A Day on the General Grounds of Country USA

First and foremost, what a diversified group of people at Country USA! You have everyone from the stereotypical redneck in a cowboy hat and cowboy shoes to the jock jamming, booty dancing club people representing at this 5 day festival. There were so many different people with so many different styles and personalities. It is amazing that they are all in one place. Not to mention people of all ages!

On this day, day four of Country USA, I made my way around the grounds of the festival. I finally got to see the carnival with its Ferris wheel and scrambler rides. I walked around all the impossible carnival games as the roadies tried to convince me to give them their money. I shopped a little and picked out a few souvenirs for myself and my family. I even took one for the team and rode a mechanical bull! This was the first time all week that I arrived early enough to enjoy all these amenities, and boy was I missing out. There really is something for everyone here!After looking around the mini carnival and shops, I made my way to the campgrounds. Here I finally realized I had been in the wrong part of the festival all week! I had been missing out on the real party as the real party was in the campgrounds! People were dancing on top of buses and trucks and anything that they could make a stage out of. Everyone was stumbling around as if it were bar time not 4:00 in the afternoon.

Hey! It's 5:00 somewhere, right?

There were signs located at every other site with little jokes or sayings.

My favorite site was Margaritaville. They had all kinds of games set up. The decorations were very fitting and of course, the pirate flag. Everyone in Margaritaville was having fun and who could blame them! They were at the biggest party in the Fox Cities! I now know next year where to be and where you should be too!

"Wastin away again in Margaritaville!"

For more pictures check http://www.myspace.com/lil_Jean (now posted!)

Country USA with Brad Paisley

Unlike opening night when I was met with traffic at a dead standstill, there was no waiting to get into the grounds on this fine Friday afternoon. The festival now had that problem under control and the flow of traffic was fast and steady. I was a little disappointed. I didn't mind the walk much and thought it added to the whole experience of opening night, but nonetheless my legs thank the festival promoters for figuring out a better approach to the traffic for the following nights of the festival!

Keith Anderson

The first performer I saw on this night was Keith Anderson. He wasn't much for my taste. I wasn't a huge fan of his music and in most cases I can overcome that small infraction by a performance enhanced with some sort of dancing, audience engagement, or stage presence. I personally was not impressed with any of it. He barely danced, and stood in one place for most of the songs. He didn't really engage the audience at all. In all reality, that would have been kind of hard to do standing in one place. Then his stage presence seemed lacking. Perhaps I was just expecting a performance in comparison to the energy that emanated from the performances on opening night or maybe he just hit a sour chord with me. Whichever the case this was my least favorite performance of the entire weekend. However, the lack of entertainment that I saw did not stop the rest of the crowd and his fans to flock to him during his performance. I would have to say that was probably the most fascinating part of Keith Anderson's performance; the dedication from his fans, because even though he seemed to be putting forth little effort into his performance, they all cheered and danced as if he were. Overall if I were to rate Keith Anderson's performance at Country USA, I would give him a less than average, so-so, whatever rating. Nothing special in my eyes and I definitely wouldn't have been too overly sad had I missed the performance entirely.

Brad Paisley

Taylor Swift had the energy and stage presence needed to be great. She put on a great show but was lacking in something. I didn't figure it out until I saw Brad Paisley. He had this magnificent connection with the audience. Brad was able to grab the attention of the audience from the first second of his performance and kept them all engaged throughout the remainder of his show. Brad Paisley is the man! Need I say more? Of course I do!

All the stage lights went out. If you looked closely through the darkness that embedded you, you could see the outlines of people and all the commotion at the front of the stage. Then four or five of those individuals ran out at the same time; one of them guitar in hand. They ran six rows into the crowd and stopped. The crowd started screaming before the spotlight ever reached the man holding the guitar dressed in a pair of simple blue jeans, red t-shirt, and cowboy hat. Quickly he was engulfed by surprised fans as he started playing his guitar and singing. Men and women alike reached their arms out to get a mere touch of the Grammy Award-winning American country singer, Brad Paisley. Shortly thereafter the man reappeared from the crowd and the hands that were touching him released him in a wave and allowed him to pass through as he made his way back to the stage.

The remainder of his performance was very much the same. Brad was extremely in touch with the audience and had a very good chemistry on stage. He engaged everyone by throwing out random items for the fans to jump and fight over as well as reaching down and touching them whenever given a chance. In the background of the stage there was a huge screen that displayed different images including shots of the audience. It was evident that the fans were number one throughout the entire concert. Brad had an extremely well tailored stage presence and knew exactly how to use his surroundings to make the show as spectacular as it was.

Normally I would now say something along the lines of keep an eye out for this artist or that I expect to see many things from this artist in the future, however, Brad Paisley being a well seasoned veteran to the country music scene does not need me to state the obvious! If you missed this performance for whatever reason, be sure not to miss the next. Brad Paisley will not disappoint.

With all that being said, at the end of the night if you can make even just one person fall in love with you for the first time, it is a job well done.

Brad Paisley, I love you!

For more pictures check http://www.myspace.com/lil_Jean (now posted!)

Country USA Opening Day with Taylor Swift

The traffic into the large country festival located in Oshkosh, WI is quite the obstacle with only one single lane road leading to the premises and hundreds arriving every hour.

Coming in from the prominent highway, Highway 41, you wait a good 45 minutes to an hour to move a mere mile. Then you are forced to take an exit that there is no way to get into the turn lane to the festival. The community service officers direct you to go straight not allowing anyone to turn directly off the highway to the frontage road. This means you have to drive miles out of your way to turn around and wait another couple hours in dead stop traffic just to turn onto the road to the festival. Then once you get through all that and are finally on the road thinking your obstacles are done, you are met with a single lane road for the next couple miles that is moving slower than the rest of the traffic you just sat in. Needless to say I am way too impatient for all that. I pulled over and paid $5 to park in the parking lot to a warehouse, and started my hour long walk to the festival grounds arriving in half the time it would have taken had I drove.

Once arriving at the main gate you see the broad opening to the grounds. That would have been helpful five miles back where the traffic is still at a standstill. The entrance is practically empty as the cars can't get down the road fast enough to fill them. A whole lot of good that does everyone! There are shuttles driving people to parking on the premises, however, they will not assist any off grounds parking as they want you to pay their fees for parking. My advice to anyone planning on attending Country USA, leave at least three hours before you want to get there especially if you plan on parking on grounds. If you are running late, the traffic will not get better, so stop and park at one of the off grounds parking and walk or you will be late!

Once inside the gates, you are met with a wide variety of activities. The main stage is located to your left. It is a decent stage with two huge screens on either side. The ground admission seating is first then multiple different sections of various seating leading up to the stage. If you were lucky enough to get front row seating, you noticed that the seats started only a couple yards from the main stage with only security between you and the performers! To the right of the main stage is the Y100 tent where they have interviews with all the artists. It is a very intimate environment and a lot of fun! Here you can be a part of the meet and greets for most of the artists and even see the interviews done with all the headlining acts. Any one a fan of country should look into getting passes to this tent! It really is a fun and intimate experience. Even further to right, past the Y100 tent is where all the rides and carnival games are located. There is something for everyone here!

Taylor Swift

I adventured around the grounds getting acquainted with everything before making my way to the stage. I got to the main stage shortly before Taylor Swift went on. The security was very helpful and in good spirits! I was in awe of the friendly nature of the workers. They had been standing outside all day in 90 degree weather yet here they were still with smiles on their faces cracking jokes to anyone that would listen. They walked around holding real conversations with the people sitting in the VIP seating while everyone waited for the main act. It passed the time and helped everyone stay calm and excited for what they came for, Taylor Swift! The mayor of Oshkosh even came out during the wait.


Around 10:30 p.m., the music got louder and the lights dimmed. It was time.

Taylor Swift stood at the top of the left hand platform dressed in a band member uniform. Her backup dancers were on the lower level of the stage acting out a scene that could have taken place in any high school. The choreography was great! I love music and love dance even more. I was very impressed with the dancers and their moves.

"Hello Oshkosh!" Taylor said as she walked down the stairs to join her dancers. The crowd screamed, jumped, and went crazy. "How are you doing this evening?"

She took the audience by surprise moments later when three of her dancers tore the band uniform off her leaving Taylor Swift standing there in nothing but a tiny little silver dress glistening in the lights. Throughout the performance, Taylor played the guitar and piano while acting out numerous scenes from what reflected a high school musical. She touched on the many different struggles many teens face while in school including the popularity factor to having a crush on a guy that doesn't even know you exist. Taylor reached out to many of the youth in front of her by personalizing with their struggles through her songs.

“I was never popular in high school. I never had too many friends, but who needs friends from high school when you have thousands of your best friends right in front of you,” she said as she pointed to the crowds of fans in front of her.

Overall the performance went very well. There were many different costume changes to keep everything moving forward. The acts were tailored to the younger teen generation, but still exciting enough for the adults that also love the 19 year old country star. Taylor Swift is definitely a role model for all. It is no wonder she has become a country icon so fast and at such a young age. I expect to see big things from this young teenage star as the years go on.

For more pictures check http://www.myspace.com/lil_Jean (now posted!)

Soundset 2009

"Mad props to our friends over at Rhymesayers for the fantastic time at Soundset 2009!"

For days I had been debating over whether or not to attend this hip hop festival at Canterbury Downs in Shakopee, MN. The five hour drive was not too appealing, and I wanted to spend my Memorial weekend relaxing and writing. As time passed and Soundset got closer, I started getting anxious to get out of town. The day before the party, I called my little brother and asked him if he wanted to go. Being a hip hop fan himself, he of course said yes. So I called up my grandma and let her know we would be in town. She quickly offered up beds for the two of us. I then purchased our tickets to the event, and within hours, we were on the road to Minneapolis!

The drive was pretty uneventful. The usual silly brother and sister conversations mixed with overly excessive sibling debates over global warming and the effects of gas and third world countries. We arrived just after midnight to my grandma's house, and went straight to bed.
The next morning I woke up to my lovely alarm that had been going off for well over 30 minutes due to the easily accessible snooze button. Irritated at having to get up so early on my three day weekend, I rubbed my eyes and looked around the bedroom. I could see through the window that it was actually a perfect day to be spending outside listening to talented artists perform great music. That was all the motivation I needed.
I jumped out of bed and took a shower immediately. I got dressed in my lady in red outfit with sparkling black (yes black as black can be) eye shadow. I didn't know they made black glitter? Anyways, we were then off to eventually end up at the festival. We swung by my favorite breakfast spot, Einstein Bros., and ate a late breakfast or early lunch. Then we ran to Target to accessorize as I realized over brunch that I had left all my accessories at home. Oh my!

As a joke my brother picked out a pair of 80s style florescent yellow sunglasses and laughing he suggested I get them. Well, I wasn't finding anything else that really fit my taste, so for the sake of making a fashion statement, I almost bought the yellow ones. However I found the ones for me, an identical pair in red! They were hawt! My brother laughed hysterically, but no doubt they were exactly the type of accessory I needed for that day! I then grabbed a random red necklace and checked out.

When we found the park with great ease, we were directed to park in the grass. Our arrival was simple as things were very well organized. My brother and I took the long hike across the grass and parking lot to where the festival stages were and collected our tickets at Will Call. Upon going through security, which consisted of opening my camera bag to show my Nikon, we entered the gates.

