Third Time's a Charm

Like I mentioned last post, last weekend I was lucky enough to see my favorite band, the Old 97's for the third time in three years. A friend and fellow-fan told me she was seeing the 97's in Dallas, so I checked their website since I hadn't in a while. And whaddya know if they weren't going to be in Baltimore the very next weekend! Google maps told me it was just an hour drive so I immediately decided I would go to the show.

I didn't even check the details on the venue, Artscape, until the next day. And that was surprise #2: Artscape was a weekend-long, completely free arts festival. Now I knew I had scored big time.

But the best part of the story is that, working at Folkways, I had heard that the lady who worked with Smithsonian Global Sound knew Rhett Miller, the lead singer for the Old 97's! I talked to Amy and, sure enough, her boyfriend had recently played guitar with Rhett while he was on a solo tour. Actually, Rhett had set them up. She said Rhett was a sweetie and that I should say hey if I got a chance. So then I decided I would try to meet the guys at the show. (FYI - that's Rhett belting one out, head band and all, up top)

So the whole week at work I was super pumped about the show. I even downloaded some music to listen to and set a picture of Rhett as my computer background at the office. When Saturday rolled around, I woke up and enjoyed a nice hour drive blaring the music and not trying wreck northbound on 95. Getting to Baltimore was a nice drive, and it is a beautiful city. Until I came up the hill over looking the city, I had no idea how massive it was.

Like I said, Artscape was a big festival, so I got there in plenty of time to explore before the band went on at 8:30. There was every type of art work you could imagine, lots of good albeit overpriced food, and constant music on three stages all day, each day. They had everything from rock to blues to rap to zydeco. In addition to the music and art, there were random little things, like the fashion show. I was exploring the festival area, which is huge and covered a section of downtown Baltimore, when I came up on this mock runway. I walked over and there was like an amateur fashion show going on. It was pretty neat - they were featuring local designers. Even though it wasn't big time or anything, it was cool to see a pretty much real fashion show.

Another interesting thing they had was a row of cars done up in all different kinds of wacky and crazy themes.

This one, I’ll call it the Woodtruck, was by far the coolest. It really must have taken a long time to put this one together. And if you look closely you can see it even had a giant bird’s nest and blue robin eggs in the back!

After grabbing some delicious jerk chicken cooked fair-style over a huge makeshift grill, as well as going through the Smoothie King free sample line twice, I headed over to the stage where the show was gonna be. When I got there another band was finishing up, the Avett Brothers, and they were pretty neat.

As you can see, they had a guy on upright bass, banjo, and guitar and their sound has some obvious mountain/bluegrass/old time roots. But then they themselves seemed like indy punk rockers and they would scream out the lyrics at times. Either way, they are a really unique band. The last song they played was so good I went and asked the guy selling cd's if they had one with that on it. He said they did, but since he was an honest guy let me know it was a bad cut and I could find a better one on a different CD he didn't have. I checked it out when I got home and fell in love. I downloaded it for now, but as soon as I get some cash I plan on buying it.

But then the real show kicked off. The Old 97’s, as always, put on a great show full of rollickin tunes as well as some slower-paced wailers for breathing room. They just had so much energy and the crowd was loving it.

There’s guitarist Ken Bethea ripping it up. And the action was just like that, from the first notes to the last chords of “Timebomb.” Although I was sad to see it end, there was still one more treat in store for me. I hung around after the guys went off the stage and ended up chatting with Ken for a bit about Knoxville and the Simpsons. He was a super nice guy.

Then I caught up with Murry Hammond, backup vocals and bass, to tell him he did a great Merle Haggard cover. That’s him above, complete with his patented weird glasses and cowboy shirt look.

To top it all off, I was able to get Rhett’s attention right before some crew lady told him it was time to go. I told him how I knew Amy and he was like “ya cool Amy’s great.” Then when I asked my name and I told him, he said the now famous quote: “Wow, you should be a writer.” I thought that was funny and would make a good story, just like the goofy picture I took with him. After that he said “hey man I gotta go” and I was like “Sure take care.” And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I met the Old 97’s. None of it is probably too impressive to most people, but it’s really cool to talk to your favorite band.

Great concerts aside, intern life has been slowly winding down. A while ago Katie left, and just last Friday was Catherine’s last day. I’m done this Friday, and it really has flown by.

Here is the Folkways intern crew, or atleast most of it. From left to right: Catherine, Katie, Aleysia, me, and Andrew. Interning at Folkways was a really great experience. I got to meet a lot of interesting people from all over. We had people from Tennessee, Virginia, Maine, New York, and Germany, while representing schools such as Rice, William & Mary, U of Toronto, and, of course, CENTENARY!!

Seriously though, if anyone is looking for a neat internship experience, the Smithsonian should definitely be on your list. I’m not trying to plug it, but with so many museums and centers there really is something for all academic interests and professional goals. And in general, interning is a great way to meet interesting people and see a new side of the world.

I realize this is starting to sound a bit campy, so I’ll sign off for now. See you guys later,

Parker

DC...A Monumental City

What's up everybody? Well, I'm just at the halfway point of my amazing experience here in the Federal City (George Washington referred to it as this, as he was too humble to speak of a city named after him) and I still feel like I have so much left to see. I have done a lot of it, but in a place like DC there is always stuff you gotta save for next time.

