NEARfest 2009

Two weekends ago, a friend and I made the annual pilgrimmage to Bethlehem PA, and the Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University, to attend what is arguably the USA's premier progressive music festival. We eat this stuff up. This year we went for three days - which I think we decided is too much music for almost anyone. But it was a great time, and we also had time to tour Bethlehem, which we think is a pretty neat town despite the local economy (in its heyday, it was home to Bethlehem Steel Corporation - the steel works now sit empty, and are the site of a new casino, which is not exactly as promising to a local economy as, say, steel production once was.)

Friday night kicked off with a band that has been around since 1970 or so. Ever hear of Van der Graaf Generator? I didn't think so. They are a pretty intense bunch of guys; their sax player split a couple years ago, but they are fully capable of a full sound with the threesome. The organ player, Hugh Banton, builds organs for churches and such as a day job (very few of these bands can support their members without some alternative source of income). Van der Graaf was followed by Steve Hillage, guitarist for Saturday's headliner band, Gong, and his band.

the inimitable VdGG - a great show

Saturday kicked off with Cabezas de Cera, three young Mexican lads who played a mix of traditional sounding and avant garde music. The guitar player went through five different instruments, some quite exotic, during the course of the show.

Cabezas' multi-instrumentalist Mauricio Sotelo

Next up, Oblivion Sun, an outgrowth of '70s band Happy the Man, was in great form, and they even busted out a grand piano for a brand new suite.

Oblivion Sun

I admit it: I lust after those classic Mini-Moogs!

Italian jazz-rock band DFA ("duty free area") hit the stage and played their second NEARFest.

DFA

Saturday closed with Gong, a band of aging hippies and such from Britain, led by 71-year-old Daevid Allen. He would be the one in the wizard get-up.

This is most of Gong - Steve Hillage on the left. The dude in the hat would be Daevid Allen

Sunday started out with Belgian band Quantum Fantay, a sort of space rock band. They were better than I had expected, and they had a good stage patter. It's always interesting to hear these folks from foreign lands with their decent command of English.

Belgium's Quantum Fantay

Two Swedish bands followed, Beardfish and Trettioariga Kriget (it means "Thirty Years War"). I don't know what it is about the Swedes, but they easily have the most good prog music makers per capita on the planet.

Beardfish - they achieve that retro B-3 and dirty guitar sound.

Trettioariga Kriget - say that fast three times!

We wrapped it up Sunday night, going on midnight, with Premiata Forneroa Marconi (PFM), an Italian band from the 70's, and probably my favorite of the festival, because, like Van der Graaf (my other fave), I remember their stuff from back in the day. They blend the rock with some nice classical sounding nylon guitar/violin sounds.

PFM's Franco Mussida (guitar since late 60's) and Gianluca Tagliavini (relative newcomer)

All in all, not in my top three overall lineups, but hey, you cannot go wrong with this stuff. They consistently sell out the Zoellner in a matter of hours every year - meaning there are at least 1,200 or so of us hard core types willing to come back year after year. And many of us were listening to the likes of Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake and Palmer, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, early pre-hit machine Genesis, and a host of other back in the "golden era" of 1969-1975 or so.

PFM (also on the blog banner above), with one of their accompanying documentary graphics

Enough of this esoteric music stuff. Just wanted to get it in the record here. I hope to do a future piece on Bethlehem, a very interesting town.

A-Z Monday - Y

YEARS

When I was young, a year went forever
But now I believe someone's jiggled the lever
To make the time fly - now a year's but a flash
And a week is but nothing, and a month is a dash

Seems we just got married, bought the house of our dreams
Now the mortgage is paid, as we burst at the seams
And where are our babies? Well, those kiddies have grown
And our son and our daughter are out on their own

I don't know how to slow it - can't slam on the brakes
If I could I just might, by whatever it takes
But the years are a-flying; shouldn't set them aside
Might as well settle in and just enjoy the ride!

