goal 08. part 02 || that time i saw a grammy winning band.

this past summer, maine got lucky. some people shit on maine. saying we're all toothless hicks chewing grass in the middle of a potato field wearing camo and carharts. well, that's only true for 2% of this state. the other 98% is filled with people who get high off being out in nature...hiking, climbing, paddling, surfing, sailing, biking, camping, fishing, skiing, boarding, swimming and boating.. strangers who say hi in public, hold the door for you, let you pull out in traffic and strike up conversations in the grocery line... friends who travel 20 miles to deliver soup when you're sick or ice cream when you're sad... farm, fruit, camp fire, wildflower stands for miles in the summer where the seller just leaves a can out for you to put your money in, they trust you... extremely hard workers on lobster boats, farms and businesses big and small (most of those small businesses know you by name)... a place where you can go hiking deep in the woods and mountains and then watch the sunset on the ocean in the same day. i've left this state several times. searching for something "better".. the california coast, the city, the mid west and you know, as much as i wanted to never come home, i always did. i always found my way back home to maine. we have a commercial that airs on the radio about how maine doesn't allow smoking in public places, at the end, the lady says "breathe easy, you're in maine" and that's exactly how i feel about my state. whenever i go out of state, coming home i cross the piscataqua river bridge and see the "welcome to maine" sign and i swear to god, i let out a huge exhale and my eyes well up. it's actually kind of lame. i just have so much love, admiration, respect and appreciation for this pine tree state. i'm proud to be from here, really proud.

annnnnnnnd back to the grammy award winning band and how maine got lucky... sorry i got a little sidetracked:)

so maine is amaze balls and i'm not the only one who thinks so. grammy award winning band mumford & sons thinks so too. so much so that they chose portland as 1 of the 5 US shows of their gentleman of the road tour. they brought with them 7 other bands including dawes, the dropkick murphys and apache relay as well as several local food and brew vendors. it was an AMAZING summer day on the eastern prom overlooking the sailboats and scattered islands in the atlantic ocean. some 15,000 fans attended from all over and it felt like a huge family picnic. blankets spread out all over the hill, people napping, reading, singing, dancing, talking... it was everything a festival should be right in the comfort of my own backyard. rolling stone wrote a great article about the day here.

and mumford delivered, boy did they ever. easily one of the best shows i've ever seen. they brought so much energy and passion with them. it literally radiated through the crowd and spilled over into the streets of downtown portland. the bands did several after parties in the downtown area and were so gracious and amazing.

they recently announced the stopovers for their 2013 gentleman of the road tour. please please, if you live near any of these places, go! you won't regret it.

here's some photos/video of the goodness, enjoy!

ANNNNNDDDDD they the whole tour covered my number one favorite song ever. somewhere in the crowd i am freaking out and fist pumping like a mad woman. heaven i tell you, heaven.




photo credit:
01 & 02: me before my phone died
03: the may sky
04: portland press herald
05: mike in maine
06 & 07: the bangor daily news
08: portland press herald