This band was featured in an earlier post with the dancing mermaid and bunny rabbits. This is a bit longer and gives a bit more of the flavor of the music, which sounded wonderful and was a great way to recharge the psychic batteries before going back to the massive scenes at the big stages.
Enjoy.
Namaste.
As the sun set in the West and The Police took to the North Stage the center of the Pimlico infield featured a machine which blasted jets of fire into the twilight sky… Get in touch with your inner Beavis "Heh, heh, fire is cool!" By the way, that is not the moon in the sky, but an illuminated balloon.
Over in the Southwest corner of the infield was the GreenSpot with great hands on eco-exhibits, cool looking tents giant leaves to create some shady spots and a small stage. We had fled the North stage where the Beastie Boys were screaming and shouting and hip-hop beat-dropping and as we turned the corner Gail said "I hear a sitar!" We followed the sound to the GreenSpot stage where a band was playing Indian inflected cool vibe music that sounded a lot like Thievery Corporation. As it turns out at least one member of this group plays with Thievery Corporation from time to time. It was so cool – The EXACT opposite of the Beasties down at the other end of the field, relaxing, trance inducing, a perfect way to chill and recharge.
The band was International Velvet, they are based in DC and here’s their My Space page.
The music drew and interesting and eclectic assortment of dancers…
The music you hear on this video clip was being played live as accompaniment to this Aerial ballet… Very cool. Here’s a still shot of the whole apparatus.
The infield of the Pimlico Racetrack was once again transformed into the coolest village on Earth, with plenty to see and do beyond the 2 Main stages. There were surprises at every turn.
This "Emo-ade" stand was part of a conceptual art installation located near the North stage.
Up in the sky you can see a plane towing a banner promoting Ryland homes. It read "Ryland Rocks Balto" Nobody believed them. It just reeks of desperation and is such a forced fit into the event. How exactly, does a builder of mid-line houses "Rock Balto"? The money would have been better spent paying off a zoning commissioner to get another 20 town-homes on a chunk of farmland. Well, maybe, not better, but more effective.
Meanwhile back on the ground… There were several "recharge Domes scattered about the festival grounds. This one featured nice comfortable seats and FREE massages, plus samples of delicious Iced Yerba Mate in 3 delicious flavors. It’s a fantastic organic herbal tea from Paraguay, all Fair Trade and good for you. We came Through here ate least 3 times and had all three flavors, but no massage, maybe on Sunday…
You used to have to go to the New York City subway to see this kind of art. In a couple of spots, groups of graffiti artists were creating murals.
In another tent was the Hon Salon, where you too could be teased up like a big haired Baltimore gal.
Note the string of pink flamingo lights… This is one of the stylists. I get the feeling Amy Winehouse has been to Baltimore before…
We celebrated the 4th of July at home this year and we were glad we did as several waves of thunderstorms with torrential downpours rolled over the area during the evening hours. We sat on the porch and gave the neighbor children some sparklers and they ran around and delighted us with the mini pyrotechnic display.
Later, during yet another thunderstorm I recorded this ambient mix of the Thievery Corporation’s "Universal Highness" from their first release "Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi". The original work is cool enough blending a trip-hop beat with African call and response singing and Miles Davis-esque trumpet bursts. This version was recorded on my mini digital recorder and adds heavy rainfall, distant thunder, a passing car or two and fireworks. No editing – this is exactly as we heard it on July 4th, 2007
It’s really cool.
Download TC_UH_GailsPorchMix.mp3
Who Knew there was such a thing as Steampunk? I sure didn’t – but I like it! Steampunk came about as a sub-genre of science fiction starting in the late 1980’s and now a whole bunch of steampunk style items are showing up all over the place. Laptops retooled to look like old typewriters and check out this guitar currently for sale on eBay.
The whole Steampunk subculture even has a magazine and it’s own outfitters who provide tools and techniques for turning 21st century tech gear into industrial age artifacts. Very Cool.
While I am obviously in touch with my Inner Child today – have you seen the Dangerous Book for Boys? This fantastic manual for doing all sorts of great boy stuff was a HUGE success when published in England last year. Amazon.com has a nice interview with one of the authors click on the link below to read more and/or buy a copy.
A few sample chapters
The Greatest Paper Airplane in the World
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Five Knots Every Boy Should Know
Stickball
Slingshots
Fossils
Building a Treehouse
Making a Bow and Arrow
Fishing (revised with US Fish)
Timers and Tripwires
Baseball’s "Most Valuable Players"
Famous Battles-Including Lexington and Concord, The Alamo, and Gettysburg
Spies-Codes and Ciphers
Making a Go-Cart
Navajo Code Talkers’ Dictionary
You Know a Boy somewhere who needs this book.
I just recently heard The Veils for the first time and while their original work is still sinking in, there is no denying the talent of this young band. Hailing from New Zealand, now living and working in London, The Veils are led by the 20 year old Finn Andrews. Check out this brilliant live cover of Bruce Springsteen’s "State Trooper" . This was recorded from a French radio broadcast as you will notice…
Has anyone else noticed that Ted Leo and the Pharmacists has the exact same number of syllables distributed in exactly the same way as Kid Creole and the Coconuts? Beyond that the groups have precious little in common. The Kid wears hats and has sexy back up singers.
Mr. Leo does not
Kid Creole plays a Cab Calloway inspired blend of Tropical Party Music.
Mr. Leo Does Not.
I smell a radical unexpected totally messed up mash-up a-comin’…
