flotsam&jetsam

Flashback! World Cup 2006 @ Penny Lane Pub.

What a delicious summer of futbol.

I’ve got a couple posts coming up of experiences in 2009 for reflection/sharing.

Here’s the first, some top concerts I had the chance to see this year.

Performances:

Saves the Day / Alkaline Trio - I believe at this point I’ve seen Alk3 more than any other band, which still strikes me as funny. But they put on such a damn good show,they never disappoint.

Girl Talk - Alright sure, it was at the now defunct Toad’s Place, and it was packed full of 17 year olds, but let me tell you THIS was an experience. I love Girl Talk, in the car, at the gym, it’s the perfect mix of hip hop and…well…white people music. And just to have that many people dancing their hearts out and not caring….pure fun.

The Get Up Kids - Favorite Band for as long as it’s been cool to have one. When you disbanded my heart was hurt, but it was worth it for the experience of seeing you again when I never thought it would happen.

The Avett Bros - What a spectacular summer evening! My first time at the National, my first time seeing these guys live. We met some new friends, shared some moonshine, everyone there was so incredibly happy.

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - With the above exclamations it’s hard to believe I love soul music as much as I do. I’ve listened to it all my life and it never disappoints. That a band so supremely rooted in the 60s and 70s can still be rocking today is so gratifying. I’ve loved these guys for a couple years now and was overjoyed to see them live.

Hey Richmonders,

Do you want to sing this every time you’re in the back room at Balliceaux? Because I sure do. Take a second and sit at the big table and TRY and get this out of your head ;)

nedhepburn:

Harry Belafonte “The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)”

It’s not often that you follow up a comment like, “well, that was disappointing” with  one such as, “I can’t wait ‘til next year,” but I think this is the perfect mix of sentiment for the In Light event in Richmond last night.

I had high hopes for this event, an exposition of art and light which encompassed two blocks along Broad and Grace Streets. I did not attend last year’s inaugural event, but I heard great things (which is impressive considering that it rained last year, hence my absence). But disappointment struck hard. I think the culprit in the lackluster presence of the event was the scarcity - the art and the people were just spread too thin. You had to wander quite far before you stumbled upon the next exhibit, leaving ample time to wonder “Is this it?”

As explained to me by a friend involved in the event, last year In Light did not face these two nemeses by being in a much more compact area and held during the First Friday Art Walk, which guaranteed a large crowd. I can’t argue with the organizers though, it seems like this is  an event that would be able to stand alone and shine. And perhaps it will in coming years.

I think this year’s event, while lacking in opulence and amazement, proved some good points to Richmond and showed great promise for this event and others like it in the future. Yes, the event was a little too spread out, but I walked away most impressed by the area of downtown that it inhabited. This stretch of our city has been ignored and abhorred by much of Richmond for as long as I can remember, but great change has occurred. From the recent revitalization of the Carpenter Center, as CenterStage to the renovation of the Miller and Rhoads building as swanky lofts, little by little the Richmond downtown is coming back to life, and in no small manner.

Richmond is proving that it is not interested in just sprucing up the joint if you will, but giving larger, more cosmopolitan cities a run for their money. We’re not just this small city in the South - we’re a city teeming with creativity! I hope that this is just the beginning, that we outgrow people’s outdated perspectives, the confederate and crimeladen stereotypes, and that events such as In Light and First Fridays continue to support and showcase our artistic community.

I can’t wait to see what next year has in store.