Saturday, July 8th started out with some time at the annual Black Lake Regatta hanging out with the hydroplane racers, but there'll be more on that in the next post (for Sunday's Olympia Oyster House show). This one is going to be all about the Ruckus in Tacoma!
What can I say about the Ruckus in Tacoma Summer Smoke Out that would come close to doing it justice? Nights like that are few and far between! Sharing the stage with so many old friends, making new ones, and capping things off with a mind-blowing show by The Pine Box Boys!
The show started off with an open mic challenge run by Billy Dean Hood, then I kicked things off on the indoor stage. I really wish I'd taken some video of Those Daaamn Animals who played on the outdoor stage after me, but I was having too much fun and didn't even think to grab the GoPro. I caught almost everyone else that night, with the exception of Old Dirty Buzzard, who were just too loud for the poor built in mic on the camera!
There was so much love, so many smiles, so much laughter! The whole night was overflowing with positive energy! My personal highlights were watching James Hunnicutt's set turn into a whole crowd singalong and the grand finale where The Pine Box Boys dragged members of three of the other acts up with them to close out the show!
While I've been close with many of the Ruckus crew for years this was my first Ruckus event! Thanks to Dogbite Harris and Billy Dean Hood for all of the work you put into this! And thank you for inviting me to be a part of it!