Friday, April 7th finds ilyAIMY packed in the car and headed West out to Erie, PA. We were very worried about the weather at first, but it slowly decreased from 5″ coming down in the heart of our drive to less than an inche bound to have already hit the earth by the time we barrelled through. What we feared was going to be a grueling drive turned into a wonderful westbound winter’s end romp!
The Riverside Inn in Cambridge Springs, PA has been the home to an annual music festival for 30 years… First year with US though!
This morning was all fine and good but now I’ve lost touch with my computer back home. I was experimenting with having a “home machine” that dealt with most of the heavy lifting, but of course THAT only works for as long as the home internet works, which it ceased to do within two days of our departure. Sigh. A couple of projects are just going to have to WAIT. That unfortunately includes finalization of ‘cicada’, much to my chagrin. We got up way too early, discovered the disconnect, and then immediately made our way over to the Juice Jar in Erie, PA to play a long, early set. These are fun, but they’re very compact and it’s torturous because you KNOW you won’t have time to eat until at least the first break (maybe not even till the second one) and everyone’s got all this DELICIOUS looking food. Still, it means you get to think good and hard about your choices.
Soooo the Riverside Inn’s been here for a while… it even has… chaise lounges.
ilyAIMY celebrates the snow in Cambridge Springs, PA.
At first, as a musician, when you walk into the Juice Jar you’re thinking “why in the world would I need a sound system?!” It’s a tight space, the majority of people you’re playing to are waiting in and around the juice bar of the Juice Jar – so they, and their ears, are very, very close. And then the blending starts. Oh the blending. So much blending.
Yeah. We were glad to have our PA.
Kind of a cool thing in the front room of the Riverside Inn in Cambridge Springs, PA : this is a Henry Gaehle piano, made in Baltimore! It looks like he was building these things under his own name betwixt leaving a joint venture in 1854 and when he quit building in 1875… so this instrument is 142 years old or so – and it’s BEAUTIFUL!
After the gig we headed out to Presque Isle and took a good long walk with Chris and Joylene and their kids. After getting ourselves really good and tuckered out, we went to one of their favourite Mexican places (which the kids deemed “creepy”) dripped sand all over our booth (embarrassing) and then made a run for it back to the house where we kind of collapsed in short order. Tomorrow – Pittsburgh!
the Honest Mistakes performing at the Riverside Inn Music Festival in Cambridge Springs, PA.Heather joins the Honest Mistakes for a song at the tail end of our first night at the Riverside Inn Music Festival in Cambridge Springs, PA.returning for day 2 – by Saturday afternoon almost ALL the snow was gone and spring popped in.A hammered dulcimer session on Saturday, April 8th at the Riverside Inn Music Festival in Cambridge Springs, PA.Whoops – slightly order: the LEC performing on one of the “mainer” stages at the Riverside Inn Music Festival. Think Jamiroquai crossed with Rage Against the Machine. Kinda.Heather performing to a rapt audience on the Gastropub Stage!One of the many jam sessions bringing fiddles, guitars, banjos, basses and spoons to the party at the Riverside Inn Music Festival.Chris and Joylene of the Honest Mistakes performing at Molly Brannigans’ Irish Pub in Erie, PAFrog selfie in Erie, PA!Frog SELFIES in Erie, PA!Setting up in the tight quarters of the Juice Jar Sunday morning in Erie, PA.An interesting place to take this particular note. (found on the bookshelf at the Juice Jar in Erie, PA) – I also feel that anyone with handwriting like this can’t POSSIBLY be adult enough to have to deal with “co-pays”.oing to Lake Erie… adults to the right to stack rocks and children to the left to cover themselves in dirt. (below, rocks stacked by adults)GAaaand the children covered themselves in dirt. Yay!Walking along Lake Erie in Erie, PA.Ironically my Dad was known as “Sandy”. Mad Mex is decent Cali-Mexican mix food, and they introduced us to a delciious new hot sauce – but the real standout feature (and the reason why it seemed to frighten the kids into submission) was the amazing decor!!! full moon in Erie, PA.exhaustoAIMY.
