“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” – The Postman’s Creed, 1912
Apparently, beer drinkers have a code, too: “Neither rain nor gloom of cloud coverage nor cold nor mud nor coinciding UT football game stays these beer drinkers from the swift consumption of the over-abundance of beer.”
Brewers’ Jam of ought-nine was overly gloomy from the onset. Standing on the outside, at the front of the line, under the ever presence of ominous cloud coverage, one had time to think the Jack-Handy-esque thoughts of the out times. Is Universal HealthCare good for our country as a whole? Should we still have troops stationed in the Middle East? Why can’t Jon and Kate make it work out? How are we going to save our fledgling econo… what’s that? Brewers’ Jam is now open? Lets get our proverbial drink-on!”
Yup, that’s right. For that period of time from the beginning to end of Brewers’ Jam only one thing mattered… one must try as many beers as possible before they run out. Sure it was muddy. Pretty chilly, too. But the copious amount of beer and fantastic music made it, as always, worthwhile.
As far as bands, the line up was a good mix. First up was the charming-despite-their-name Centralia Massacre, followed by a different look / sound for Bobby Bare Jr., the Bobby Bare Jr.’s Young Criminals Starvation League. Last time I caught Mr. Bare Jr. his band was sans-saxophone. Nice addition. Then came the happily-irreverent [in a good way!] Cutthroat Shamrock. Finally, the incredibly underrated Brendan James Wright and the Wrongs took the stage. Wright and company define what makes the Knoxville music scene so utterly wonderful.
At the end of the day [or a wee bit earlier for me because, as much as I love my beer, I love UT football even more], Brewers’ Jam is the same as it is every year, no matter the conditions. A wonderful gathering of like-minded, beer-swilling comrades. For a moment, we all lived Rodney King’s dream, and got along.
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Every year I hear rumors of a video screen with the UT game on it, and every year those rumors turn out to be wrong.
Brewers Jam was good, despite the mess. Lots of great vendors this year, and I appreciate the cap on tickets. The crowd size was perfect.
I would suggest to the organziers: more porta-potties. And possibly consider that portable rubber matting to lay down in front of the tents. After years of mud problems at Memphis’ musicfest, they started using the rubber mats and it made a world of difference. I’d be willing to pay a smidge more for my tickets to cover these two things.
This is what happens when you try to engage Brewers’ Jammers into participating in some performance art:
Thanks for the wrap-up Jody!
As a member of the Tennessee Valley Homebrewers — you might have had some of our groups’ beer during the Jam — and a rookie Jam participant, I will say that a great time was indeed had by all.
It was fantastic seeing the turnout despite the rain and mud, especially from local brewers whose numbers were larger this year than in the past.
The rubber mats and more bathrooms are good ideas that I will jot down for submission next year. Please send me any more ideas y’all might have as well.
@ TMG: I’ve heard from two different people that there was a big screen in one of the back booths… which sounds more nefarious than I intend. They’ve more more potties. Not sure what the deal was this year. The mat idea is great. If you’d be willing to shoot Kris at Community Shares an e-mail, I’m sure she’d love to hear your idea/feedback.
@ Debra: That was pretty funny. Especially like the ‘TGTBTU’ one!
@ Patrick: Thanks for providing beer! I’m sure I had my fair share. 🙂