WOF 64 ODD MASK

This lovely artifact was crafted by one of our children (William, I think), most likely as a school project many years ago. It has languished in our son's room for many years. We have finally unearthed it, photographed it, said farewell to it, and sent it to the sanitary landfill with last week's trash.

You have to make a dent somewhere.

A-Z "MONDAY" - XXXXXX

X E N A R T H R A

"Xenarthra" refers to a group of critters

That you wouldn't hire for baby sitters

They consist of some oddball creatures

Who're known for having distinctive features

First there's the sloth, two-toed and three

They're the laziest dudes in history

And then there is the armadillo

Who I wouldn't use for my bedtime pillow!

And third and last, the South American anteater

For gathering ants, you just can't beat 'er

It seems no trio could differ farther

And yet they all are classed “Xenarthra”

So what's the common link, you say?

An extra lumbar vertebrae!

Yes, these creatures could give you a fun day

But for me, they complete this A-Z "Monday"!

stepping away

Hey there. Hope you're in the middle of a great week. As for me, I am stepping away from the computer for a few days - to return some time next week. So I will probably miss WOF this week, and my A-Z entry will probably be a bit tardy. (Actually, this is all an elaborate hoax to try to avoid making up a poem dealing with the letter "X"!!!) Nah. Undaunted, I shall return and face that X square in the face!

For now, I leave you with some pictures of a momma woodpecker getting her "baby" (just as big as she is!) to eat on its own. I believe the lesson was a success. The momma is the more grungy looking one; the kid is somehow cleaner.

Ta ta for now...
Ben

A-Z Monday W is for

WATER

It's two parts "H" and one part "O"
Pour some out and go with the flow
Water is a life-saving drink
But spill it on wool and the sheep might shrink!
You and me, we're mostly just water
So is my son and so is my daughter
It makes a great drink; it's good for the flowers
And when we're all smelly, we use it in showers

Yes, it's great to drink water, full to the brim
But it's also a blast to jump in and swim
Coffee, tea; it's great to brew with it
It's just amazing; there's so much to do with it!

It can come down as snow; you can freeze it as ice
You can water your garden or a paddy of rice
You can fill a balloon and toss it at friends
Yes, the list of its purposes just never ends!

Sunday Photo - Nosy Neighbors

We were standing out in an apartment complex parking lot yesterday, talking to a friend. There was a squirrel running around the place. I soon noticed that the residents of three adjacent apartments were very aware of the squirrel's presence, and tracking its movements right there at their very home. (Click on the picture above to see an enlargement).

Weird Buzzard Friday

There's been talk in the blogosphere lately about buzzards, vultures, and the like. So here's one of our winged visitors from this past spring, acting a little weird up in the trees...

A-Z Monday: V IS FOR VOLUME!!!!!!!

VOLUME

I turn on some tunes, set the volume to hear it

My wife shouts it’s so loud she cannot get near it

My son says “let’s crank it!”

My wife says “please yank it!”

I have no idea how I should steer it.

I cruise in the car with the volume on ten

Then the Passenger says, “Please turn it down, Ben!”

I reduce it to eight; she goes further, to four

We compromise – six - not a decibel more!

I s’pose it’s a good thing to lower the sound

So I hear other things that are happening around

Like fire alarms, sirens, or knocks on the door

Yes, I now keep my music down to a dull roar.

(and if I want volume – that’s what headphones are for!)

Sunday Photo - 60's Music with The Association

We drove a half hour last night to take in a concert by the masters of 60's six-part harmony, The Association. Who among us does not remember Cherish, Along Comes Mary, Windy, Never My Love? Well, our son probably doesn't but he came along and enjoyed the show full of timeless music.

Three of the original members fronted the band; the original bass player's son now covers keys, and they filled in with a fine bassist and drummer. I have got to say that, after all these years, they still sound like they did back on the Smothers Brothers, and opening at the first Monterey Pop Festival. A great evening. Here they are getting ready to sign autographs after the show...

