Pretty Flowers

All lovers of rock n roll and playing air guitar should head over to extrawack! to grab the Pretty Flowers' "Scheisse Movie". The entire song is basically one riff and about two sentences of lyrics but that riff is worth the trip. I got it a few days ago and have been playing it constantly. I'll probably be sick of it a few weeks but in the meantime...oh, that riff.

By the way, I think "scheisse" is German for "shit". So, I have no idea what Pretty Flowers are singing about but, like I said, it's all about the riff.

Beemer Bikes Everywhere

Are you wondering why you're seeing so many BMW motorcycles this weekend? It's because 8,000 BMW owners have descended on the Queen City for their 2006 BMW Motorcycle Owners of America Rally. It seems like everytime I turn around I see another bike and some dude in eurotrash leathers. And Montpelier is 40 minutes from the rally. I can just imagine what it's like in the Burlington area.

I generally can't stand motorcycles (or "monster turtles" as my 2-year-old calls them) because of the noise. However, I think my bias has been skewed by the preponderance of Harleys we see (and unfortunately hear) in Vermont. However, I've noticed these BMW bikes are a lot more quiet. So, it hasn't been too annoying.

And the bikes are kind of cool to check out. Some the bikes are pretty packed. In fact, some seem to have more metal on them than my old VW Rabbit had in the early 90's.

Amen Break

Are you curious about the history and orgin of a famous 6-sec. drum break sample called the Amen Break? Got 18 minutes to kill? Click below.

iPod Mystery Track | Hard-Fi

Every once in a while a track pops up on my iPod while it's in shuffle mode that I've never heard of and have no idea how it got on my iPod. Perhaps a friend sent it over or I got it from a music blog or I got it from a sampler CD or some record promoter sent it over or the music gods bestowed an immaculate download upon my iPod. I don't know but it's fun to have these tracks pop up every so often to keep things interesting.

I usually don't write about the tracks because I don't know anything about the bands. But when has that lack of knowledge ever really stopped me in the past from posting about a band. So, I thought I'd throw the track up here from now on when they appear.

The track this time was "Stars of CCTV" from Hard-Fi and it came on while I was giving my kids a bath last night. The lead singer has a Billy Bragg quality to his voice and the music is half-acoustic and half-electric. The strumming makes the song feel immediately familiar and the chorus is rather catchy. Good tune.

Today, I learned the band is from England, the song came out in 2004 on a very limited release (500 copies) but was re-released in 2005 on an album of the same title. Apparently, the album got strong reviews and was nominated for a Mercury Prize.

According to iTunes, I added the song to my library on Aug 8th, 2005. So, it only took me a year to finally get my ass around to listening to it. Whoever gave it to me, thanks.

Hard-Fi | Stars of CCTV

Lambchop | Coming to Montreal | Sep 23rd

Do you know how music fans didn't really "discover" The Velvet Underground until about ten years after they had broken up when a bunch of musicians started citing them as a major influence? Well, in 2020, I think the same thing is finally going to happen for Lambchop. Someday, the world will "discover" the genius of Lambchop and their dark, beautiful fusion of country and soul.

Or maybe they won't. What the hell do I know?

Seriously, I've been in love with Lambchop ever since hearing those first "stop whatever you are doing and stare at the stereo" notes from How I Quit Smoking float out of my stereo speakers. Since then, they've released about 9,000 albums with each one providing more and more tunes of sweeping delicate artistry. Yet, they never get any attention and, with ten band members, nobody is getting rich for that excellence. But in 2020, I'm telling ya, it's fat city for whoever is holding the rights to these albums.

Having said all of that, Lambchop will be making a stop on their next tour in Montreal at Le National on Saturday, Sep 23rd. I pretty sure my wife and I will be going up for this one. Maybe make a weekend out of it.

Lambchop will be out supporting two albums. Last spring, they released an album of rarities called The Decline of Country & Western Civilization - Part II: The Woodwind Years (Now, that's a title!) which was surprising because they had released another rarities disc back in
2001 called Tools In the Dryer. Here's the kicker, the first 1,000 copies of Tools in the Dryer included a bonus disc of more rarities. That's three discs of rarities in five years. And the magic is that they are all enjoyable.

The best tracks from The Decline are the alternate upbeat rocking versions of the quiet tunes from How I Quit Smoking like "The Scary Caroler" and "Smuckers". It shows how flexible the large band is when they can completely change the structure and sound of their songs and still produce gems.

The main album Lambchop will be out supporting is their new album Damaged which is due in stores on Aug. 22nd. I've only heard three tracks from it so far and it sounds similar to their last release Aw C'mon/No You C'mon. More sweeping strings than exclamating horns but dazzling nonetheless.

