The Fest

After deciding that I would only attend the Hawksley show at Bluesfest, I somehow ended up at the Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings concert last night. I arrived in a record bad mood, ready to turn around and leave within seconds of arriving. But I stayed. Sharon Jones will do that to you.

For someone who is *allegedly* in her sixties, that woman can move and shake like a freaking blender. It was well worth the money I didn't pay, although I would have paid it, had I known how great the show was going to be (and if I wasn't dead broke). Plus, festivals are a great place to see friends I only ever see at shows, and I was finally able to do some catching up and some shameless self promotion. Okay, it turns out that I'm bad at self promotion, so I'm going to have to wave my CD release tickets at people a little more aggressively if I want to have a proper party.

I was also (un) lucky enough to catch about two minutes of the Cancer Bats who Heather and I only checked out after following a crowd of teenagers with very tight pants and very bad makeup. We do this every year, and by "this" I mean checking out the most sketchy act we can find at Bluesfest. Last year it was Kid Rock, and I have been scarred since. We abandoned that plan when we witnessed the terror of the mother/daughter stripper team. The Cancer Bats mission was aborted when I could hardly breathe from all the laughing. I've decided I'm not much of a hardcore fan, which surprised me, since there are very few genres I don't like. Anyhoo.

The only benefit that came from seeing the Cancer Bats was that I got to chat up the P-Mate people, who I have adored since the days of the Rock City Women's Festival. Ladies, have you ever wanted to pee standing up? Now is your chance. Plus they have been getting some rave reviews lately.

It's good that I had a chance to relax at the festival, because this week is going to be stressful. I know this by the low level of panic that follows me at all times.

Finances aside, I have my government language testing on Thursday, which is enough to send me slightly over the edge. I've already done the oral test (ORAL AS IN SPEAKING, SICKOS) but I still need to complete the French writing and comprehension. Comprehension will be fine. Writing could be a bloody disaster. French verbs are about as easy for me as math. My math mark in high school was a comfy 54%. I am really, really not looking forward to this.

À la prochaine.