353/365: “Fader”

276/365: “Breathe”

165/365: “Milk & Black Spiders”

I’ve been struggling the past several weeks with the disappointment of having to back out of Bonnaroo’s volunteer program. My friend/ co-worker and I had planned on driving, camping, and volunteering together at the festival. I was so excited about the opportunity to do something field-related and finally see my favorite band. Somewhere between February (when I suggested the idea) and May 17 (the last day to drop out and get my deposit back) she changed her mind about the trip and neglected to tell me. Technically she still hasn’t told me.

For months I stressed about our 1,000+ mile trip and dealt with the occasional mini panic attack caused by hearing “My Number” at work. Over the past eight weeks (how long we’ve been playing the song at Job #1) “My Number” has gone from making me stress about Bonnaroo to reminding me I’m not going.

I was grateful I’d at least have the opportunity to watch Foals’ set online. This afternoon I rushed home after work– and a trip to Starbucks– to watch the live stream. I was kind of relieved to see Foals’ set (which turned out to be a replay from earlier in the day) had been pushed back by a few hours. That meant I got to see some performances I’d been looking forward to but thought I’d missed. I got home just in time for Local Natives. I was able to enjoy half of Of Monsters and Men’s stunning performance before switching over for Grizzly Bear’s set.

I anxiously waited for 10 p.m. when Foals would take the stage, and then my “live” stream went from “pretty good” to “aggravating.” It was mostly exasperation and expletives on my end. It probably didn’t help that my feed had to compete with Paul McCartney’s set on Channel 1.

A crappy not-really-live feed was better than nothing, but, of the 12 songs Foals performed, I only had a steady feed for # 12– which I watched on my phone. I was determined to watch the whole thing, and a choppy feed didn’t stop me from sobbing through most of “Olympic Airways,” “My Number,” “Milk & Black Spiders,” and part of “Spanish Sahara.” (I’d like to note that this was me finally working through that pent up stress and disappointment and not entirely me being an awkwardly emotional music fan. That rarely happens– in public.)

I was so disappointed that I missed almost all of “Red Socks Pugie” which is one of my favorite Foals tunes. That one usually makes me all teary and fan-girl-y. Unfortunately, my feed decided to crap out completely for that song.

Foals put together an excellent set list that was a satisfying mix of all three albums. The feed was choppy, but the pieces still sounded great. They’ll probably be on YouTube soon enough, but I wish I could have heard “Milk & Black Spiders” straight through tonight. It’s one of my favorites from Holy Fire and has so much potential to be a magical live tune. The album version gets me every time.

164/365: “Take You Higher”

I find this song soothing during all the chaos at work. Things have been especially crazy this week due to our company’s big semi-annual sale which only adds to my existing stress. It’s nice having this song and a few others to ease the tension a bit.

163/365: “Chaos”

For days when I need a little clarity: