hillside yuppie-hippie hootenanny

I was invited to a local annual outdoor concert today. Not necessarily the lineup of musicians I’d seek out, but hey, free ticket, picnic with friends, delicious cool and cloudy autumnal weather, why the hey not?

The music was so-so to my ears, except for a blazing set by the Blind Boys of Alabama. Did lead singer Jimmy Carter, in his 70s and blind, do a cartwheel then strut out into the crowd with his microphone, singing all the way? Indeed he did.

I took a picture of my friend Christine and her fellow volunteers and look who popped into the the picture! Yes, it’s a Blind Boy photobomb!

Christine and volunteers -- and a Blind Boy of Alabama

[I believe this particular Blind Boy is a sighted Blind Boy]

I really wanted to like the Chris Robinson Brotherhood. I’ve always been fond of the Black Crowes and of southern rock in general, but lord, it was just stoner noodling. Here’s an odd little video I captured of the band, through my friend Tom’s monocular. See how many outdoor hippie concert cliches you can spot:

I shan’t dis this concert any more, as it is for a very good cause, and was co-organized by a friend of mine. The people-watching was excellent. Thanks to the monocular, I found many people I knew or knew of in the crowd, so I was in hobnob overload. Some other sights:

A former mayor of Ventura, a startling Kris Kristofferson lookalike, dancing divinely to that dumb “Tough Enough” song

A homeless/crazy dude, standing outside the fence with shirt doffed, enthusiastically swinging two huge pieces of wood in time with the music until security had him tone it down. No Ventura event is complete without a dude like this. This particular guy was a standout; there was something about his balls-out glee that put the real, paying concertgoers to shame

My Friday night Vinyasa yoga instructor, drunk!

A 20-something security staff member, almost actually crawling out of his skin with boredom and contempt during the 10-minute harmonica solo by that dumb “Tough Enough” band

Birds! There was some sort of avian rescue non-profit that had real birds for me to stare at — owls, hawks, falcons. Very nice. But the weird thing: there were these stuffed bird carcasses on sticks. I guess it was a way to let people touch feathers and stuff, but I couldn’t not think of the county fair and food on a stick.

birds on a stick

Sorry. Anyway.

 

1 Comments

  1. Violet on September 26, 2011 at 7:13 am

    You know I want a bird on a stick! I can display it next to my silver shark jaws. I’m glad you had fun and didn’t run off with the guy swinging the pieces of wood, tempting though that must have been.

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