THE STORY:
3 years to the day, we return to Block Island & Captain Nick's Rock & Roll Bar to conquer Opening Night of the underrated & eclectic Block Island Music Festival. Bumblefoot has been hijacked by guitar geeks down in Raleigh, NC, so Scott Barnhill admirably fills in on geetar, leaving me to pick up the slack with my funky key-tar. Next Tribe's James Criscitiello, an old friend of the band, fills in as both bass man & chauffeur, driving his poor excuse for a van up to Rhode Island. Scott & Dennis risk life & limb in lounge chairs in the back of the van during the ride up. We stop at least 4 times so Dennis can take a dump. The crappy weather of '02 is replaced this time by blissful sunshine. And it never ceases to amaze us how, once you leave the NY metro area, you're treated with such friendliness & respect.

Tuesday night is a bit mellower than the Saturday night mayhem of '02, but "Get On The Bus" & the covers, especially, get the kids dancing. I get molested by an overzealous fan (the same girl who jumped up on stage 3 years earlier) during "Super Ball" (how appropriate), & then spend the duration of the evening hanging with her, her wacky male roommate, & their dog, in a house in the middle of nowhere. We leave the next day just hours before a terrible storm hits the island for the rest of the festival. Mother Nature must have gotten things mixed up, or maybe we just got lucky for once.

Regardless, once again, Block Island & their amazing festival staff (some particular cuties pictured above) were once again gracious hosts.