Have you ever seen a little pig jump into a swimming pool after an oreo? Well I have, and I think the piglet’s name was Snooki.
The second annual Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que was a blast. All last week we had intentions of camping, but those intentions were squashed by the rain and the fact that we wanted to enjoy the second day of music and not feel even grosser than we already would sitting out in the 90+ degree South Carolina moist heat.
Friday and Saturday we filled our bellies with the finest pig flesh from around the Southeast. There were contestants in the festival that had driven from all the way in Oklahoma to put their barbecue to the test. I was a little disappointed in the fact that of all the contestants there, there were only a small handful actually letting the public taste their product. So next year I’ll have to become a judge so I’ll have to say, “well this one is the best I’ve ever tasted” over and over again. In addition to the BBQ, I had a catfish po boy pictured above and it was pretty tasty. “Can’t beat a meaty deep fried bottom feeder with a stick” is what I always say.
Friday night a lot of the music got rained out. It poured the whole drive down there and I was ill prepared. My concert mate on the other hand came perfectly dressed in a lovely skirt, paired with boots and a light rain jacket. I wore a t shirt and loafers and looked more like an out of place sailor. Luckily all of the music didn’t get rained out. The Blue Dogs did what I think was a stripped down set and gave everybody there time to get a couple of Budweisers in them before John Popper took the stage. John Popper didn’t disappoint. Everyone knows him as the gun toting, hard partying, mouth harp blowing singer of Blues Traveler and their might have been a small riot if he didn’t play a couple of their 90’s hits. We met some school teachers from Raleigh who were trying their hardest not to hit on 16 year old girls. It’s hard to tell sometimes, I’ll give them that. It’s like they always say, if they ask you to buy them a beer because they aren’t old enough, buy them a beer, chug it and get over the age difference. I keep getting older, they stay the same age. Popper might not have known what state he was in, but he knew how to rock. He’s one of the finest harmonica players around and has a sound of his own. He closed out the night with “Run Around” and even included my favorite Blues Traveler song “Mountains Win Again.”
Saturday was a long hot day of music. For Christmas we got my Dad tickets to see Old Crow Medicine Show who was on tour with the legend John Prine at the Peace Center in Greenville. Old Crow is a fantastic live band and they headlined Banjo-B-Que with another legend, Doc Watson. Chatham County Line and Frontier Ruckus were nothing more than a perfect fit for this event. Chatham County Line all gather around one microphone which has 3 mic’s coming out of the middle of it for their instruments. Really cool and old school. Frontier Ruckus has a singing saw which always steals the attention of the crowd and is a huge highlight of the set. Before Frontier Ruckus went on stage they announced the winners of the BBQ contests. The people sitting beside us won a couple of prizes for Chicken and the lady was so proud of her husband she was crying. It made me really want to try their chicken. Old Crow capped off the night with fireworks opening the set. It seems like everyone saved their energy for their set, because things went kind of wild. Everyone kind of squished in towards to stage and lawn chairs were cleared out. Their set included everything you’d want to hear and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay” which was beautiful. At one point Willie Watson popped a string on his guitar and restrung it while playing and singing in less than a minute. I’ve never seen anything like it.
I think my biggest unexpected highlight of the day was meeting Landon even though he wouldn’t look me in the eyes, seeing a pig jump in a pool after an oreo, Chatham County Line and my redneck sleeveless sunburn. Expected highlights was how great the food was and hanging with all of my friends. Can’t wait for next year.
Who are those two beautiful ladies?!