Security at the festival sure has been doing its job.
As I made my way to the front gate, I saw a large side gate that was swung wide open, with a lone guard manning his post. I asked if I could go through (since I had the all-access pass and all) and I was DENIED! Talk about getting moded. I felt I was back in junior high, getting rejected for a slow dance at the after-school dance.

On the main stage, most of the security guards kept it real cool. I even recognized a few from a poetry slam I performed at a month ago. I'm thinking everything is all good as I'm standing on the grounds, stage right, when a female guard with piercing green eyes (which I had complimented the previous night) approached with a serious look on her grill.

"Could you please step over there," she asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"Yeah, sure," I complied, despite the presence of several other people standing in the area where she was asking me to move away from. I then took literally one step to the left, which was more than sufficient.

I guess she just didn't want to stand anywhere near me.

Later on, I spotted the same crazy lady in the extra-large joke glasses as the previous night. I laughed as I watched her sway back and forth during the Billy Preston performance. I lean over to the wound-up security guard and ask her "You think that lady might be Flavor Flav's momma?"

She gave me a look of bewilderment, shrugging her shoulders as if she didn't have an answer for me. I inform her that I was joking. I guess I'm not as funn as I thought I was.
I get over my comedic faux pas and focus my attention on Preston, who is just working the crowd.

Black,white, Latino, everyone gets up out of their seat at his command.

He rolled through renditions of "It's Alright" and "Georgia on My Mind" as if the soul of Brother Ray
Charles was living inside of Preston's mouth. Then he took everyone to church, stomping
through an organ solo of "Amazing Grace" before hitting the crowd with the Sam Cooke classic "A Change is Gonna Come."

It was enough to make an athiest catch the holy ghost.

I looked over at the security guard that wouldn't laugh at my lame jokes. She was holding her daughter in her arms, nodding her head and smiling.

Oh well, I thought to myself. I guess some folks are harder to impress than others.
posted by Marc Cabrera at 6/26/2005 12:37:00 PM