Patti on the overpass.

["weapons of mass destruction-related program activities" <spamtony>]

Well, the "Toyota stage" at the Free Library festival 
turned out to be the part of 19th street which is an 
overpass above the Vine Street Expressway. If you 
watched/listened to the goings-on directly in front 
of the stage, things were fine, but if they seemed 
a little loud to you, that was because you couldn't 
hear what those onstage or even slightly to the sides 
heard -- a constant roar of highway traffic below. Oy. 

It was enough for Patti to do a last-minute changeup 
in the itinerary. All music and no readings, as she
said she'd be too distracted by the traffic noise to 
do anything else. She joked that this would be 
good practice for a motorbike festival they were 
playing in Italy soon. She was accompanied by Jackson, 
and for several songs, Jeffrey Gaines, who apparently
lives here in Philly and offered his services on mandolin, 
guitar and backup vocals. 

The set was short - "Grateful", "Southern Cross", 
"Helpless", "Midnight Rider", PHTP, BTN, "In My 
Blakean Year". She sounded great, and complimented 
Jackson on his wonderful solo into "Grateful", thrown 
at the drop of a hat. She also struggled a bit with
the traffic noise and the sound as mixed/presented 
by two guys who were actually doing well, considering 
the fast changeovers, the adverse conditions, and 
the very varied list of performers, all of whom I 
found entertaining in one way or another. 

One bit of news is that she admitted to looking 
for housing here in the City of Brotherly Love, and
would take advice people had. She seemed to want 
a little townhouse in Old City, judging by her 
remarks about the streets where Thomas Paine walked, 
but with the crazy real estate here, well, good 
luck with that. It's no NYC, of course, but things
_are_ a bit overvalued right now. There aren't 
really any bargains to be had fitting her particular 
description at this point in time. 

So where should Patti live, those of you familiar 
with Philly? A hipster/artist enclave in Northern 
Liberties? Urban-edgy at the outer limits of what 
any sane non-real estate person would have stopped 
calling the "Art Museum Area" years ago? One 
of the shiny new condos being thrown up downtown 
everywhere you turn? Smack up against the chemical
plants in Bridesburg along cancer alley?