wharf rat

Photo : Enjoying Lolla with friends Forrest and Maya in my cool Tshirt, credit Heather Thorgaard (click on picture to enlarge and better see my cool t shirt hahah)

From the Dictionary of Americanisms:

1. Wharf rat,...(b)one who is frequently found on or near wharves, esp. a vagrant or petty criminal who haunts wharves...1836 Franklin Repository (Chambersburg, PA) 4 Oct 1/3 "I've an idea, my man, that you are one of the wharf rats; and, if so, the less lip you give me the better."

I could give you a review of all the bands I saw. I could tell you about the weather and say “LOLLA 2012 – a MONSOON evacuated the park”.  I could tell you exactly what I did, who I saw.  I could tell you the clubs/bars I went to and the restaurants that I (didn’t) eat at. But that is standard issue - why the hell would you want to hear that again?

This is my favorite memory of Lolla 2012:   (and yes, I know it is late but the lesson learned is timeless)

Bassnectar was on, spinning his special brand of omni-tempo maximalism. He is improvising his live electronic sets, has a rabid niche following, and affords insanely creative stage set ups and screen back drops. He is in a sense, the Grateful Dead of electronic music and you know I absolutely LOVE IT.

As I was saying. My soul was hot, and although I was having fun, I was dealing with some heavy stuff in my life.  I was doing my best wiggling around transmitting motions and vibrations of love up to the mothership and back to all humanity. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath and look up.  A large African American gentleman, in corn rows and head to toe urban hip hop garb was staring at me. The stare, my friends, is something I am used to, and why sometimes I try and wiggle so fast you cant even see me.

“nice t shirt”

“I know I know”. I had been getting random compliments on my t shirt all day. It was the Wu Tang ‘W’ insignia, but underneath it were the words “Wharf Rat”, one of my favorite Grateful Dead tunes. Like 99% of the Lolla crowd, I expected this black man to recognize it alluding to the Wu Tang but not the Grateful Dead .

Then  he belted out loud and on key :

“OLD MAN DOWN! Way down down, down by the docks of the citay.

Blind and DIRTY. Asked me for a dime a dime for a cup of coffee.

I got no dime, but I got some time to hear your STORY.

I literally choke back emotion. 

Then I joined in and we sang together:

“MY name is August West ! And I love my Pearly Baker best, more than my WINE.

More than my WIIINE.  More than my maker though he’s no friend of Mine”

He just sang the opening stanza from the song “Wharf Rat”, and he had just blown me away.  My soul smiled ear to ear and I couldn’t really say anything further so I brought him in for a bear hug, except, I guess, he was a lot bigger than I, so maybe he did the bear hugging. Or does bear hugging mean you hug bears, because then I hugged the bear….whatever. I had been spent the last few days doubting life. Doubting its beauty. Doubting doubting doubting.

Then.....my soul was given a jolt. And I walked away wiggling and transmitting double love with an ear to ear perma-grin that nearly split my face in half and I shed a tear of happiness as i pranced away. I needed a hug. Like i said, my soul was agitated and it was a really difficult time in my life. I needed some random act of kindness, love and compassion on this day. The last place I thought I would receive it was from a very large man who appeared to be 'thuggish'.

The lesson here: your eyes will deceive you more than any of your other senses. I understand observing and processing images to come to a conclusion. But the fastest way to fail is to believe everything you see. Remember: we are all just energy, and no matter what race, religion, sex, or clothes we adorn our body in, its the energy inside that defines us. What a great lesson to be reminded of on a hot summer difficult day in chicago. 

LOVE ! 

here is a video clip of a particularly beautiful version of the song "wharf rat" - ENJOY