Unbridled jubilation

What I found particularly striking about this just past Presidential election was the sheer unbridled jubilation that it caused, not just here in the US, but around the world. It's a bit of a sad testament to the extreme unpopularity of our outgoing administration and the seeming desire to take back our country from the clutches of what people realized too late was a bunch of radical right wing extremists bent on American hegemony by military force around the world. In other words, empire. It's also a testament to the magnetic power of Barack Obama, his charisma, his idealism, his unswerving optimism that we can take back our country and propel it forward into the new century and make it great again. The very fact that more people turned out to vote in this election, creating what Time magazine called "Extreme Democracy" is also very reassuring. And in previous election victories, most successful candidates usually address their followers in a crowded ballroom in a hotel, but in Obama's case, the election night victory party was forced to be held outdoors in Grant Park in Chicago due to the sheer numbers expected to show up. Fortunately, it was an unseasonably balmy night, so the hundreds of thousands of people who were there to hear Obama's victory speech were also treated to a beautiful night weatherwise. But it's just the idea that crowds of tens and hundreds of thousands of people who, throughout the long, arduous campaign showed up to hear Obama that is absolutely unprecedented. Two days before Election Day, some friends from church and I went to a Cleveland Obama rally and were among the 80,000 who showed up to see him. Eighty....THOUSAND! That's rock star numbers, to be sure. Obama held his Democratic Party nomination speech in Denver's big football stadium and addressed an adoring crowd of 84,000. Let me repeat that.....eighty four THOUSAND! When he went to Berlin, Germany, he attracted a crowd of 200,000! That speaks volumes that a candidate like him could attract such astronomical numbers to hear him. And on Election Night in Grant Park in Chicago, a crowd estimated at over 100,000 turned out to hear his victory speech. I've never, in all my years, heard of such a thing, ever. I've never seen this kind of sheer unbridled exuberation over a Presidential election. Extreme Democracy, indeed. I can only hope that people will continue to stay so involved in their country as we enter this new era in politics. It would speak well of my fellow Americans if we could always expect large crowds on future Election Days.

42nd ANNUAL KENT STATE FOLK FESTIVAL

This past weekend was conclusion of the two week long 42nd Annual Kent State Folk Festival. I can't say that I attended any of the concerts leading up to the final weekend, money being tight as it is right now, but I did attend the Saturday workshops and worked as a room monitor/MC volunteer during the workshops and got to hear some fabulous music in the process and got to meet some outstanding musicians as well. I was stationed in Room 313 of the Kent State Student Center from noon to 3 p.m. as that room's MC to introduce each act, and was then kindly relieved by Larry Bruner, a local folkie, so that I could attend desired workshops for the remainder of the afternoon. While I was the MC in my room, I got to hear a group of classical violin, viola and cello players try to learn how to play in the folk style, a workshop on what distinguishes the difference between Cajun and Zydeco music (Cajun, to my ear, seems more "home grown, front porch" music as opposed to Zydeco, which is more influenced by blues, rock and other musical traditions), and a workshop on something inherently familiar to me, the anatomy of an Irish "seisiún", or "session". Having attended Irish Week at the Augusta Heritage Arts Center in Elkins, WV since 1989, I am more than familiar with how "seisiúns" work and what the overall etiquette is when you are playing in one. The music was quite rousing and the people performing together had not played with each other, which is perfect, because this is usually the case when Irish musicians get together to play. After I was relieved, I attended a discussion style workshop on Performing Abroad, which I found fascinating given the potential for language and cultural barriers. After that, the final workshop of the day that I went to was on Fiddle Tunes for Guitar, which requires elaborate flat picking, something perfectly mysterious to a finger style guitarist like me. The music was wonderful and everyone played great tunes. The final activity of the afternoon before the concert was the annual Talent Show, and apparently I missed the first four acts, which my mom said were mediocre. Those remaining acts that performed were also underwhelming, and one of the artists in the Fiddle Tunes for Guitar workshop fortunately saved the day and won the competition, the prize being the honor of opening for the Main Stage Concert, which was held, in a change of pace, at the historic downtown Kent Stage. The act for the night was Nancy Griffith, who was fabulous, but as usual, I got sleepy toward the end of the concert and didn't stay for the after-party because by the time I left, hardly anyone had stayed anyway. So I made my way home and fell into a good sound sleep, exhausted from the long day. Overall, I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all.