They've also recently released a split EP with Hands Off Cuba that is more electronica than country and probably won't be featured much during this tour. Like I said, they seem to have released a few thousand albums. It's tough to keep track of all of them.

The opening band in Montreal will be Toronto's post-rock outfit Apostle of Hustle.

Songs from The Decline of Country & Western Civilization:
Lambchop | The Scary Caroler
Lambchop | Smuckers

Songs from Damaged:
Lambchop | Beers Before the Barbican
Lambchop | Crackers

Song from the compilation Beyond Nashville: The Twisted Heart of Country Music:
Lambchop | Beyond Belief (Elvis Costello cover)

Hipsters in Heat aka Siren Festival | Osheaga Festival

Well, while Vermonters spent the weekend heat wave soaking in our favorite local swimming holes, the indie kids in NYC were catching all of the hot new bands out in Coney Island at the Village Voice's Siren Festival...in 95 degree heat.

The big names were Scissor Sisters, Tapes 'N' Tapes and Art Brut but it sounds like Serena Mannesh and Dirty On Purpose got a lot of attention too.

Here's a few links to some nice photos of the shows. Obie's photos. extrawack's photos. Fresh Bread's photos.

Check out performances by Art Brut here and here. The second one includes a nice little rant from Eddie Argos about Cat Stevens. And one by Dirty On Purpose here. And one from Tapes 'N Tapes here.

But don't despair our lack of access to big summer music festivals because as jds posted a few weeks ago, there is going to be a big one in Montreal over Labor Day Weekend. It's called the Osheaga Festival and will feature Sonic Youth, Wolf Parade, The Hidden Cameras, Clap Your Hands, Final Fantasy, Islands, Dinosaur Jr., Flaming Lips, The Magic Numbers and a bunch of other indie bands. Clearly, a stacked line-up.

Having said that, I'm still up in the air about whether I'm going to go or not. Labor Day weekend is a tough one. We always have a bunch of parties and activities going on. Plus, I'm not a big fan of hanging in a huge field all day waiting for truncated performances a hundred yards away when I know that if I wait for the band's club dates, I could see a full set in a more intimate setting.

Although Parc Jean-Drapeau looks like a beautiful setting for such a festival. By the way, I think the Google Map from Osheaga's website has it's marker in the wrong spot because, according to the map, the show is going to be in a parking lot under an elevated highway. I hope for everyone's sake, that marker is misplaced.

Two-day passes are available through Higher Ground for $80.

One final note...I'm liking Dirty On Purpose's Hallelujah Sirens LP. Yet another good Brooklyn band. I also like at the end of their set when they say "We're Dirty On Purpose". It makes an otherwise horrible band name kind of amusing.

Dirty On Purpose | No Radio
Dirty On Purpose | Car No Driver

The Little Ones

It's already mid-July and I haven't trotted out any posts on "good summer albums". So, I thought I'd finally get my ass in gear with an EP from a new band out of LA called The Little Ones. The six-song disc is called Sing Song and reminds me a lot of one of my 2005 faves The Spinto Band. Lots of summery classic 60's pop. Nothing transformational but just a fun album to have blowing out your car window.

Now, to be honest, I'm kind of late on The Little Ones. I'm the third VT blogger to pimp the California quintet. gjs over at Pages Within tipped me off to them back in May and then Tiny Meat tossed them up on one of his Tuesday indie music dumps. So, that's three of us showing love for these guys. In the small world of VT bloggers about music, that's almost overkill.

The Little Ones | Lovers Who Uncover
The Little Ones | Cha Cha Cha

Editors | Coming to Montreal | Aug 1st

OK. I know that not everyone is crazy about Editors (I'm looking at you, Casey). However, after having the album for six months or so, I still find myself playing it regularly. There's still about 4-5 songs on the album that I don't like and find to be quite bland. But the rest of it is delicious.

So delicious in fact, that I'm willing to hike up to Montreal to hear that half of the album. Plus, I've heard from friends that they are pretty damn good live. I missed their Burlington show back in March when I already had tickets for Silver Jews in Boston right before the show and Arctic Monkeys in Montreal the day after the show. It just would have been too much to hit a third show. But Editors have given me a second chance.

The show will be at Cabaret La Tulipe (9pm) which is a nice old theater with a great sound system; and easy to get to. The opening band will be Lake Trout who is also opening for The Flaming Lips at UVM in September. Download a few of Lake Trout's songs here.

By the way, check out their tour itinerary. It's a recipe for "band burnout". In one month, they are going to hit Canada, US, Japan, Austria, England, Scotland, Germany, France, Isle of Jersey and then Turkey; in that order. Geez, and I was bitching about hitting Boston and Montreal in one week.

If you want to download their four-song acoustic session they did for a French radio station, click here.

Editors | Lights
Editors | French Disko (Sterolab cover)
Editors | Feel Geed Inc (Gorillaz cover)

Farmers' Market Performance Art

The Montpelier's Farmers' Market has all of your usual stuff. Vegetables, meats, plants, bread, cheese and crafts. However, there's something new at the market this month.

Performance art!



I first noticed the person last week when he/she was standing on their platform wrapped in a large off-white sheet and mask just peaking out of their wrapping. It kind of freaked my kids out at first but then they became curious about who it was and why they were standing there. The artist moves every once in a while but is completely unresponsive to the people going by.

The reaction from the other folks at the market seems to have varied from being startled when they first see it to being annoyed by it because it made them uncomfortable to laughter to photographing the person while their kids stand along side of the artist. Plus, a lot of people just walk by without noticing it or just purposefully ignoring it.

The people who seem the most perplexed by it are the out-of-towners who thought they'd go away for the weekend to a quaint Vermont town. There never was anything like this on Newhart.



As you can see, this week the person was covered in straw and paint. Considering the 90 degree heat yesterday, I'm guessing that straw was humming by the end of the market.

I like this addition to the market. It adds to the atmosphere and is certainly a conversation piece. I have no idea what statement the artist is making but I'm interested in seeing what they show up wearing next week.

The Jazz Guys | Phantom Buffalo | Danielson | Coming to Higher Ground | July 21st

Alright. I'm done guest blogging over on extrawack. Time to get on with VT business.

The best show of the summer at Higher Ground will be next Friday night - July 21st. Three good bands for $10 ($8 in advance). With the exception of the creme stand, that's the best deal you find.

The first band at 8:00 will be Portland's (ME; not OR) Phantom Buffalo. It took a little while for these guys to grow on me but now I'm making special plans to get my ass there in time to see them. They have a bright guitar pop sound but it isn't overly sweet. The singers high-pitched voice can take a little getting used to but now I love it.

You can downlaod all the mp3 files of their in-studio radio performance at WMPG from last February.

After them comes the Queen City's reigning indie champs, The Jazz Guys; hot on the heels of their debut EP, Blessing in Disguise. In classic Jazz Guys fashion, a show can't just be a show. They always throw in a little something extra. This time, they are having a contest and giveaway. They are going to have a show poster up on their site which fans can print off, color & decorate, and then bring to the show. The first 100 folks who show up with flashy show posters get a special gift. Mums the word on the gift though. I'm hoping for a Smoker Father Christmas because I'm loving my new one.

I can't find the poster on their site yet so I'm guessing it isn't up yet. However, once it is up, I'll post again about it. Maybe I'll print off a whole bunch and let my kids' daycare classes color them in.

Either way, it should be an entertaining set.

Capping the evening will be Danielson. The blogosphere is raving about their new album, Ships, but they aren't clicking for me. Perhaps seeing them live will make a difference for me. At the very least, their use of costumes and props should provide for some amusing visual moments. But they could compeltely suck and it would still be a good show because Phantom Buffalo and The Jazz Guys are playing.

By the way, jds at Lat 44.2N has been loving Phantom Buffalo and Danielson for a while now. For more (and better written) posts on them, go here and here respectively.

Phantom Buffalo | A Bathing Suit For a Rich Girl
Phantom Buffalo | Killings Not OK

The Jazz Guys | The Best Five Minutes of Your Life
The Jazz Guys | Amanda

Danielson | Did I Step On Your Trumpet

False extrawack!

Hey folks. I'm guest blogging over at extrawack! while b.f. is out saving the planet.

Contrast Podcast | Parlez Vous Français?

With France losing in the World Cup finals today, I thought I'd mention that the theme for the most recent Contrast Podcast is "songs in french". I contributed a song from Montreal-based band Les Breastfeeders called "Mini Jupe et Watusi". Great song.

The podcast is stacked with a bunch of good tunes such as Dutronc's "Le Responsible", Miou Miou's "A l'ete de la saint martin", Stereolab's "Miss Modular" and Serge Gainsbourg "Bonnie & Clyde". Plus, you can now stream the podcast from the site. So, if you aren't in the mood for downloading a 64MB file, just stream it.

