This is probably my number 1 Rock and Roll, and it’s definitely my favorite jam on this whole show.
Decided it’s been too long so I listened to all of Big Cypress at work this week. I’m on 2001 right now and will probably finish up before I post this.
Man, what a trip down memory lane! I was 18 years old and just finished my first semester at college. My high school touring buddy was back up for the holidays. We drove from Syracuse to NJ to meet up with four older friends. Then in NJ we rented one of those 80’s Caravans and made the trip down. Being 6 deep and the youngest in the group we were seated in the middle row of seats. While we didn’t have driving responsibilities, which was nice, but we also didn’t have a lot of room or even head rests. It may not seem like a big deal until realizing we drove from Princeton to Miami straight.
After ‘refueling’ in Miami we hit the road, the only road, to Big Cypress. What a traffic jam that was. We got there fairly early on the 28th and started with the celebration. It took us about 10-12 hours to get to our campsite. Finally settled in and feeling fine on the 29th we walked over to the gate outside the concert area to listen to soundcheck. There must have been a few thousand people hanging around listening to the music. It wasn’t very loud but was still very enjoyable, especially with that many people.
The campgrounds were filled with all sorts of cool hidden areas and sculptures. I remember standing on the ice pyramids often during the day to cool my body down. As hot as it was during the day it was quite cool at night, allowing for maximum recharging before the inevitably long sets.
There really isn’t much to say about that music that hasn’t already been said. Most songs were some of the better versions played and they did a great job with their bustouts too. All I know is I’m glad I ran into the guy with 8g (dried) of Oregon blue caps. I kid you not, this thing was one huge cap and a stem as long and think as my middle finger. Being so dry down there I was amazed he still had any on the 31st. Ate half around 11:40 then the rest around 12:15 as I cursed him out for being weak. Then 12:20 hit and you can fill in the blanks from there.
Come sunrise, there were a lot of fallen soldiers on the ground and many many more who retreated to their tents. I’d guess only about 1/3 of the people were still there for ‘Here Comes The Sun’ but I could be off.
Easily one of the most enjoyable and most memorable weeks of my life.
^nice recap.
Lotsa people on the ground for sure.
Gave a handful of fungus to the gate guard on the way in. Bet he had fun.
I turned 18 at midnight.
Decent birthday I guess.
I was out from the middle of the Crosseyed and came to life again in the middle of Quadrophonic Topplings. I was uber confused.
I was out after leaving the bathroom on the plane after take off after taking those gel tabs 
Not the whole midnight set but it’s everything through Free.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP3KobkFn-A[/youtube]
Side note, I always thought it was cool this set included songs from 3 of their 4 Halloween cover shows; Crosseyed (1996), Drowned (1995) and Rock and Roll (1998). The outro music was Here Comes The Sun so at least they had some Beatles in there!