Obviously one thing that makes DC special is the great selection of monuments. I have to say that this has been one of my favorite parts of the city. When I visited Europe, it was amazing to see all of their historic and important buildings. But DC, although it may not be as old, is definitely a special place. It sounds cheesy, but seeing the Arc de Triomphe or the Colosseum isn't as important if you are a tourist. The same goes for DC; standing at the Lincoln Memorial or reading the inscriptions at the Jefferson Memorial is a truly awe-inspiring experience when you know that everything you are seeing is part of your history and your country.

...can't you hear the Star-Spangled Banner playing? Since a wise man once told me that your history essays shouldn't end exhibiting that feeling, I'll move on.

This is a quote from FDR placed at the National World War II Memorial.

Apparently people were worried that this new memorial would disrupt the view from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. I'm glad they were worried, but it looks like it turned out okay to me.

This is the Freedom Wall. There are about 4,000 stars on it, each one representing 100 American dead during World War II.

All the states have a pillar encircling the memorial. I don't know what order was chosen, but for some reason Tennessee and Louisiana, the two states where I've spent most of my life, are right next to each other.

Of course I had to try my hand at one of the most famous photo spots in the country...what do you think?

Here's Lincoln - that pretty much says it all. Always ranked as one of the greatest US Presidents, reading the selections from his greatest speeches was quite moving, even though I had heard all the words before.

This is the Korean War Veterans Memorial. This was another new one for me, and I think it may be a new favorite. It's pretty simple - just about a dozen or so slightly greater than life size statues of men on the march, with a photographic wall in the background to further set the setting. I like how it portrayed the people as they would have been, rather than just use an austere building to commemorate them. Also, that shot at the top is a close-up on one of the soldiers.

When I went to DC with the Safety Patrol in 4th grade (yea, I wore a little orange sash and told kids a year younger than me to walk in the halls) the Jefferson Memorial was my favorite. Seeing it now, I feel like the water around it got smaller. I could have sworn that it was on the coast, like, at the ocean. Other than that, it's still my favorite Memorial. I love the bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson in the middle. Oddly, Jefferson is one of my favorite Presidents now. Maybe I subconsciously chose that because I liked his monument as a kid. Who knows?

IN RECENT NEWS my faaaavorite band, the Old 97s is coming to the area - Baltimore to be precise. That may not mean much for a lot of people, but it is huuuuge for me. This will be my third time seeing them. The other two were road trips to Texas, complete with late drives back home after the show, freshman and junior year at Cent. Maybe when you are at Centenary next year we'll both be lucky enough to have an area show. If you like their music and it happens, we will ride together.

In between the folklife festival and perusing the many monuments and sites, my girlfriend Ali came up to visit me and the Capitol for a few days, though I'm not sure which she was was really hurtin to see. We had a blast visiting museums, eating (which, in all honesty, was probably the highlight of our trip), and waterparking. We also enjoyed the 4th of July celebrations, tho we opted for the less-hectic/more free food version at the home of family I'm staying with. I'll try and chuck up some photos of that as soon as I get a hold of em.

P.S. For those of you who don't know, Ali is the standout keeper for the Centenary Ladies Soccer team. She was named 1st Team All-Louisiana by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, and it's also a well-kept secret that she has the Centenary record for both most saves in a game and in a season. She also ranked 4th in the nation among D-1 goalies in saves per game her sophomore year. Since this blog isn't about her, I'll stop. But that does give you one more reason to come to Centenary and help the ladies make their first winning season since I've been here. I bet that little tidbit is yet another well-kept secret around here.

But it's no secret that Centenary athletics needs allll the support it can muster. If you do come to Centenary in the future, you have to sign my online but nevertheless legally binding contract to come to one athletic event every two weeks and cheer on the Gents (or whatever they are by the time you make it). That, our new AD and the revamped image of our conference, the Summit League, and Ole Cent should be well on its way to reclaiming the glory days of stomping Notre Dame, Texas, and LSU in to the mud.

Like I promised two blogs ago, here's the shot from my buildings rooftop. Its a really nice secret up there. Me and other interns like to go up there and have lunch, warm up (its frigid in the office) and gossip about our crazy bosses...someone remind me to tell you all about my one boss, Richard James Burgess - there's a lot to tell. In the picture you can see the National Museum of Air and Space, the National Museum of the American Indian (yes, the Smithsonian doesn't say Native American), and the US Capitol Building. The latter two are among that list of sites I was talking about earlier that I still need to see. With that in mind, I need a full days' energy for tomorrow so I can keep it all up. I'll send you off with two of my attempts at artistic photography. Subject: the oddly-two-toned Washington Monument.

finally, another show...

tomorrow i'm going to see the Old 97's at the granada in dallas!!!

i've been waiting a year to see the 97's again, and several months to go to any concert. me and some friends are driving over there and then meeting one more in town. it's going to be so awesome. one of my buddies thats going is actually a new fan. i asked iloy to go and he wanted to hear the band some, so i made him a sampler cd. he loved it...who wouldn't right?

anyways, i'm super stoked and hope it's a good long, hard driving show. i'm sure it will be. the best live band on the texas rock/country scene? only $22? how could i pass it up! i just hope we don't get any speeding tickets on the way down or back!