I went to Music

Midtown two weekends ago and that squishy noise you might be hearing is

still probably my sneakers. Yes, Music Midtown was wet. Some would say

it was all wet or a complete wash-out and while those are clever phrases,

it is not entirely true.

Sabine and

I got to the venue on Friday night just as Sheryl Crow was starting her

set on the 96 Rock stage. She was playing "Come on, Come on"

and it sounded great. Here is a sampling of the dialogue that transpired

in the crowd afterwards: "Oh, was that a sprinkle I felt? Nah, oh,

there it was again and, yep, now it's raining. Oh boy, it's rain-Lighting!

Gee that was close. Hee-hee how about that wind, whooo, yikes-Lightning!

Wow, it's really raining. Aww, what do you mean evacuate the premises

until the severe weather passes? Keep playing! O.k., let's go, run."

And run we

did, to the safety of the press room in SciTrek where we snacked on a

few straggling carrots and stalks of celery. We people-watched for the

next hour or so, listening to photographers from major publications brag

about the shows they've been to recently. You know people are big time

when they refer to members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers by their first

names and these guys wanted everyone around them to know that they were

big time. Don't worry buddy, I get it. You work for Rolling Stone. Whoopee.

So, Sabine

and I left. We decided that we were soaking wet and a little cold and

waiting until they let people back in wasn't going to get us any drier

or warmer. That was the end of Day 1.

Day 2 started

with a late breakfast at IHOP and more downpour. The Saturday schedule

did not include anybody we were dying to see, especially since I saw a

very unimpressive Godsmack a few years back and I've seen Collective Soul

several times. We decided not to chance getting wet again and went to

see X2: X-Men United instead. It was really good. It was a very relaxing

day as we stored energy for what would be a busy Sunday.

Day 3 started

with a ride on the worst MARTA train I have ever been on. It honestly

felt like it was made entirely of the gimpy wheels from shopping carts.

I mean, there can't be turbulence on rails can there? Anyway, we arrived

at the venue looking forward to Aimee Mann, but she was late and we had

to be at the 99x stage 15 minutes before Jack Johnson's set to get in

the photo pit. So, no Aimee Mann. Johnson was terrific though. Imagine

having a cool friend who plays laidback music on guitar and seems to always

be having a good time. Well, that describes Johnson and his set. People

were just chilling out and it was great. The same could be said for Ben

Harper's set.

Sabine and

I then moseyed over to the Z93 stage, stopping at 96 Rock for a few minutes

to listen to Drivin N' Cryin. Drivin N' Cryin is awesome and always puts

on a great show. It was at the Z93 stage that I had the highlight of my

weekend. I saw Bob Weir and Ratdog perform and met a girl who won tickets

to Midtown from a radio station in Ohio. Kristen was a very nice girl

who had somehow met up with a fella named Jason from Rome, Ga. They were

both really nice and it was just neat to meet some cool people while good

music played. Things like this always seem to happen when you are surrounded

them) play.

Sabine and

I separated so I could go watch Everclear and Def Leppard, while she took

in the Gipsy Kings. Everclear sounded horrible, which is very unusual

and Def Leppard was O.K., but they dragged out their songs to interminable

lengths with wasteful jams. I mean, sorry Def Leppard but you are no Phish.

Sabine had a great time at the Gipsy Kings show, which is good because

they are one of her favorite bands ever.

This was definitely

not the best Midtown I have been to but I would hesitate to call it the

worst. We didn't get hassled by people at the porta-potties this year,

weren't harangued by angry British people waiting for Oasis to perform,

avoided angry, drunk teenagers and didn't sunburn, blister or sprain a

bone in our bodies. The best part of course is that we got into the show

for free and as long as we can continue to do that we will keep on attending

this world-class music festival.

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