Lotus Fest fun
Spent a couple of lovely hours in Third Street Park this afternoon enjoying "Lotus in the Park" (part of the Lotus Festival going on this weekend). I got there later than I'd planned -- about 2:00 -- so I missed the first performer. But I caught part of the second, ContraCantos & Arabiando, a heavily Portuguese-influenced Brazilian ensemble with a bunch of mandolin-ish instruments, a big chorus, etc. Very nice. And the second band I heard blew me away entirely, Fiamma Fumana. They are four people who play northern Italian folk music spiced up with extremely danceable electronic beats. Now, you may not realize this (I didn't), but northern Italian folk music sounds a LOT like Celtic music. So they're playing something that sounds like a good old Irish reel, with dance beats, and Italian singing; there was some kind of a pipe thingie that was kind of like bagpipes, and accordion, and guitar, and a flute-ish thing (not all at once; the accordion player doubled up on guitar, and the pipe thingie and the flute-ish thing were played by the same person as well). And it was fabulous! Hundreds of people in the park were up and dancing -- some even doing a bit of an Irish jig, some just jumping up and down, some swinging little kids around in circles.
It was (still is) an absolutely GORGEOUS day -- low seventies, abundant sunshine. The park was full of kids and dogs and happy people. There were tents where kids could make banners and festive little hats and noisemakers and get their faces painted, and Bloomingfoods had a food tent, and there were people from all over, just all kinds of people, enjoying the perfect weather and the free music and the festive atmosphere. It wasn't even remotely possible to be there and not soak in a little bit of pure joy.
I met a sweet dog named Daisy, a two-year-old golden retriever in training to become a therapy dog (visiting nursing homes and what-not). She was, like, the perfect dog -- friendly but not overwhelming, and happy happy happy the way goldens are usually happy. Her owner and I chatted for a while (she was pretty darn cute too, for that matter).
I'm going to go back over to Lotus tonight. Haven't bought a ticket yet, so I need to get over there early enough to do that. I haven't decided whether I want to start off with the VIDA reunion concert (four women singing a cappella world music; they all used to live here in Bloomington and performed around here a lot in the early to mid nineties, but they went their separate ways when they graduated from IU and stuff) or the Mamadou Diabate Ensemble (Malian acoustic music; every time I hear Malian music I really like it). I'll probably catch a bit of one and a bit of the other. Then I want to hear Issa, who is actually Jane Siberry -- apparently she just recently changed her name -- not sure what's up with that or what kind of music she is performing these days. Also I want to hear Yungchen Lhamo, a Tibetan singer. And perhaps Inner Visions (reggae) or the Balkan Beat Box.
Okay, need to feed the cats, change clothes, and get my ass downtown!
It was (still is) an absolutely GORGEOUS day -- low seventies, abundant sunshine. The park was full of kids and dogs and happy people. There were tents where kids could make banners and festive little hats and noisemakers and get their faces painted, and Bloomingfoods had a food tent, and there were people from all over, just all kinds of people, enjoying the perfect weather and the free music and the festive atmosphere. It wasn't even remotely possible to be there and not soak in a little bit of pure joy.
I met a sweet dog named Daisy, a two-year-old golden retriever in training to become a therapy dog (visiting nursing homes and what-not). She was, like, the perfect dog -- friendly but not overwhelming, and happy happy happy the way goldens are usually happy. Her owner and I chatted for a while (she was pretty darn cute too, for that matter).
I'm going to go back over to Lotus tonight. Haven't bought a ticket yet, so I need to get over there early enough to do that. I haven't decided whether I want to start off with the VIDA reunion concert (four women singing a cappella world music; they all used to live here in Bloomington and performed around here a lot in the early to mid nineties, but they went their separate ways when they graduated from IU and stuff) or the Mamadou Diabate Ensemble (Malian acoustic music; every time I hear Malian music I really like it). I'll probably catch a bit of one and a bit of the other. Then I want to hear Issa, who is actually Jane Siberry -- apparently she just recently changed her name -- not sure what's up with that or what kind of music she is performing these days. Also I want to hear Yungchen Lhamo, a Tibetan singer. And perhaps Inner Visions (reggae) or the Balkan Beat Box.
Okay, need to feed the cats, change clothes, and get my ass downtown!