Hippies and Hula Hoops

The Calgary Folk Festival descended upon Prince's Island Park this past weekend and it was glorious. A feast for the senses with live music, great food and sunshine. Blue tarps and squatty lawn chairs as far as the eye could see, rows of grey port-a-potties standing like little soldiers, and the most eclectic mix of people you'll see this side of the Calgary Stampede. Heads adorned in messes of dreadlocks everywhere left me feeling pretty square with my neat, flat-ironed hair. I've decided that hippies are my new favorite group of people, I like the way they roll, so laid back and free, just like their 1960's predecessors. While watching the live music on stage, I was often distracted by 'hippie antics'. Hey, that sounds cool, and I think I'll make that a new word: hippieantics! "Oh stop with your hippieantics!" or "I'm not gonna stand for any more of these hippieantics!" or "If you don't control your hippieantics I'm gonna hit you with my vuvuzela!" (that was for Jay). Ok, where was I? Ah yes... my favorite hippie of the night was, well let's call her Sunflower. She found her one little spot in the trees off to the side of the main stage and danced her little hippe dance to every song that wafted through the summer air. Using the same flowy, spacey moves, never looking up to see who was watching, just feeling the music and letting it move through her body. It was sublime! I envied her.

Then there was the music. The best live acts are the ones that really engage the crowd and bring a level of intimacy to the performance, pulling you in. Obviously, seasoned "festies", most of the musicians were easily able to accomplish this. Only one singer failed to pull me in and she shall remain anonymous in case she ever reads this. Her top three songs were about a train, a bowl of black-eyed peas and a egg-laying hen. We're talkin' old school folk music, stuff my dad would like, sheesh! Then there was Shakura S'Aida! Wearing a sequined top, corset, super short leather skirt and 6" heels, this sweet lady brought me out, a real treat. At one point she asked the crowd if we were "ready to go to church"? Well, that sounded pretty neat so I said "yeah", actually, we all said "yeah" and I'm not sure any of us knew what she meant. So listen to me now cuz I'm gonna tell you how to "go to church" in case you should ever be asked. Wearing a good support bra, you put your arms in the air, look up and bounce around like your shoes are on fire. That's it. Thank you Shakura, for teaching me how to go to church. Frank Turner was great, a nice lad from the UK, singing Punky-folk and charming the crowd with stories of protests and annoying girls. Swell Season was who I came to see and they didn't disappoint, soooo good live, which I already knew but had yet to experience first hand. Glen and Marketa were magical and I almost broke into my own hippie dance right there in the trees, almost. At one point we received a lecture from Glen cuz some idiots sitting directly in front of the stage were jabbering on through one of Marketa's songs. It was an embarrassment! Seriously people, if you wanna chit chat, go have a barbecue in the backyard! Michael Franti and Spearhead finished off the night and does that guy know how to perform live or what?! He was engaging, sexy, and high energy with a smooth voice. Did you know the man hasn't worn shoes for 10 years? Really, look it up.

So we left the island that night, filled right up. Filled with lemonade slush, falafels, tikka masala and mini donuts. Filled with music that made me sing along, tap my feet, clap, dance and sometimes giggle and snicker, seriously, an egg-laying hen?!

Filled with sights that were both entertaining and bewildering. Bless you hippies, I love you and your folky folkness. And Sunflower, whereever you are, you should know, the next day I danced your little dance in my kitchen and it felt real good.

Top of the World

Por Que?

So, why a blog Cath? Don't you get enough attention? Aren't you already on the computer too much? Is your life really THAT interesting? Answer: no, yes and not really. Blogging creates a vulnerability I'm not terribly comfortable with, and I don't know why. Perhaps because a part of me, probably 30%, is still terribly shy. There, I've just revealed something about myself. Damn you blog!!

The content of 'Cat Knows That' will vary and will most certainly be peppered with YouTube posts of some of my favorite music and performances. There might be frequent postings, depending on how much attention I need, and I promise to try and keep it interesting. Come back and visit, if you dare. Release the Kraken!!