I stopped two feet inside and took a breath of fresh air. We were finally there! At first I was a bit overwhelmed by all that was going on as I usually am when I initially arrive at any sort of festival or party of this caliber. It didn't take more than a few seconds to feel at home, and I did a brief rundown of what was all going on. We then decided to check out the stages to see if we could find a line up posted. We didn't even make it half way to the second stage and my feet tok a mind of their own leading me towards the music.
I wanted to dance! My brother fought with me wanting to find the line-up as my feet continued to stray from the path he was leading. Finally he found one and was able to deter me from the music long enough for us to look it over. As we had suspected, The Pharcyde and Atmosphere were performing last. I also made mental notes of when Eyedea, Immortal Technique, and Sage Francis were playing before wandering my way into the tent packed with people located between the two stages. This was the b-boy tent, and where I would eventually move in and make myself comfortable as the day would go on. I don't know what it is with me and break dancers but once I see them, it's hard for me to walk away!

"That little girl on the left was the cutest!"

For the next hour I kneeled on the side of the battle stage and took pictures in between the battlers’ legs. There was this cute little girl that was part of one of the battle crews. She couldn't have been over the age of four, and was actually very good for her age. Someone needs to keep an eye on her! When they finally decided to take a pause in the competition, I got up to move around a bit. Mind you I hadn't even made it to the main stage yet. My brother a little annoyed by this decided it was time to migrate that way, and yes he was correct. Eyedea was set to perform! We caught the tail end of POS as we fought our way as far to the front of the main stage as possible.

Then Eyedea and Abilities went on. They were phenomenal. The emotion that Eyedea had behind his performance was extreme. He and Abilities put on quite the show. If I hadn't had such a lifelong love for The Pharcyde, Eyedea very easily could have been the best performance I saw that day. However, I love The Pharcyde! Eyedea and Abilities very motivational in their own right! About half way through the performance, Kristoff Krane joined Eyedea on stage. Those two were right in sync and complimented each other greatly. Immortal Technique followed that great performance with a style all his own. All these performers brought some great vibes to the individuals lucky enough to be in attendance. You could really feel the hope and inspiration flowing though the mic as you walked through the crowd. Straight love for music was what it was about.

"Immortal Technique on the mic. A vibe all his own."

As much as I would have liked to stay and experience more of those vibes, the B-boy tent was calling me. It was time for the finals of the B-boy battle. As the crews battled, you could see the progression in skills. I have photographed break dancers before, but this was my first battle. I was amazed by what I was seeing. I don't even think I can begin to explain with words. For well over an hour I kneeled at the end of the stage, no one in front of me, and just continued to snap pictures one after another of these truly marvelous dancers. (Shhhhh! Don't tell anyone. I may have, generally speaking, missed the entire performance by Sage Francis because my fingers were clicking too much.) I viewed that entire final battle through my camera lens and captured some great moments!

"If anyone knows who this kid is, can you tell him I <3"

My brother and I walked around a bit to stretch after spending so much time stationary in the B-boy tent. Then shortly before The Pharcyde was scheduled to go on, we made our way back to the masses. With MF Doom playing, we tried as best we could to get through the crowd for some photo opportunities at the front, and lucky for us, we made it to the front well before The Pharcyde began!

"The Pharcyde - Imani, Slim Kid Tre, and Bootie Brown (Missing Fat Lip)"

"Look at his smile!"

Then they walked out, all four members of The Pharcyde. This very performance was the first appearance that The Pharcyde had made in over ten years. It was amazing. Fat Lip, Bootie Brown, Slim Kid Tre, and Imani all on one stage and performing before my very eyes. I felt like a groupie with all of my dreams finally coming true. It was the moment I anticipated the most at the festival, and it was not to disappoint. The Pharcyde was spectacular, everything I had expected and more! This is also where I met the Left Speaker Posse. We stood our grounds as everyone tried to get to the front that we fought so hard for. We were rewarded accordingly. Slim Kid Tre came and stood in front of us. He took the hats off my new friends and brought the hats on stage with him. Just when we started thinking the hats to be gone for good, Tre returned them to their rightful owners.

"To all those beautiful people out there. Shut the fuck up! God loves ugly people!" Atmosphere

I would say the party was overall a general success. With thousands in attendance and awesome performances, it was a Memorial weekend well spent. If ever in the Twin Cities area, look up Rhymesayers. They know how to throw down!










*For more pics of Soundset 2009, check www.myspace.com/lil_Jean