^{The parking structure just off the main stage for George Clinton}

Friday

Millions of Brazilians

(Continued)

I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to run upon these two Thomas Dolby videos. My dad had the Thomas Dolby cassette tape (in Stereo!) when I was a kid and it was my favorite cassette after The Beach Boys’ Surfin’ Safari. I barely remember these videos from the early daze of MTV, but could they be any more innovative or cooler? Seriously, I wish I could go back to grad school to write a paper on the video for “Hyperactive.”

Here’s a breakdown of the estimated amount of times I’ve listened to “Hyperactive” in my life.

Age Birth to 4-years old: N/A
Age 5-6: probably 400 times
Age 7-29 years: maybe 1-2 times, if it was on the radio or playing as background
Today: 14, at the time of this posting

The Comerica Cityfest 2008 has come and gone and I’m absolutely exhausted. I do win the 5-day attendance award, but not without losing some much-needed rest and 4th o’ July relaxation. But another great festival it was, and thanks to everyone at The New Center Council for making it happen–and for making the shows free–for the twentieth straight year. If you didn’t get a chance to pay for any of the food or drink that pays for the acts that you got to see for free, you can always put in your time by signing up to volunteer for something.

Well, I told you about Wednesday night already and tried to contribute some thoughtful ideas about The Zombies’ performance on Thursday (ideas which, I fear, may be misconstrued as negative), so here’s a recap of everything else I remember. Let me know if I forgot to remember something.
(Continued)

^{Bass guitars without headstocks: Kind of lame}

The headliner for Thursday’s Comerica Cityfest was 60s rock legends The Zombies.

The Cityfest typically schedules at least one classic “Classic Rock” band every year to satisfy the Baby Boomers, and previous acts have included Cheap Trick, Eric Burden, and Ray Davies. I think this is a good practice and I’m happy to have the opportunity to see “oldies” bands for free. But this year, we of the non-Baby Boomer set didn’t get the kind of enjoyment that a free show would usually provide. Maybe it’s because The Zombies weren’t as influential as The Kinks. Maybe it’s because they aren’t an Indie guilty pleasure like Cheap Trick. Either way, they came across to the non-Baby Boomer set as (let me repeat what I heard) “flat,” “terrible,” “boring,” and most of all, “lame.”
(Continued)

Some people light fireworks on the Fourth. Some BBQ. Some watch the History Channel to figure out why we’re celebrating this day in the first place.

I take 5 minutes out of my day to listen to Aimee Mann’s take on Independence Day. As you can probably guess, it’s kind of a sad take.

But it’s one of the best I’ve heard.

Aimee Mann - Fourth of July
from Whatever

Last night, the thunder rolled, lightning crashed, the rain came and we ran and hid, and the answer to the question “Will tonight’s Cityfest be cancelled?” was blowing in the heavy winds. Around 7:50pm, with last night’s big storm brewing and very close by, the organizers of the Comerica Cityfest called it a night.

My guess is that the night’s headliner, De La Soul, will not be rescheduled.

But here’s the good news, and one of the reason why it’s great to live in Detroit. A few phone calls were made, a few favors called in, and a flurry of text messages were sent to souring, disappointed Detroiters to get their asses over to the Garden Bowl. Four of the acts slated to play that night at Cityfest–The Hentchmen, Magic Shop, The Dead Bodies, and The Silent Years–gathered their gear and headed over to the Majestic complex to reclaim the night for us all.
(Continued)

Hello my babys,

This is Scotter, signing in for a bit of updatage on the site, a preview of things to come from your favorite Post-Rockists.

1. We’re going to Pitchfork Music Festivale! We’ll have our full preview and stuff up soon and will try to make it funny and light and then we’ll head for Chi-town and try our best to not party too hard so that we can remember enough to write about it upon our return. Wanna meet up? It’ll be easy to recognize us. We’ll be the ones with tight blue jeans and hipster sun glasses, taking photos with our point-and-click cameras and drinking beer.

B. With 2008 now half over, we’re going to look back at our favorite albums of the year that we didn’t cover. We love lists, and haven’t made any in awhile and are feeling feverish for a healthy dose of numbering and bullet points. (Speaking of lists, you must check out Coke Machine Glow’s 2008 Listravaganza. I wish we’d have thought of this stuff.)

D. The Comerica Cityfest starts today. Yes! Food, beer, sun, and lots of free music. One of my favorite events of the year for reals. I’m not going to cover the Cityfest this year like I did for Rock City Fest, because I’d like to enjoy my evenings and afternoons without dedicating myself to typing away at the computer for 20 hours to get everything down. But I will be posting pictures and short updates–perhaps a recap, of sorts–so I’ll see you there, Les Detroitiers.

Tonight, I get to see these guys:

III. The feeling of future infamy swelled within my breast when asked to compete in a Local Blogger Duel of Wits and Awesomeness, facing a formidable opponent in fellow blogger and beloved Detroit paper-bagged icon Jasper. Yet victory was not in the cards for me nor Jasper, but it was an Elle of a lot of fun. Well played indeed, my good man.

Any suggestions for stuff on this site (besides posting more often!)? Leave a comment.

God’s Choicest Blessings,

Scotter