trio.

Walter "you're so fucked" Clevenger & The Dairy Kings had the unenviable
job of following the OAK Team and were up to the task with their own
heaping helping of southern California fried rock. Walter was like a man
possessed as if there were something different about him. The ass
kicking contest was declared a draw after Terry joined them on stage for
a cover of one of his songs. They closed with a very Walterized version
of Sick Of Myself.

The Shazam were even better than ever if that's possible. Mick Wilson
must have gone to rock school as he now jumps around the stage as much
as Hans and Jeremy. 

The Mockers were the best I've ever seen them. Finished their set with
Robbie Rist on vocals for Highway Star which brought every musician in
the house right up front for some serious rocking out. It was very
special seeing them up there acting like teenagers at their first rock
show. Robbie proved once again that absolutely no one has anything up on
him when it comes to rock and roll.

It was a hard act to follow but Barely Pink closed the night in rousing
fashion with several tunes from their excellent new record and a BP fave
Dot To Dot Elvis. As they started Mean Mister Mustard for the Abbey Road
Medley grand finale the room almost exploded with most of the other
musicians in attendance running out on stage to form a choral ensemble.
Huge shit-eating grins and misty eyes were in abundance. 

and in the end, the love that was taken was equal to the love that was made

Ed