I was also thinking of submitting a tune from Eux Autres or Fabienne Delsol but ultimately decided to go with Les Breastfeeders since they never seem to get mentioned in the blogosphere. Plus, I can just share the tracks from the Eux Autres and Fabienne Delsol here as a supplement to the podcast.

The theme for the next Contrast Podcast will be Beatles covers. It filled up very quickly and I didn't get a chance to submit anything but I'm hoping somebody got Stevie Wonder's version of "We Can Work It Out" in there.

Les Breastfeeders | Mini Jute et Watusi
Fabienne Delsol | Laisse tomber les filles
Eux Autres | Ecoutez Bien!
Dutronc | Le Responsible

It's All Over

Well, a month after it started, the World Cup is over with Italy being the last team standing. I don't care for the Italian team but kudos to them. Nobody beat them for a month. In fact, nobody got a better result against them than the US did when they tied them 1-1.

I watched the game at Positive Pie 2 with TM and about 100 other soccer fans (which you can make out from TM's fuzzy shot from his camera phone). The place was packed. And that's the most notable thing for me and this cup. Four years ago, eight years ago or twelve years ago you would not have seen 100 people go to a bar in a small Vermont town on a beautiful afternoon to watch a soccer game. People seem much more interested this year than in year's past.

I'm not crazy enough to believe all of these people are going to watch soccer regularly but they'll tune in for the next cup and a portion of them will follow the sport more closely than they did before. Whether it's watching pro games from Europe or qualifying matches for South Africa 2010, some of these new fans will expand their soccer interest.

As for Zidane and his bat shit crazy head butt with ten minutes to go in extratime, it was one of the craziest things I've ever seen a player do at such a heightened moment in a big game. The early reports are that Materazzi used a racial slur that sent Zidane over the edge. As disgusting as that is, Zidane has been playing soccer for decades. I'm sure he's heard all sorts of horrible things coming out of players' mouths. I can't imagine what Materazzi said that was so much worse to make Zidane lose complete control of his self-judgement.

Regardless, Zidane will probably be forever remembered for that head butt as it gets replayed thousands of times from now to eternity. But let's never forget that Zidane scored this goal in the Champions League Final. Certainly a better way to remember the guy.

DVD Double Feature | All Dolled Up | Wattstax

I don't watch many DVDs but I accidentally stumbled into a killer double feature recently with a similar theme. The theme was music from 1972-73 but both DVDs showed opposite ends of the spectrum of the early 70's music scene.

One was about punk while the other was soul. One was in black & white while the other was in color. One was shot mainly indoors and the other outdoors. One dealt with concerts in small dark clubs before 400 fans while the other focused on a sunny outdoor music festival in front of 100,000 fans. Lots of differences but besides the theme of music, the thing that unites these two films is the overwhelming desire for individuality that seemed to dominate US culture in the early 70's.

All Dolled Up

While reviewing Kris Gruen's debut album a few months ago, I talked to Kris about a film his parents, Bob Gruen & Nadya Beck, had recently released about The New York Dolls. Apparently, Bob Gruen & Nadya Beck were some of the first people to buy a portable video recorder. Because nobody back then had VCRs (except for Gruen & Beck), they would film bands and then invite the bands over to watch their performances. This was a pretty novel and cool things for bands. So, it led to some friendships with the couple. Well, Kris was kind enough to lend me a copy of the DVD.

One of those friendships was with The New York Dolls. From 1972 to 1975, Gruen & Beck recorded about 40 hours of videotape of the band. The majority of the footage comes from the Dolls 1973 tour of LA and San Francisco. Some on stage. Some back stage. Some while traveling. Some poolside. Etc.

The result is an unblinking view of one of the first punk bands and the scene that surrounded them. The concert footage is fun to watch but my favorite part of the documentary is everything off the stage. There is very little editing with the camera rolling for minutes at a time. So, you get a great feeling for what it was like to just hang out with the Dolls.

You can sense David Johanson's charisma as he dominates the backstage parties. You can easily see bassist Arthur "Killer" Kane's fragile personality as he seems to slink into the background of every scene; even when he is physically front and center. You can see Johnny Thunder's presence shrink as drugs begin to take their toll. But most of all, it's easy to tell how much fun it would have been to be a part of that scene.

Plus, you get to see the befuddled looks of regular folks' faces as the Dolls walk down the street or through the airport. You get to see the fans as they file into Max's Kansas City. The surprising thing is how much the fans look like hippies. It looks like the same crowd that are following the Trey & Phil Lesh tour at the moment. Even the little things like seeing the pull rings and tin cans of the beer they are drinking is interesting. The fact is that very few people were in these clubs with video cameras in the early 70's. So, not only is it a unique look at one of the most influential punk bands, it's a great look at the clubs and people surrounding them at the time. So, the film works well for fans of the Dolls and just general music fans.

