Okay, so I was standing behind — and I mean right behind — the sound guy at the Quad Stage of the Folk Festival on Sunday afternoon. That was new this year: a stage inside Fort Adams. And I was listening, alongside Mr. Betty, to Ben Sollee, who plays a mean cello. Actually, it was Ben Sollee with Daniel Martin Moore and Jim James (Yim Yames??). That's the thing with the Folk Fest: no matter how you approach it, it's great. All manner of up close & personal stuff. But, no matter how you approach it, you also miss something. We probably should have spent a little more time listening to Richie Havens at the Fort Stage, outside the Fort, where we'd just run into a friend who said, "Wanna know how old I am?? I haven't seen Richie Havens since Woodstock." But we wandered away after Havens' long and meandering intro and lead-off number to the Harbor Stage, for a bit of Preservation Hall, on our way to Ben Sollee — and you know what?? I can't possibly start, let alone finish, that particular past-tense tale this morning, as I have too many present-tense matters to deal with. And present tense is important, yes?? Maybe even more important?? So, I'll get back to this/that later. Or maybe tomorrow (thus dragging the past into the future). How ridiculous: I should have said nothing at all ...