W.O.F. 62 ODDBALL PLANT

This week's objet de weirde is a plat we saw while walking through a nearby wooded path last night. What's up with this pattern? Looks like Batman, or lungs, or something. Anyone know what this plant is?


STREETPOLO BONUS: This is an awesome website. Want to see front pages of today's newspapers from all over the world? Check out this site.

Have a great weekend!

6 unimportant things that make me smile

Some time ago, my sister "tagged" me, asking me, along with some others, to list six "unimportant things that make you smile". I am finally getting a round tuit, as they say. If this were done properly, I would pass this assignment on to six others, but I believe it has made the rounds to the extent that I do not know of six people left whom I would be comfortable burdening with the task. So, as a couple others have said, if you feel the spirit move you to make your own list, hey, go for it. Here's mine. (No pictures. Sorry. Lying on the couch with Pachelbel's Canon playing and not really inspired to snap relevant pictures. So , hey, Pachelbel's is the only "Canon" working tonight, eh?) OK, here we go:

1. Lying on the couch, listening to Pachelbel's Canon. Where'd that one come from?

2. Finding that rare CD I've been looking for. I was in a workshop over in Bowling Green, and when it was over, it was late in the afternoon so I stopped by Finders Records, one of the few indy record shops left out there, and a darn fine one at that. DEEP inventory. I was able to find about four CDs I wanted along this huge wall of pre-owned CDs. Among the finds was one by Mary Fahl, the owner of the haunting voice that led a short-lived group called the October Project about ten years ago and gave it its distinctive sound. Listened to it in the car on the way home. Still haunting. (I say "still"; the CD dropped back in 2002). Anyhow, it was good stuff, and tracks 1,6, and 11 made me literally smile as I drove, so it fits the criterion.

3. Before we leave the world of music, I am compelled to add this one: making stuff up as I go along on the keyboard, or even the guitar, where I am not nearly as comfortable, but the whole exercise is great for my blood pressure and frame of mind. I can get lost just noodling on the keys. And, yes, I've been known to smile whilst noodling.

4. Walking trails, wondering what's over the next rise. Just this evening, Linda and I took to the nearby county-owned park and listened for a while to the stream gurgling past the shale outcroppings. A "babbling brook:" One of the best sounds in the world. We hope to walk a few more trails this summer.

5. Petting a dog. Yep, a pretty simple act, but when you are "between dogs", as we are, you forget how therapeutic just having the ol' girl or ol' boy around can be. So we have petted a few other people's dogs in the interim. I believe we will go the summer without a pooch, so if we want to up and take off, there are no worries back home. Plus, it doesn't seem right just yet. But by fall, don't be surprised if this blog features some pictures of some new four-legged household addition.

6. That elusive thing we call "family time". The cell phone vibrates, I look down, and it says "Emily" or "William" or "home". That alone can make me smile, before I even answer. Weekends like the upcoming one where, here and there, we will see both of our offspring, and our elusive (because of an insane work schedule) son in law. Vacation plans that include at least one of them. A weekend "retreat" where we are all holed up, together, poring over a board game or watching 8mm videos from ancient family history. This last one really does not qualify because, although it is making me smile, just writing about it, it is clearly not unimportant.

Toledo Botanical Gardens - Part 2: Plant Life

I don't know much about flowers. I know they have stamens and pistils or some such things that, along with bees, help 'em procreate. But I am bad at identifying them - ask my wife. All I know is the diversity of plant life is amazing!

So here are pictures of flowers and other plants (and a bee) we viewed a week ago at the beautiful Toledo Botanical Gardens, without any captions or explanatory prose.

Those of you who know plants - you know what you're looking at. And for those of us who don't - just look at the pretty colors!

A-Z Monday - The Lowly Uvula

We're clear up to U, there's not much left to prove to ya
So this week I chose the lowly UVULA
For those not familiar, you can take heart
It's not quite a major bodily part

It's the dangly glob in the back of your throat
It helps your vibrato when you're singing a note
It keeps your food from going down the wrong way
So herewith I claim today's "UVULA DAY"

HAPPY UVULA DAY!