52 364/365

July 17th 2008 by E..

There are oh so many reasons why I’ve been away for so long…actually, there are only a few reasons, but each one of them is a pretty big deal…good thing I’m back to tell you all about them!…for your own safety, you might want to grab something to drink or use the restroom before reading any further…it’s okay, I’ll wait…

Back already?…great, here goes!…

I found some stickers in the kitchen last Wednesday…they were evidently sent from Aetna and are supposed to be stuck on a calendar to remind you to do various health-related things…as if that wasn’t great enough, they all have pictures and half of them are in Spanish!

Day 330 - July 9th, 2008

Thursday night kicked off the 2008 XPoNential Music Festival…though I was not working there, I went to the grounds that night with Mom and Dad to enjoy the music of Jim Boggia and The Blind Boys Of Alabama…there were a few other performances that were just okay (which would be the theme for the whole weekend, at least for me)…the Blind Boys were pretty neat, since they have been around for so many years but have only recently gotten the attention and the acclaim that they (and all the members that have passed away) deserve…it was quite literally a religious experience, akin to Dr. John’s NonCOMM performance or the legendary Allen Toussaint at our festival a few years ago…

Day 331 - July 10th, 2008

Friday was slightly more complicated…XPN was broadcasting the entire festival (from both stages, natch), so I was scheduled to be on the board at 3:00 after an abridged World Cafe…I figured that I would have enough time to get over to the XPN studio after my Y-Rock shift (which ended at 3:00), but I really had to rush myself over…it all worked out, both for me and for the technical stuff on the Festival end that fed the audio from each stage…there weren’t really too many bands over the course of the weekend that I just had to see, but one of the groups I was glad I saw was The Redwalls…they were already a Project 365 picture from when I saw them at the Drexel showcase, so I picked a shot of the waterfront and skyline during Alejandro Escovedo’s set…

Day 332 - July 11th, 2008

Saturday was the real start of my stint at the Festival, as I mixed the live audio for the performers at the Kids Corner Garden (insert retired fanfare)… it was really great working with all of the performers, like Bubboon’s Tunes (”The Cheese Song”), John Hadfield (”Robot Monkey Head”) and Skip Denenberg (”Teach Me Your Magic”)…most of the setups were very small, at most a guitar and keyboard, and the performers themselves were very helpful (even if they were wearing costumes that made the heat even worse)…

After the Kids Corner Garden closed Saturday evening, I got to see the one band I had not seen before that I was particularly looking forward to…from his work with shoegazers Galaxie 500 to the psychedelic dream pop of Luna, Dean Wareham has done so much in contrast to what’s popular in the music world…his wife and collaborator, Britta Phillips (the voice of Jem of ‘Jem and The Holograms’), now perform as Dean & Britta…though their new material might not be as arresting as Luna’s best, they are still a cut above most other acts that emulate the 4AD style…you may remember that I met Dean and Britta when Dean came to XPN to record a World Cafe interview about his book, Black Postcards, and that Dean wasn’t feeling so well…Saturday, however, they were both in top shape and wowed the audience with renditions of “Words You Used To Say”, “Singer Sing” and “You Turn My Head Around” (all from their latest, Back Numbers)…also in the mix were some of their classic covers, like Serge Gainsbourg’s “Bonnie And Clyde” (a hidden duet with Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier on Luna’s Penthouse) and a version of New Order’s “Ceremony” (from Galaxie 500’s On Fire)…

Day 333 - July 12th, 2008

I was joined on Saturday by my cousin, Blair, who seemed to enjoy the bands that he saw (since I was in the Kids Corner Garden all day, though, I’m not sure who any of those bands were)…

The final day of the Festival came rather quickly…maybe it’s because I was away from the hectic hustle and bustle of the main areas of the Festival, but everything seemed to glide by without issue…Sunday featured a special celebration for Kids Corner’s 20th anniversary, featuring a performance by Trout Fishing In America (truly the greatest band in the world…take that, The Hold Steady!!)…not only did the duo put on a terrific little set, but they drew a huge crowd of people who came over from the main Festival area to join the celebration…I got to talk to Ezra and Keith afterwards, and they were very thankful for all of my help, and I told them how they were not only my first concert, but probably my first, like, eight concerts since they played at the Keswick about every other week in the early 90s…they got a kick out of that…

Unfortunately, Trout Fishing put on such a great show that they were a tough act to follow…I kinda felt bad for Miss Amy, who played to a considerably smaller audience than Trout Fishing did not minutes before, but she had one thing Keith and Ezra didn’t have: a penguin-shaped hamper full of scarves…

Day 334 - July 13th, 2008

The Kids Corner stage rolled to an enjoyable close with a set from local favorite folkie John Flynn, who leads a double life as a Guthrie-esque folk singer and as a wonderful family songwriter…most of the time, it’s a combination of both of those lives that makes John such a great performer, for the kids and for the adults…the Festival itself ended with a set from Joan Osbourne, and yes, she did “One Of Us” (which she didn’t even write; Eric Bazilian did!)…

After the Festival weekend, I was too tired to do anything…of course, instead of sleeping for a week, I went into work at 9:00 for a Y-Rock shift on Monday morning…that acted as a sort-of bucket of ice water remedy instead of a good night’s sleep, but I’ll take what I’m given…Mom came to pick me up after work, and we headed to Atlantic City…we would be visiting my aunt and uncle and their new baby (spare no exclamation points) early the next day, so we stayed overnight at my grandparents’ apartment in Ventnor (with my grandparents, of course)…it’s been a while since I was in Atlantic City at night, and I was fascinated by the light projections being thrown on a newly built tower

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