Reports from OBH III

[Frank G]

@Bulldog, we did the same thing at a small island off the coast which was incredible.  And fortunately my heart was filled with love as was our entire crew.  THAT is why I love MMJ and Jim....a rock band that speaks the truth about the love we all have and need to share with this beautiful world [emoji1420]


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[Bulldog]

@Bulldog, we did the same thing at a small island off the coast which was incredible.  And fortunately my heart was filled with love as was our entire crew.  THAT is why I love MMJ and Jim....a rock band that speaks the truth about the love we all have and need to share with this beautiful world [emoji1420]

That actually brings up a great point, I couldnt be prouder of the band and the way they handled the current political climate. Rather than hammering us with divisive opinions, they choose a message of love, friendship and caring and let the music do the talking for the rest.

I was so thrilled by the choice of "after music" in Give Peace a Chance, as I was dancing to the beat back to our room on night one I told my wife I hoped they played it all 3 nights as I thought it was so spot on timing wise and got my wish, what a wonderful message....

[ditty]

@Bulldog, we did the same thing at a small island off the coast which was incredible.  And fortunately my heart was filled with love as was our entire crew.  THAT is why I love MMJ and Jim....a rock band that speaks the truth about the love we all have and need to share with this beautiful world [emoji1420]

That actually brings up a great point, I couldnt be prouder of the band and the way they handled the current political climate. Rather than hammering us with divisive opinions, they choose a message of love, friendship and caring and let the music do the talking for the rest.

I was so thrilled by the choice of "after music" in Give Peace a Chance, as I was dancing to the beat back to our room on night one I told my wife I hoped they played it all 3 nights as I thought it was so spot on timing wise and got my wish, what a wonderful message....

The MMJ Nights 2 and 3 spontaneous crowd singing of Give Peace a Chance was awesome!  I hope Ryan (soundman) captured this!

[millerjustin]

In the end this band doesn't owe us anything.  While we all have our own tunnel vision perspective of what we prefer or better yet expect, it's safe to say throw that away.  Because expectation creates disappointment much like expecting things from a first date.  They're the leaders of this incredible music and will do what they damn well please.  That being said, they're not a jam band such as Phish or Panic and appears will never be.  Panics schedule this year in Playa is sick using a 4 hour block each night versus the 2 hours of Jacket and you know what, that's okay. The song amount is probably close yet Jacket isn't as elastic therefore much tougher to create such extension.  You all feel like I did at Red Rocks a few years ago.  They destroyed Atlanta for 2 nights the previous week and I traveled across the country to hear the same damn show.  Talk about expectations being crippled.  But you know what, it's okay and my expectation has now dried up.  It's who they are and we all know they're going to bring it hard each night, but lack the creative threshold we all live for in many other bands.  Very different from the Dead, Phish, what have you so we cannot compare them to those guys.  I'm onboard here and a long time fan, just trying to save you energy as the expectation stems from other music, not what Jacket has shown us in the past.  Take the Bonnaroo show out of history and you really see the light.  I wish more than anything Jacket would pour over into the improv world of elastic music and rip 1.5-2 hour SETS, then break for another,  but it's not who they are.  They're a rock band we all love.  Lastly, I've been to OBH since inception and it's about more than the music.  It's a vacation, meeting incredible people, best friends, the locals in town, and just the whole experience you will never get from a 2 or 3 night run.  People are around for 4 days loving the music and each other which I can't put a price on.  It's just money, we'll all make more.  I love this band more than any right now but like women, they're all different and we have to focus the love on what they bring to us embellishing every tune.  Next year Ive heard from the horse it's in the Dominican, moving away from Mexico.  Also, a 10-12 run late summer with a 3 night run at RR which makes sense since they're already slated for NYC in July.  I'll be at several of these and hope to see your smiling faces....without expectation...lol [emoji41]


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amen, brother.  See you in Queens!

[spacewolf]

I'll preface this by saying that I had an amazing time at OBH3 and would not trade the experience for anything. I love this band and the fan family and OBH was a total blast from start to finish - but since this seems to be the only forum to accept a little criticism I'll share some as well.

I agree with the disappointment in the lack of spontaneity from the band that has already been expressed by others. After all was said and done, my wife and I did share with each other that we expected (unfairly?) a little more. While we fell in love with Lucius, and Pres Hall were awesome (if under-utilized imo), there were ample opportunities for the band to do something truly unexpected and blow our tequila-soaked minds. Surprise guests, sit-ins, performances, deep-cut bustouts would have been more than welcome. The shows were awesome, as always, but didn't reach that epic "moment-in-history" level. Frankly, the spontaneous "Give Peace A Chance" crowd chant/hug/dance circle was the most truly magical moment of OBH for me.

