As I promised Friday, here are a few thoughts on the Tripping Daisy show at Homegrown, along with a little video I shot for you. The short version of the short version: you see that baby with the ear muffs, the one asleep in his father’s arms? That’s what I needed Saturday night. I needed protective earwear, and I needed a 15-foot-tall dad to carry me around.
My traveling party arrived at Main Street Garden a little before 5. So we got to see the end of Still Corners, and then Porches, White Denim, Lower Dens, and MUTEMATH. All entertaining acts. As I write this, I’m listening to Lower Dens on Spotify. I enjoy their work.
First thing I did when we got there was get a Shiner. Second thing I did was finish that Shiner. Third thing I did was leave the concert and walk to CVS to buy earplugs. The cool thing about that was I got see what was shaking on Main Street on an early Saturday evening. I was pleasantly surprised. Downtown looked like something approximating an actual downtown. There were people everywhere, doing people stuff. I ducked into the Crafty Irishman, a newish bar I hadn’t visited before. It was packed, and I determined further investigation, at a later date, is warranted.
On the Homegrown Festival itself, I will say this is something Dallas does right. Maybe I’d feel different if the weather hadn’t been as perfect as it was. But it was great to be standing downtown, smelling weed waft through the air, looking up at the clock of the Friendly Mercantile, listening to live music. Hats off to Joshua Florence, the founder of Homegrown, and his entire crew.
As for Tripping Daisy, I will defer to my friend Dave, who is a musician himself and who has seen the band a dozen or so times. He said they sounded as great as they ever did. Tim DeLaughter can still hit the high notes. But I found myself mesmerized by the psychedelic images on the bright video screen that sat behind the stage. My aching back sort of sent me into a state of hypnosis. Maybe it was a contact high. Do you know how hard it is to stand for five straight hours? Anyway, I couldn’t quite get there, that Dionysian, transcendent state driven by music. I expect too much, I know. Toward the end of Tripping Daisy’s set, I had to go find a table sit on. God, I can’t tell you how great it felt to sit down.
We did get to hear “I Got a Girl” before we left. That was pretty great. And I had just enough time to scarf down a Big Bite from the 7-Eleven across the street before our Uber picked us up. That was less than great.
I leave you with this video. Before the band took the stage, they showed a montage of old video clips that I thought was fun. Enjoy:
