The annual Herndon Festival - in the town next door to mine - is one of those small town affairs that reminds me that, even though I live about 25 miles outside American's Seat of Power, I have a pretty idyllic life. Families and teenagers mingle side by side, enjoying the balmy night with rides, food and rationally consumed beverages.
I am rather perturbed, however, by the kiddie slide that looks like the deck of the Titanic. In 100 years, are our great-great-great (how many "greats" do I need?) kids going to play on some inflatable Twin Towers?
That lapse of taste aside, the festival always has music, and there are usually a few acts that pull me in to check out. One year, the mighty Matt Nathanson (coming to Wolf Trap on June 10th, opening for the Indigo Girls) killed on the smaller "Depot" Stage while the Association played oldies on the bigger Town Green.
This year didn't have that much excitement. Last night, Lenka was on the schedule but heavy rains drowned it out. Tonight, I wandered over to see Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, a band that passes through town on a regular basis and was recommended to me by one of the principals at my dear Jammin' Java.
I got there in time for the band's last set, about 30 minutes of mid-tempo, slightly Tom Petty-ish rock that didn't make a major impression. Leader Murphy mentioned that the band has recently been doing a lot of Dylan covers, and they offered a credible cover of "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again." Here's a taste:
And there was one original song, "In Her Own World," that worked a nice bit of a Beatles song into the break, so maybe the band could do more in a longer set when they get to stretch out a bit. Based on this evening's snippet of a show, I wouldn't necessarily race out the door to see them, but they could offer a reasonable way to kill a night and some beers.
Leaving GM&TSCoD, I checked out the smaller stage near the entrance of the festival, where a guy named Glen Burtnik was doing some power pop material with a decent beat. He was an older dude, and I kept thinking I had heard his name before. The Wikipedia just informed me that he used to be a member of Styx! Wonder if he did any of their stuff earlier in the night? I would have enjoyed that in a post-modern ironic way. As it was, he also did a respectable job on a cover of a better-known artist, The Police's "Synchronicity." And here, too, a sample:
And then the town shot off fireworks and the Big Night was over, all before 10 p.m.
Cause that's how we roll out here in the sticks. (Styx?)
Oh, got my laptop back today - it's purring like a new kitten.
And Happy 100th Birthday, Benny Goodman!
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