27 March 2003
. : C' était Pour La Passion
In a much needed update, I will attempt to summarize my take on Ladyfest Philly.
Last Thursday I ventured off to Philadelphia by my lonesome. I got off the greyhound around 7:35 pm and tried to remember where I was at. It's been a couple of years since I took a bus to Philly. After getting lost a few times, I called the hostel that I was going to be staying at for directions. I still got lost. It is not fun to walk around in the poring rain with heavy luggage in a city you are not familiar with. I called a cab and it took me right where I needed to be. I checked in. The nice fellow with the pretty eyes and smile at the front desk told me the rules of the hostel. There was a curfew that all guest must follow. All guest must be in the hostel at 12:30 am Sunday-Thursday and 1:00 am Friday-Saturday. Ridiculous!! Also all guest must leave the hostel everyday by 10:00 am. The hostel will open again at 4:30 pm. I should have just spent the extra money for a hotel where I can come and go as I please. $21 bucks a night sounded so good at the time.
I made my way to the First Unitarian Church to check out Mirah. She didn't end up doing her set until 12:05 am which meant that I would not make it back to my hostel before the curfew. I struck up a conversation with Connie and Katy Davidson from Dear Nora and they were nice enough to help me find a place to stay. Let me just say that the Ladyfest organizers are the best (especially Tina, Monrovia and Leah - you girls rock!). They were very friendly and helpful. A lot of hard work was put in making Ladyfest Philly a great event.
Although I didn't get to buy any new tunes besides a Mirah cd that I've been wanting to get, I could not go a day without going to some music store. On Friday, I met Ed, the owner of Rustic Music, and hanged around his store for what seemed like hours fiddling with every guitar he had. I was really excited to find out that Mirah was going to be teaching a beginner's guitar class at the William Way Community Center. I'm not a beginner but heck it was Mirah. I had to go. We tried to play Time After Time by Cindy Lauper and I got some people playing Twist and Shout by the Beatles.
Later that evening, after a short nap at my hostel and I went to see Bahamadia at Transit. Let me just say that she was amazing! I haven't heard of her before Ladyfest so I didn't know what I was in for. I met up with Janine later in the night. She was super excited to see Bahamadia. DJ Rehka played & mixed some good songs which got me up and dancing (horribly though).
The only thing I will mention about Saturday is that Stiffed did a great job as usually. The crowed wanted an encore so they did a Clash cover - The Guns of Brixton. Fun!
Sunday was check out time at ye olde hostel. During my stay there I only took one nap. My nights at ladyfest were spent on couches and/or floors in other people's apartments. Tsunami, Ida, Dear Nora and some other acts were going to play at the First Unitarian Church (basement) so I checked that out for a bit and then said goodbye to Philly. I'll be back there sometime soon.
Right now I'm planning my next mini trip. I'm thinking I should visit Boston or Provincetown.
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