Inman Park Festival - Atlanta, GA (4.24 & 25.2010)

Saturday, April 24th

Things got off to a rainy start for Atlanta’s annual Inman Park Festival this year. It was a near monsoon out there but that had little affect on the spirits of the parade participants. Most of them were running up and down the street and around their hand-built floats with a great big smile and a happy demeanor. There were even a few people throwing out candy as if it were a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Sort of strange to think that anyone would actually want to pick soggy candy off the soaking wet streets and gobble it down with enthusiasm. Karrin and I learned quickly the whereabouts of the large covered tent that served as the “Euclid Avenue Tent Stage”. We also learned very quickly that this festival, although not clearly stated, allowed you to walk around with your own beers in hand as opposed to the $5 ones at the vendors. Good thing we had come prepared. After moseying down a number of streets, it was clear that most of the vendors had left their booths closed up and decided to just throw in the towel for the afternoon. There were a surprisingly large amount of people there, considering the weather, who looked like they were still having a good time regardless of how soaked they were.

Karrin and I made it to the Euclid Ave. Tent just as soon as the band “The Holland Dutch” was getting started. This group was fronted by two very sub-averagely talented women who were just not doing it for me. After a bit of humming and hawing, we decided to find a place to eat and let the rain cool off a little bit. A cozy joint called The Northside Tavern hit the spot and then we were off to find the Delta Park stage for an encounter with Deep Blue Sun. Needless to say, this performance wasn’t quite as enthralling as the last time I had seen them. Rhythm guitarist Katie Marsh didn’t have the sweet sounding singing voice that I had for some reason remembered her having, and the overall energy of the band (perhaps due in part to the weather and lack of a crowd) was very low. We did get to see the band’s regular guitarist however, Matt Lynn, who did a phenomenal job.

After Deep Blue Sun, it was time for Southern natives, Delta Moon, to take the stage. These guys were a real treat. Front man Tom Gray sat poised with overalls and a lap slide guitar that he was shredding to the bone. With a whiskey weathered voice that would make Tom Waits smile, he sung some serious blues numbers that seemed to come howling out of the speakers. To his right stood Mark Johnson who also had a glass slide on his finger, giving this band a unique sound that is hard to beat when it comes to slide blues. After being mesmerized by these two and their guitar playing aptitude, it was time for Karrin and I to head to the Railroad Earth show. This turned out to be the best decision we made all day.



Sunday, April 25th

I think it’s safe to say that Sunday was a bit more suitable for an outdoor festival at least in terms of the weather. The people were out in masses and Karrin and I walked around in what seemed like an endless sea of vendors, checking out all of the goods. Street vendors seemed to be the focal point of this festival. At one point, we walked into a booth, only to come walking back out wearing sun hats on our heads. Perfect for festival season. Shortly thereafter, a street magician whose name I don’t recall caught our attention and we went over to see what was happening. There weren’t many people gathered around so I jumped at the opportunity to volunteer for his next trick. He pulled me into his performance area, opened up a fresh book of matches and ripped one of them out, placing it in my right hand. The onlookers watched as he proceeded to light the entire book on fire, making sure that every match in the booklet had been burnt. He then placed the burnt book into my left hand and instructed me to close my palm. With a wave of his hand and some verbal nonsense, he had me open my left hand, containing the book of matches, to find that there was now one, lonely, un-burnt match fixed to the inside of the booklet! And then, as if that wasn’t cool enough, he had me open my right hand to find the original match had completely disappeared into thin air. I was truly impressed and sat scratching my head for quite some time about how he could have pulled that little stunt off. He did a few more cool bits and then read Karrin’s mind for his grand finale, reciting her phone number without ever even peaking at the slip of paper she had written it down on and stuffed into a covered envelope. We dropped some money in the man’s hat and walked away with our jaws scraping the pavement. It was time to check out some music.

We sort of wandered around from stage to stage on this afternoon, getting a real hodge-podge of exposure to all the different music that Inman Park had to offer. But I would like to say a few words about a man named Ike Stubblefield. On the schedule, this show was billed as “Ike Stubblefield and Friends”. Little did we know that resident badass, Jeff Sipe, would be one of these “friends” of his. Jeff is an incredible drummer with hugely versatile capabilities that span across numerous genres. Some of his more notorious projects include Leftover Salmon as well as extensive touring with Keller Williams, String Cheese bassist Keith Moseley, and guitarist Gibb Droll. For the majority of the show, Ike and Jeff exchanged blows with some of the wildest jazz fusion I have ever heard. Jeff was throwing in fills at spots that I wouldn’t even consider possible and Ike was whipping his hands and feet all up and down his Hammond B3 Organ in the most outlandish fashion. This guy knew what he was doing. A couple of guests came out including a talented harmonica player and a saxophonist who could really play. The band definitely laid it down.



Needless to say, it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon that made up for the monsoon that we experienced the day before. Karrin and I were glad we got to see Ike and Friends and I think the true magic that afternoon was in the fingers of Ike Stubblefield, and the drumsticks of Jeff Sipe. Even though the two of them might not have the ability to make a match disappear right before your very eyes.