Namaste. I hope
everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. The weather was gorgeous and ideal
for outdoor activities. I was involved in a few. And what did I do? Nothing
much, just conducted a wedding ceremony for the absolutely headiest wedding I
have ever witnessed. This is the final part of my journey as we wrap up Wedding
Tour 2013 with the nuptials of Christie Leiphart and Nate Altland.
Yes you read that
correctly. I conducted the ceremony. I’m sure some of you are thinking, OK
Kemp, what makes you qualified to do this? Your mythical PhD in rock and roll?
While it is true I do not have a divinity degree, I do have a BA in American
Studies. The main reason I have that degree is because of my love and passion
for the music of the Grateful Dead and the community that sprung from it. The
only reason I know Nate is because of that community, specifically the Devolver
family. I met Christie for the first time at a Phish show in 2009.
I also think it’s
fair to say that I receive a certain amount of respect from our community. I
managed Devolver and currently manage the HMLL’s. The WHB has told me they base
a shows success on my reaction. I named Frank Miller’s Beard and am a
consigliere for Boxcar Social. And finally, I’ve always considered myself an
elder of the scene. I’m among the oldest of our crew and this summer will mark
my 23rd year hitting shows. So I feel I definitely have the gravitas
to officiate a wedding ceremony.
The rehearsal
dinner, ceremony, and reception all took place at the Naylor Wine Cellars in
Stewartstown, PA. Among Christie’s wedding party is the granddaughter, Amanda
Potter, of the founder of the vineyard. The rehearsal dinner was Friday night
and was cold and blustery. This is the end of May right? Hell, I already have
my window AC units installed.
Evidently, it was
a very chilled out informal affair. I never got that memo and was without a doubt
the best dressed guy there, as I was only one of two people wearing a tie. Beard
had a tie on as well but he loses GQ points because he is a Flyers fan.
We did a quick run
through and chowed down on some outstanding food from Capt. Bob’s Crab Shack.
The crab cakes were all killer, no filler. I judge a meal by the potatoes and
they were outstanding. The cream of crab soup was great as well. I somehow
forgot to have any of the cake.
The wedding was
the following day and the weather was perfect. The high was like 68 degrees and
sunny with picturesque clouds passing by. I really can’t do the job Mother
Nature did justice. It was stunningly beautiful. I listened to James Brown on
the way there to get myself pumped up.
Naylor Wine Cellars has a huge covered
pavilion and a stage underneath it about 5 feet off the floor. The tables were all marked by ticket stubs
from shows Nate and Christie attended. I was at the Super Ball Festival RV Pass Table
I
attended said festival with Nate and Christie. You can read about it here
and here
Other outstanding tables were 6/19 and
6/20 2004 SPAC, and 12/27/97 US Air Arena. The seating notes were actual
cassette tapes with your name and shows on them. As someone who had 1100 hours
of the Dead and 500+hrs of Phish on those old school analog recording relics,
it was a super cool move.
There were about 150 people in attendance.
The groomsmen and myself filed in and the bride’s ladies followed. Waste by
Phish was performed on fiddle by Amanda Potter and Ben Canoles. I had candy to
entice the flower girls, Adrian and Tara Assi’s daughters, to the front of the pavilion
next to me. The rings had “Not Fade Away” inscribed on them.
The ceremony went without a hitch except
when they were going to open a bottle of wine and didn’t have a corkscrew even
though it was taking place at a wine cellar. I concluded by saying “and now by
the power vested in me from Nate, Christie, and the Helping Friendly Book, I
now pronounce you husband and wife” You don’t get that from a priest, just a
Jedi cleric.
We did pictures in the rows among the
vineyards and chilled out under my Quick Shade with the Gonzo flag flying high
above us. Among the hors d’orves, five kinds of grilled cheese were served
because that’s what you eat in the Lot.
They had a bright
blue cocktail called Ken Kesey’s Electric Kool Aid. I had one and sure felt
something. I then had to do the second most important task I had that night,
introducing the wedding party and the bride and groom. I felt the most pressure
for that because the one thing you absolutely do not want to do is garble any
of the names. I was at a wedding one time and the MC mispronounced the
betrothed couple's last name and it wasn’t even a tongue twister.
But I killed it and even timed out the happy
couple’s entrance to the end of the 2001 from 6/25/10, which with Michael
Jackson teases clocks in at 11+ minutes. After that we had the couple’s first
dance, father/daughter dance , and mother /son dance. Then the maid of honor,
best man, and father of the bride (who was going with the theme of not losing a
daughter but gaining a son, which I didn’t know about but used in my
introduction for him. Not too shabby) all spoke.
We sat down to eat
and the food was scrumptious. Ginger Babies did the catering for this wedding
as well as Christine’s two weeks ago and they are the bomb. Totally willing to
give them the Kempepedia bump (with apologies to Stephen Colbert).
So we have eaten and performed the ritual dances so what’s
left for a truly heady wedding? How about a raging 2 set performance by Hanover’s
own Boxcar Social.
Boxcar delivered
the good and then some. After a slight technical difficulty was ironed out by the
third song, they kicked out the jams.
The wedding cake was cut during the setbreak
Set 2: Wharf Rat, Funk 12> D > In Memory of Elizabeth Reed > Relativity > SWWFA, Pound of Gold, Frannie Mae, The Greatest Day, First Tube, Bananas and Blow > SPAP Rap > Pockets
E1: Unrest, Normal We're Not
Not Fade Away was a debut and they nailed it. The Wedding Rap incorporated an encounter with Dr. Hunter S Thompson that Paul had on the way to the reception. They Love Each Other was played at the request of the happy couple. The second set is where things really took off. I saw one couple salsa dancing to Funk 12 and they were pretty good. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed was exceptional. Frank’s guitar tone sliced through the night air like a scalpel. The Ween classic Bananas and Blow was just what Nate ordered as he is a huge Ween fan. They closed the show with Normal We are Not, a perfect way to sum it up for all the friends and family that were there on that special day.
So as we were cleaning up, Todd played Boxcar’s performance over his car stereo. He’s a pretty good taper and you can stream and download the show from here
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
Phd Rock and Roll
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