Supporting acts this year were snoozers for me. Gary Clark is nasty but without an MMJ sit-in of some kind, felt disconnected. Not a big Head and The Heart fan, though I thought they nailed their cover tunes. Deer Tick was good but I've seen them rock way harder. I just wanted more MMJ.

The food at the resort is horrible. I barely ate for 4 days. Not an authentic Mexican item to be found. A fresh tortilla with some actual guac instead of that green mayonnaise would have been a godsend. Chicken tenders and onion rings everywhere. Best bites I had were from the late night taco carts at the DJ stage (and even those were just ok). I should also note that my wife is Celiac and it was impossible for her to navigate the food. We certainly didn't expect that to be easy as its difficult everywhere, but it was far more difficult than we imagined since Mexican food is almost completely gluten-free. Cloud9 was of no help on this despite several emails with them before we arrived. Thankfully, we found one guy in one of the restaurants who would have the chef make her a plain chicken breast each day. Of course we don't go for the food and have  - but still, after 4 days we couldn't wait to get off the property.

Jim- Maybe it was the food poisoning but we just didn't feel that cosmic Jim magic. His voice was on point. He played his ass off. They all do. Every fucking time. And that's why we all love them. But there was something off about Jim. He barely spoke to the crowd. I didn't want a political speech but would have appreciated a little more effort to connect with us. (As I write this I realize that perhaps our expectations aren't fair. The dude has a ton of pressure on him and he performs his ass off and with alleged food poisoning to boot. It's not like Jerry would have said shit if was the GD and no one would have expected him to.) *Side note: We ran into Jim and Tom in Tulum after OBH. Jim was a bit...chilly. Tom was very warm and sincerely thanked us for coming.

The good: In the end, I really do agree with Frank G's post that the band really doesn't "owe" us anything except to deliver a great experience and play their hearts out. Despite my criticisms, I feel incredibly fortunate and grateful to have seen 3 awesome MMJ shows in a gorgeous setting with some absolutely incredible, loving people and made many friends. It really was an unforgettable experience.

[Bulldog]

Just out of curiosity, where in Tulum? We stayed down there post shows a couple years ago and LUV'ed it.

I also saw Jim in the airport the first year and I "get" why hes a bit chilly. He was trying to eat a damm sandwich and someone was bound and determined to have their pic taken at that moment and shake hands. To his credit he obliged, but Jim is at a different level where I think he gets more attention in general than he would prefer.

[ditty]

The food comments are re-occurring each year and with 2,500 people will always be a concern.  It would be nice if  Cloud 9 was able to give those with special requests a place to eat though.  We ate very well each day; starting with the buffet breakfast at Toro each morning, lunch from the Heaven side pool area grill and dinner at Los Gallos all three evenings (minus Superbowl) with fresh guac, made at the table, and Mexican cuisine.   I also caffeinated up each pre-show with the coffee and cappuccino bars located in each lobby.  Year two we ate steak dinner at Toro, French at La Petit, and the Brazil steak house Ipanema.   We also ate year one at the Hacienda side Frida before it was a buffet, Italian at Cia, and The Market.  All in all, we had our best meals on the Heaven side.

[ditty]

Just out of curiosity, where in Tulum? We stayed down there post shows a couple years ago and LUV'ed it.

I also saw Jim in the airport the first year and I "get" why hes a bit chilly. He was trying to eat a damm sandwich and someone was bound and determined to have their pic taken at that moment and shake hands. To his credit he obliged, but Jim is at a different level where I think he gets more attention in general than he would prefer.

I'll chime in that we took a 70 peso cab ride to The Heartwood, hearing it WAS THE PLACE TO EAT.  When we arrived I was standing behind Carl and told my wife, "hey look"  I said hi, shook hands, my wife told him we were from Indy too and he mentioned he were lucky to get down to Tulum and "this place is great"!  My wife then went to give our name, only to find out they were sold out, HA.  (FYI MAKE RESERVATIONS) So another 70 peso taxi ride back to our hotel (AZULIK) OMG, google it, and we ate a fresh grilled red snapper 4 places down from where we started.  Carl was very nice.  It's good to see and hear the band having a little vaca time as well.

[spacewolf]

Just out of curiosity, where in Tulum? We stayed down there post shows a couple years ago and LUV'ed it.

