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Some killer pix there! Rather than post many replies to the several threads going, I thought I'd post one kinda long one here.

Our return to the airport had an interesting bit of adventure this morning. Tooling up the highway on the shuttle, we hear/feel bumpity bump bump bump......the left front tire blew out. Not just a flat; a full blowout down to the wheel. The driver exhibited some nice skills; we thudded to a stop in front of a cemetary (!) but we didn't flip or crash. Nice start to the day. Bluz, Hawkeye and I were on this one (along with a handful of non BBFers). We waited about 25 mins or so for another shuttle; Bluz was down to the wire to catch his flight (did you make it, man?)

It was absolutely amazing to meet (and re-meet) so many BBFers! What a great lot. Among those I met for the first time were Bluescentric, G(LionMojo)W, GDUDIV, Jeff Cobb, Randy Hoffman, Suncoast George, Lee Pons, Slim Lively. Rene. What can you say - he's every bit as wonderful as anyone might have imagined - and then some. Everyone was.

There is no way possible to be everywhere, see everyone perform, and take it all in. (JRB - I didn't see your buddy listed on the schedule! Couldn't figure out where he was; I don't carry a laptop and, although Marquessa kindly offered me hers....time was always at a premium, and hey - I don't want to bogart her machine).

Grady Champion. I saw him probably about 10 years ago - he was just a kid, and he was good then. We caught a few minutes of his set but, to be brutally honest, the sound in Club Chill leaves quite a bit to be desired. Also, we were off to find Lee Pons (or someone - can't quite recall). Lee's set was real high energy; what a character! Anyone surprised?

Not enough can be said for the efforts of Jeff Cobb, Matthew's friend Benson, Beth, Randy Hoffman and everyone who put so much time, effort and expense to making the shout-out happen. Considering that we couldn't hear Beach well, and he couldn't hear us, it seems to have gone off pretty well. We enjoyed it, in any event!

I will say that there are a couple acts that get bandied about here on the BBF that completely knocked me out. One was Karen Lovely - wow! I'm not usually a fan of female-vocal lead type blues, but she is truly exceptional. The other? Micah Kesselring. Dangit, BlueGuitar, you have quite the protege there. He's cuter than a bug's ear for one (which doesn't get you far in the challenge) but his material, his voice, his style - and he truly seemed to feel honored to be there. Real humble, real excited, it was just so refreshing to see. This kid has huge potential. (Colonel, he was your entry - no? THANKS for sending him!)

I was really, REALLY surprised the Twisters (Vancouver?) didn't make it further. They were dy-no-MITE! Great stage presence, great material. I really thought they'd go the distance; the bass player alone deserves some kind of award.

Our own Ryan Hart had a real strong outing; I was hopeful they'd go further also. The buzz I heard around town was that it was their time; sadly, didn't turn out that way. You guys have a great thing going though - don't be discouraged (and please read on).

Now here's where I might get into trouble. As might be expected with an event like this one, there's wheat and there's chaff, and the idea (I guess) is to sift them out. I saw some outstanding music during the challenge. When it came to the finals, I stuck it out for 3 acts and was like There was music on the street and in the clubs that was much more to my liking, so I didn't hang long for the finals. Maybe this is why I'll never be asked to judge But I also know I wasn't alone in my reaction there.

Sorry for the LONG ramble. It's late, I'm beat, and happy to not be in an infirmary somewhere (same for Bluz and Hawkeye). It was a really fun weekend, and there are no losers in this thing. At least not from where I sit. The biggest winner was me, getting to see old friends and meet new ones face-to-face. I just wish everyone coulda been there.

Epistle over.