Erik Petersen, "Fight Dirty" (Live at Nowhere Else Festival - Columbia, NJ) 6.4.2016

Looking back on this moment, it's become so difficult for me to pen a fitting tribute worth its weight in words, for the amazing Erik Petersen. Allow me to admit, I had no idea who he was, before this day, but on my way to this festival, it was undeniable: everyone there was looking forward to his appearance.

"Dude, did you hear the Ilic's got Erik Petersen from Mischief Brew to play?", was something I overheard countless times, from a lot of people in attendance. I feel it's more fitting to give you exactly what I felt in the moment, rather than create something new, because I don't think it could ever equate to the worth of this man's soul. This festival was nothing I've ever experienced before. There were goats, horses, a opossum, a gigantic blow-up water slide, people swimming in a kiddie pool full of beer cans, a regular pool, 14 different performances, and a slew of other things. But, there was such a positivity pulling me in to one particular merchandise table, that everything else seemed secondary.

The following excerpt is from an unedited portion of a tour journal I wrote last summer, capturing the beginning of, what would lead me to, a very charming moment of friendship, that I could never have guessed would have affected me so.

"The singer of Mischief Brew and his wife are here with three pugs. One of them is blind, and instantly, I’m interested. There’s something about an injured or disabled animal that speaks to my insides; my emotions. I’ve spent so long feeling inadequate, incapable of getting along in the world, so when I see an animal that can’t see, feel, or hear in the same way that another might be able to, I become focused. I’ve been making a habit of visiting them through out the day..."

Every moment with the Petersen family was and is a positive one. Ask anybody they know. Every moment they've created on the road, has an amazing charm that lasts forever. To have such positivity, on such a consistent basis, is rare and, if you find that, fuckin' keep it. Whether near, far, or within you. Fuckin' keep it.

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