Elfified

Click on the pics for more of the shenanigans.

Angrified

Here are a few more videos from the concert on Sat. night. The first one is with one of KC Groves songs (and I think it is titled: A Going Away Party) The last one is the final jam with all the players who are joined by a 14 year old phenom on the mandolin. I'm still working to confirm his name. He only played the last song but left a prodigious impact on the crowd.

The Taste of Anger

We headed up into the canyons tonight for an impromptu bluegrass show at the Little Church in the Pines in Salina, CO. It was a bit of an adventure just getting there, navigating the snow-packed roads. But, oh what a treat. This chapel maybe held 70, last I counted we had packed more than that in, but it was worth it.

Darol Anger had played the Mackey Auditorium on the CU campus the night before. This show was put together last minute from what I heard. He got together with KC Groves, Ross Martin, Ben Kaufman of Yonder Mountain String Band and a few other friends that I'm still trying to ID.

Darol was quite generous with his talents, electing to showcase KC and Ross more than steal the show. He did an incredible job helping to make them sound great in between solo sessions where his genius shown through and filled the chapel.

At the end of the show, there was a small jam with a crew of people from the audience that had come prepared to play with Darol and the gang.



I tried to capture the feel with some pics, but the video feature on my camera did a much better job. The sound was surprisingly decent and video is poor quality, but you get the idea. We were packed in tight for a really intimate setting. I really enjoy live music in this way, much more so than the large crowds in cavernous auditoriums.

Howard Zinn rant at CU

The venerable author, activist, and political scientist, Howard Zinn, came to the CU campus on Thursday to share a rant on the current state of affairs in the world. I arrived later than normal to find myself ushered off to an annex for an audio feed. It was standing room only billowing out into the halls and smaller rooms. The Boulder community showed up in droves for the free speech sponsored by the Cultural Events Board.

Zinn's personal history is quite brilliant, from a professor at Spellman to a participant in the civil rights march from Selma back to Montgomery. His involvement in the civil rights movement was inspirational to me specifically as that march was seen as the gathering of "the beloved community," an ideal created through the works of nonviolent leaders such as Gandhi and King.

Much of his speech centered on the idea of "American Exceptionalism" and the detrimental behavior that creates. Specifically, the ideals of democracy that we hold so dear create a false confidence which gives license to atrocity. This exceptionalism serves as an obstacle for learning and growth. Instead, we have moved into empire-like behavior and are running a fine line towards fascism.

I applaud Zinn's courage to stand and speak his mind in the face of simple minded criticism of being unpatriotic. Indeed, this nation was built upon dissent and it is the courage to address the difficult questions with a desire to bring us to an appropriate role in the global community that is missing and necessary today.

A similar speech can be heard here. It is presented by the Professional Education Program from MIT.