Friday Pt 2 (why do they rock so hard)

Friday night I met up with KP, his brother, and one of their friends and headed up to Davenport for the River Roots Fest, an outdoor music festival that's been merged with RibFest, creating a heavenly match. The headlining band for the night? Reel Big Fish! I was a huge fan of theirs throughout most of high school and my early college years, saw them live once before and really enjoyed the show they put on, so for $10 and RibFest, I'd be stupid not to go!

Food first, the ribs I had were amazing. There were about 4 or 5 vendors, each with huge banners proclaiming theirs to be the best BBQ, touting their awards and displaying trophies. All of the prices were basically the same, so I chose based on location. There was one from Ft. Worth, TX, but I figured I'd have plenty of time to get some Texas barbecue when I'm living in Texas. I had already had barbecue from Memphis when I took a trip there, and besides, KP was getting that one, we couldn't get the same. Then there was a stand from Chicago, but when I think of Chicago food, I think of pizza, not really BBQ. And I'll be in Chicago this weekend (more info coming in a later post), if I really want to try it, I could just get it while I'm there. So I chose the stand that had no discernible location, at least not one prominently labeled. I can't even remember their name now, but it was delicious. I ordered 1/3 rack (which was supposed to be 4 bones but I got 6!), baked beans, coleslaw, and some bread, in case you were curious.

The main stage for the bands was the same spot that the Bix Jazzfest had their stage, but this was the first time I was seeing a non-jazz band play there. There was also a side stage that was near the river, so there was always one band playing, no down time, which was nice. If only the other bands playing were ones I was interested in hearing. . . Anyways, the set from RBF was pretty awesome, full of energy and moshing/skanking kids. They played some of my favorites (Beer, The Set Up, She Has a Girlfriend Now, etc.) but didn't play possibly my #1 song, "All I Want is More." Oh well. I even found a (crappy) video someone took during the show:



So it was a really awesome time, even if it started raining as the night went on, and the set had to be cut a little short. I loved the rain, it just added to the night. I was extremely glad I went!