report from ACL fest

wow! wow! wow! i had the best time ever at ACL fest at preservation hall jazz band's set sunday afternoon in the wamu (i.e., gospel) tent!

i'd seen them on tv many years ago: some elderly new orleans musicians playing impeccable old-time jazz. i like that old-time music--it's playful, it's intelligent, it swings, it's fun, it's human, it compels movement. i figured i'd check them out.

well, the band was anything but sedate. these guys put on a SHOW. i give them my 'most all-around entertaining band' award for ACL fest 2007. i'd see them again anytime they're around.

bringing associations of mardi gras, a couple of guys painted in mime and a spiky-haired singer came out first, the singer singing through an old-fashioned bullhorn mike that made his voice sound like recordings from the 1920s. then the band proper came out and played. composed of men older and younger, whiter, blacker, and cafe au laiter, they got the audience standing and grooving quickly.

early into their set, they played an old favorite that went over well on a hot day. you know the song--ice cream. a couple of younger band members--the adorable red 'froed tuba player and the dread-headed banjo player--started throwing little cartons of ice cream out into the crowd! people went wild!

later in the set, that same tuba player announced that a friend of his had confided that he wanted to propose marriage to his girlfriend in public, and he had arranged for that to happen at ACL. he brought them onstage. the young man got down on his knees and popped the question. there was silence in the tent. then she said yes and the crowd just erupted.

mr. tuba player also appreciated the sister city bond that austin and new orleans have, our mutual love of music. i don't know if he knows how many katrina refugees have landed here, and that we welcome them with open hearts and are proud to have them here.

he also explained that many of the musicians in the band are second- or third-generation musicians. they pass down that passion and talent from generation to generation in new orleans, where music is a way of life.

the band closed their set with "shake that thing," while folks from the crowd came up on stage and danced, and the mimes and 20s singer dude came out, and it sure looked like everyone was having a blast up there, especially the shirtless middle-aged dude who shook and shimmied in front of everyone! i must say, he jiggled with pure joy!

this band has great musicianship--and they know how to have fun. what a pleasure it was to rediscover them.

currently listening to: made in new orleans: the hurricane sessions, preservation hall jazz band

lucky me and the austin city limits festival

it's late on friday afternoon, and i'm killing time at work before 5:30, my official leaving time.

what a fortunate week! a colleague posted an email that she had to sell her ACL tickets for sunday due to a death in the family(lucky for me, not for her), and i bought one. one day is about all i can handle.

then friend linda moore, who works for AT&T headquarters, emailed that she had THREE 3-day passes and wristbands for the AT&T stage to give away.

i promptly called my daughter, who loves events like this but doesn't always have the moolah to attend. she was bummed about not going, so my offer really perked her up. not only did she want a pass, but so did her boyfriend, and hannah gets in free, leaving me a pass to scalp, which i did this morning before work.

i'll make a donation to a cause linda supports (the white tara workshop) and stick the rest into my travel account. i will be that much richer in maui!

then a colleague whose house in rollingwood is being renovated said people could park in his driveway during ACL, so now i have a place to park sunday. it's about as far from my house to republic square for shuttle buses (10 blocks) as it is from his house to the ACL gates, but it's definitely a more scenic, softer walk from his place, and hopefully i can avoid the downtown traffic sunday night after DYLAN!

best is that sunday will be a family day at ACL. hanging out with my daughter, granddaughter, bruce, whomever, or by myself, i will be there for yo la tengo, the jones family singers, STS9, grace potter & the nocturnals, the paul green school of rock all-stars, devotchka, charlie musselwhite, lucinda williams, preservation hall jazz band, either my morning jacket or guy forsyth, ziggy marley, the decemberists, and the grand finale..........bob dylan himself.

i would have liked to see zap mama and the gotan project and a few others playing friday or saturday, but i want to have the energy to really enjoy them, so ... there's always next time.

have a great weekend!

what i did on my summer vacation

i took the whole week before labor day off from work, and i didn't go anywhere. since i'm going to maui for three weeks in december, i was fine with that. i used my time off to get caught up around the house and yard. luckily i have a lot of comp and vacation time at work.

i worked on my studio, cleaning and sorting my CDs, organizing my exercise props, hanging photos of ramana, papaji, and gangaji. i then used my studio to meditate and exercise and do free movement/dance, to listen to music and to paint. i got tempera paints, and one evening, hannah and i painted pictures.

i cleaned the entry hall and my room. took a load of stuff to goodwill. scraped candle wax off the marble-topped furniture in my room. made it a nicer place to spend time.

i cleaned and rearranged furniture in my living room and enjoyed watching videos--the three burials of melquiades estrada and children of men. i cleaned my kitchen well, then enjoyed cooking and eating in it too.

i got a haircut and a lip wax at jr salon. i did cranio-sacral therapy for the first time, with nina davis, LMT and CST, working on my lymphatic system and cerebrospinal fluid. felt great, wonders of subtlety. i noticed that i was gentler with myself after that, and not so driven.

i went to a potluck/games party at my friend zoe's and had a blast playing rummi-qub, a new game to me.

i had ordered some raw goat milk from ringger farms. i picked that up. it's delicious.

i attended an NLP meetup and learned about timelines.

i went out on a date with james, whom i met on plentyoffish.com. we saw stardust. i like him so far and want to see him again.

one day i picked hannah up from school and gave her her first bike-riding lesson. it's hard, balancing, steering, and pedalling with control, and especially hard to get started. she got a feel of what it will be like. one of these days i'll let go, and she'll be doing it by herself.

another day i ate lunch with her at school. i brought my lunch, and she hardly touched hers. i got a real sense of how much order is required for a class of second-graders. i appreciate her teacher, mr. karabaic. he's got his job down, and nine months of work ahead of him with the 19 kids in his class.

i went to liquid sol and loved sharing that big space at the mexican-american cultural center with only two others. i moved in ways that pleased me and didn't try to be social. what a gift.

i worked in my yard, weeding, transplanting, pruning. got into something that irritated my arms, though.

i sealed my metal roof where it leaked! yea for me!

i washed my car.

i had lunch with my friend spike gillespie on friday. i'm working on writing a 3,000 word essay on grief for an anthology spike is putting together. got the first draft done this week.

i sent an email to friends, offering my NLP skills for free. another email offering agave plants.

on saturday, i went to ikea. it's 22 miles away, in round rock. i got a few things, but some things i saw in their catalog were not in stock. i got a number i can call before making the trip next time. it's a huge store and can be exhausting.

i didn't get as much done as i had envisioned at the start of the week, but there's always next weekend. there's always yard work, and inside, i need to work on my bathroom and study. maybe even the dreaded utility room!

my home feels so much better, and so does my energy!


reading: the disobedience of the daughter of the sun, by martin prechtel, and NLP: the new technology of achievement, edited by steve andreas.

listening to: sufi traveler by mercan dede

watching: the children of men.

eating and drinking: unsweetened carob almonds, tuna salad with grapes and walnuts, hibiscus mint tea with stevia