The final performance that I would like to describe to you took place on August 15, 2010 from 2-4:30 p.m. at Bayard Cutting Arboretum.  It was an outdoor concert performed by Ahmad Ali and friends.
I have always enjoyed attending concerts at the Arboretum because it is a nice, relaxing atmosphere.  It was a really great day- not too sunny with a little bit of wind to keep it just cool enough.  
I thought the performance itself was also fantastic.  Ali and friends had a very interesting sound that was kind of a cross between jazz and blues styles of music.  It was also nice to hear a few recognizable tunes.  I think it is important for a group that performs mainly covers to mix in some well known songs so that the audience can really participate.  
I enjoyed the music enough to purchase a $5 CD during the performance.  I was kind of disappointed with the CD when I listened to it later because it was much slower paced and very instrumentally based.  Ahmad Ali's very cool blues/jazz voice was a large part of what made his live performance so appealing.  My disappointment may be in part due to the fact that I bought the $5 CD with only 8 songs rather than the $10 one with 12.
CD aside, however, I found the concert to be both fun and entertaining.


So, the decision has been made- I will be attending the Philadelphia Folk Festival.  I will be leaving on thursday and I will try to keep a running set of notes as before.  When I will get to actually posting is a whole other story however, considering that I have 3 days to get ready to leave for school after I return.  I will do my best though, wish me luck :-).

On August 8th, 2010 the DingamaBogs performed at the Bogner/Moore estate on Eatons Neck for a Northport Chorale Benefit Concert.  They are a traditional folk/alternative music group that has been performing together for over 20 years, and two of them just so happen to be my parents :-).  This versatile trio of musicians perform using a variety of instruments including guitar, autoharp, banjo, recorders, clarinet, harmonica, and various others.  Their most distinct quality in my opinion is the unique way that they blend beautiful vocal 3-part harmonies.  Their repertoire consists of a very diverse mixture of songs ranging from traditional folk tunes to The Beatles to more contemporary artists such as R.E.M., Jonatha Brooke, and Tom Waits.
The party itself was a great venue for the DingamaBogs because most of the people seemed to appreciate the kind of music that they played.  The audience consisted of mostly older folk but there was also a somewhat diverse age range.  For some people, this type of music is kind of an acquired taste.  As someone who enjoys folk music, it was refreshing to see people really enjoying the concert and showing their appreciation by offering praise to the musicians at the end.
Over the years, I have listened to a lot of the same songs being performed by them, but I find that they never really get old.  Of all the music that this group could cover- this program really suits them.  For me, it's really nice to hear some new songs being thrown into the mix because it's interesting to see the group's interpretation of each song.  It's also nice to see an already diverse repertoire expanding its horizons even further.
The day was beautiful, the performance was fabulous, and the food was terrific.  All in all it was really a wonderful and successful event.

Okay, I'm gonna back track a little to some concerts that I attended earlier on in the summer.  This is tapping pretty deep in my memory, so bare with me.

On June 29th, 2010 I traveled to the Broadway Bar in Amityville, New York to attend a battle of the bands competition.  It was mainly metal music, which is kind of out of my element, but I actually really enjoyed it.  Some of the stuff was a bit heavy for my taste but there's something nice about having a balance of heavy music in combination with some more lyrical and melodic phrases.  The battle of the bands consisted of about 7 or 8 bands competing for the big win.  I made it to the bar only in time to see the last 3 bands perform.  
The first band was Kristy's Corner Store (http://www.myspace.com/kristyscornerstore).   They were really very good in my opinion, however I would hardly classify them as metal.  They fit more in the rock category.  The lead singer had a wonderful voice and that blended very well the other instruments.  Just coming into the bar not knowing what to expect, I must say that I was impressed by how well they performed.  That doesn't change the fact that I feel as if they really didn't fit in well with the rest of the performing groups.
The second band was an older group of men.  I honestly for the life of me cannot remember the band name.  There is also a definite chance that I never knew the band name to begin with.  Anyway, this band was my least favorite of the three that I saw.  The entire time the lead singer was screaming I kept  feeling like he was gonna bust an artery or something.  Maybe it was just because of how old he was, but I also think that part of it was a pained expression on his face.  On top of that- I didn't find them very enjoyable to listen to.  Granted, metal music is not really a genre that I am very accustomed to listening to and perhaps that is why I found them much too heavy.  For me I want to at least be able to hear that real words are being sung.  It also helps for there to be some kind of melodic organization.
The final group that performed was Psykosis (http://www.myspace.com/walkingplagueband).  This band originates from my neck of the woods and they were the reason that I attended the concert in the first place.  I was very impressed with their performance.  They definitely exemplified my definition of metal.  Their drummer was sublime and apparently picked up on the songs with little to no practice.  The songs had great beats which made them very danceable.  The guitarists were very talented and created a nice melodic base and on occasion I could even hear the words.  Most importantly, Psykosis was the most successful when it came to audience participation.  It probably helped that most of the audience was there specifically to see them.  Whatever the reason, the audience was at their loudest and the most involved during the Psykosis performance.  Many of the audience members also proudly donned Psykosis t-shirts.  Throughout the course of their performance one of the guitar players, JD McGibney, climbed off the stage and began walking around among the audience members while continuing to play.  This allowed the audience to really interact with the performers and feel like they were really a part of the show.  Toward the end of the performance a few of the band members became too hot apparently and stripped themselves of their t-shirts.  
In the end Kristy's Corner Store ended up winning the battle of the bands.  As talented as they were, I had been under the impression that it was supposed to be more of a metal competition than a rock competition.  All in all, however, I really enjoyed the concert.  More than anything else, it allowed me to broaden my horizons a bit and remove myself from my musical comfort zone.

Success! It only took a few months, but I finally finished writing about my first event. I'm not sure what is next on the agenda because I may or may not to attending the Philadelphia Folk Festival that is happening August 20-22 (http://www.pfs.org/PFF.php). Beyond that I have some really great news- I have just received tickets to attend two concerts in Buffalo with my lovely roommate. The first concert will be Jason Mraz performing at SUNYAB Baird Point Amphitheater on September 15th at 7 p.m. (http://jasonmraz.com/#/tour/). The second performance will be Ani Difranco in Asbury Hall at Babeville on November 2nd at 7 p.m. (http://www.righteousbabe.com/tour/index.asp#ani). I cannot wait!

The final performance on Sunday night was the most bland in my opinion. It began at 3:30 p.m. and was MCed by Bill Spence and Roger the Jester. This comic couple made jokes, told stories, and most importantly announced the list of lost and found items. The concert consisted of performances by Joe Hickerson, Tony Barrand, Becky Tracy and Keith Murphy, Alan Kaufman and the A-Ks, Cathy Barton and Dave Para, Susan Trump, and AJ Bodner and Lisa DiSavino. It was hard for me to decide the concert highlight. My parents seemed to particularly enjoy the performance by Tony Barrand. I feel like there was kind of a generational gap in this final performance.

Before the end of the concert the MCs made sure that they took the traditional sleeping audience picture, hoping that everyone would actively (or in this case- inactively) participate. My family and I took our own traditional picture in front of the Old Songs Trailer that was parked within the fair grounds.