Houston International Festival

[Corona Gigante]

The last two weekends in April is just about my favorite time of year in Houston. If we’re lucky, the weather is warm and sunny and the humidity is low. The city closes off ten or twelve blocks of downtown, builds ten stages, throws a big party, and everyone comes. The streets are lined with vendors’ booths selling food, drink, art, jewelry, clothes, cds and dvds (many legal!). The air is scented with incense, food, and if I’m around, a nice cigar.

I finished up Saturday evening with my wife in the center of a huge crowd in front of the “World Music” stage, skanking to a set by reggae legend, Burning Spear. The smoke that occasionally swirled around us smelled like no tobacco I’m familiar with. On Sunday, my wife stayed home and instead I was accompanied by Señor Hoyo De Monterey DC. We enjoyed performances by Kermit Ruffins & The Barbeque Swingers, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk on the Louisiana Stage and then strolled over to the World Music Stage for the Joe Ely Band.

Outdoors, with a Hurricane in a plastic cup in one hand and a nice smoke in the other, and a choice of world class entertainment, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.

[12stones]

Haven't made it to one yet. What's the lineup for this year?

[Corona Gigante]

Originally Posted by 12stones

Haven't made it to one yet. What's the lineup for this year?

Lots of good stuff still to come

http://www.ifest.org/ifest2006/Enter..._back_2006.pdf

[cigar no baka]

I might make it this year and bring my wife. But the heat is hard to bear.

[Corona Gigante]

Originally Posted by cigar no baka

I might make it this year and bring my wife. But the heat is hard to bear.

Heh. You think it's hot now?

You ain't from around these parts are you?

[cigar no baka]

Originally Posted by Corona Gigante

Heh. You think it's hot now?

You ain't from around these parts are you?

Fraid to differ there, but I have been here since 1978 at the age of 11. I once it passes 80 degrees and high humidity, I consider it too damn hot to spend all day outdoors.

[Corona Gigante]

Originally Posted by cigar no baka

Fraid to differ there, but I have been here since 1978 at the age of 11. I once it passes 80 degrees and high humidity, I consider it too damn hot to spend all day outdoors.

No offense intended. I just meant it's going to get a lot hotter before it gets any cooler. Of course it's not the heat that'll get ya... it's the humidity / exhaust fumes / mosquitoes. I've lived here since 1991 so I like to think I'm starting to get acclimatized.

Attendance at the second weekend was a little off due to the storm early Saturday morning. Steven Marley, Bob's son, headlined the World Music Stage. He played some of his own material and some of his dad's. No prizes for guessing which went down better with the audience.

Sunday I caught an amazing, mezmerizing performance by Tinariwen. They're Touareg from the Sahara region of Africa.

They have combined traditional musical forms with a modern rebellious and radical rock sensibility -- traditional instruments such as the teherdent lute and shepherd flute were discarded in favor of the electric guitar, electric bass and drums...Their Music is loosely based on traditional Touareg music and the harsh melodies of the one-stringed Touareg violin, but also incorporates influences such as Bob Marley together with the other disparate influences, both western and middle eastern, which managed to penetrate that far into the desert.

[cigar no baka]

No offense taken. I consider May-August or mid September to be indoors time, spend as little time outdoors as possible, except if I need to go outside to smoke a cigar. And I have to go outside to smoke the majority of the time so you can tell where my priorities are.