I also saw Jim in the airport the first year and I "get" why hes a bit chilly. He was trying to eat a damm sandwich and someone was bound and determined to have their pic taken at that moment and shake hands. To his credit he obliged, but Jim is at a different level where I think he gets more attention in general than he would prefer.

Man, we loved Tulum too. The boys were waiting for their table at Hartwood and we were walking by. I totally get it too. We made eye contact initially and he saw me light up and I could tell he didn't want to talk but it was my wife's birthday and she was feeling the spirit and approached him. I did comment later that he was dressed in his rockstar clothes and totally stood out even amongst the high fashion beautiful people in Tulum.

[slappymoe]

The food at the resort is horrible.

ah, the food argument.

reminds me of a friend of mine who thinks everything is horrible....except bread, cheese and chicken wings. i actually feel bad for him, he's the pickiest sob ever to walk the planet. i try to explain to him, just because you don't care for it doesn't mean it's horrible. it just means you don't care for it.

i thought the food, at least the stuff i tried, was just fine. the super bowl spread was awesome.

not sure if i should be concerned with myself, that i have no ability to discern good food from bad.....that i have low expectations.....or if i should feel bad for the people there who were unable to enjoy all the goodies the resort had to offer. maybe a bit of both.

[trave]

Spacewolf you nailed my thoughts. I couldn't eat that garbage food, worse than college cafeteria shit. Shows were great...but I was expecting a bit more. We fell in love with Lucius & Head & the Heart were better than I thought they would be. Deer Tick seemed handcuffed during their sets, they are normally incredible. Makes me hesitate to pull the trigger on going the next time. That being said; it was fabulous hahahaa.

[trave]

The music made up for any bad experiences. But that super bowl 'catered" food was a joke. it was rat burgers & other shitty options, the same shit that was at all the buffet places. 'Mahgeetah' alone made all the money & travel worth it. I've never seen so many happy people in one place at one time. So many huge genuine smiles!!

[millerjustin]

After searching for the words to express my gratitude to the universe for the opportunity to attend something this beautiful...with such extraordinary people...this is what came:

I have absolute faith that everyone involved...from the orchestration to the presentation, aims to create an atmosphere of transcendence. And the intention manifests.

But one cannot take preference in the wormhole.

The experience will unfold like a liquid hologram of Jacob's Ladder...winding in the sinews of the infinite.

Communication is a wave.

♡♡♡ Thank you to everyone...especially Justin and Garrett and my pal Matt for their extraordinary generosity of spirit.♡♡♡

much love Kel - always

[sillyboob]

After searching for the words to express my gratitude to the universe for the opportunity to attend something this beautiful...with such extraordinary people...this is what came:

I have absolute faith that everyone involved...from the orchestration to the presentation, aims to create an atmosphere of transcendence. And the intention manifests.

But one cannot take preference in the wormhole.

The experience will unfold like a liquid hologram of Jacob's Ladder...winding in the sinews of the infinite.

Communication is a wave.

♡♡♡ Thank you to everyone...especially Justin and Garrett and my pal Matt for their extraordinary generosity of spirit.♡♡♡

much love Kel - always

And much love to you guys...I think about you guys every day...you guys are such good people...such open, generous, hard-working, and awesome people...who know how to throw TF down 😊😎😉

This, right here:
"And much love to you guys...I think about you guys every day...you guys are such good people...such open, generous, hard-working, and awesome people...who know how to throw TF down 😊😎😉"

Pretty much covers every person you talk to at One Big Holiday.  The fans are as much a part of One Big Holiday as the music is!

[sillyboob]

I have a question about the guitar Jim played on 'Like A Rolling Stone' - it looked like a Stratocaster.  Did he play it on any other songs at OBH?  Is there any significance to this guitar?

[robb]

jim used to play a strat way more often but got away from it for some reason.  i think it started coming back into the fold during spring '16 if i'm not mistaken.

[parkervb]

jim used to play a strat way more often but got away from it for some reason.  i think it started coming back into the fold during spring '16 if i'm not mistaken.

i believe you are correct.

[sillyboob]

jim used to play a strat way more often but got away from it for some reason.  i think it started coming back into the fold during spring '16 if i'm not mistaken.

i believe you are correct.

Cool, appreciate the info.

[dr_trousers]

Finally got the poster framed.

http://imgur.com/aqSqqAH

[sillyboob]

Finally got the poster framed.

http://imgur.com/aqSqqAH

That is one heck of a wall my friend.