One last point, if you are a big Dolls fan, be sure to watch the bonus feature where Bob Gruen shows his still photos of the band and provides commentary. He adds a lot of interesting info that doesn't make it into the film. For example, in the film, we just see Kane with a cast on his hand when they reach LA. Johansen says at one point that he hurt it but leaves it at that. Well, in Gruen's commentary, he points out that Kane's girlfriend didn't want him to go to the West Coast. So, she tried to cut off one of his fingers to prevent him from going.

Watch the trailer here.

Wattstax

The other documentary was the Oscar nominated documentary of the 1972 music festival that Stax Records hosted in the LA Coliseum to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the Watts riots. My brother-in-law and his wife had recently bought it and while visiting them last month, they showed me a bit of it. I had never even heard of the disc but from just a few minutes of it, I knew I wanted to see all of it. So, I borrowed it and watched it back-to-back with All Dolled Up.

Ecerything about this film makes it a must-see. The performances are spectactular. The crowd looks great with long afros, gigantic hats, big fur coats and all sorts of classic 70's clothing. Richard Pryor's comedy bits between the performers are hilarious and a nice change of pace. And the interviews with residents of Watts (including Ted Lange (pre-Isaac Washington days)) remind you of the social activism of the event.

While there are some big names at the show such as Issac Hayes, The Staples Singers and The Bar-Kays, what blew me away were the performaces by the guys I had never heard of. Johnnie Taylor's sweaty & sexy performance of "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" and Rance Allen's blistering "Hendrix meets gospel" version of "Lying On the Truth" are worth tracking it down alone.

One amazing moment occurs when Rufus Thomas is on stage. The crowd starts to pour out of the stands and onto the field. But Thomas tells them to stop and not go on the field until he tells them. Amazingly everyone stops. Then when he starts the next song, he tells them to "Go". People go sprinting everywhere; doing splits, dancing and just having a great time. Then at the end of the song, Thomas tells everyone to leave the field again. And everyone just leaves (except for a few stragglers that Thomas mocks hilariously). It staggering to watch. Think about all of the times you've been at a show and the band has asked everyone to take a step back to alleviate a heavy crush on the front row. Have you ever seen it work. Nobody ever listens. However, in 1972, I guess people did a better job of listening (or at least listening to a classic showman like Rufus Thomas). Regardless, it's a great moment to watch. You can watch it here. Be sure to check out the lady dancing at the 2:35 mark. Smoking.

Watch the trailer here.

Like I mentioned above, I enjoyed watching the two films because they both showed heavy doses of individuality busting loose in the early 70's. Completely different music scenes but, overall, the two films paint a great picture of the colorful era in US culture.

Now, I need to get the copies of these films back to their owners.

All Dolled Up | Buy | Rent

The New York Dolls | Pills (Mercer Street Sessions)
The New York Dolls | Jet Boy

Wattstax | Buy | Rent

Rance Allen Group | Lying On the Truth (Live at Wattstax)
Johnnie Taylor | Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone (Live at Wattstax)

4th of July

Happy 4th!

Since we moved to Vermont, the 4th of July has become my favorite holiday. The weather is great. No gifts to buy. No traveling required. Zero stress. BBQs. Relaxing with friends. And best of all...Montpelier's 4th of July Parade.

Almost every town has some sort of parade around the fourth and we usually hit three or four of them. I could pretend it's just for the kids but the fact is that I love them too. Particularly Montpelier's. The thing I love is the traditional slice of Americana it represents along with the contrast between all of the things and people in the parade. The organic farmers march with the Civil War re-enactors who march with dancing hippies who march with the politicians who march with the protesters who march with the kids who decorated their bikes who march with the local minor league baseball team and so on and so on. All of it weaves together into a wildly entertaining slice of our community. So, with that in mind, here we go...

After enjoying some great beer-soaked brats and burgers at a friend's BBQ, we headed over to the parade and took our usual spot along the state house lawn. As always, kicking it off...it's the politicians.


Sen. Jeffords, in his last parade as a sitting senator, got the largest round of applause.


Next up was Jeffords' likely replacement, Rep. Bernie Sanders. Nationwide, he's a bit of a polarizing figure but in VT, he gets about 60% of the vote. He even does well in the blue-collar conservative region in the northeastern part of the state.


Come on! Name another state where the sitting Treasurer is driving a farm loader in a parade! In the past, Jeb Spaulding has walked on stilts in the parade. Talented fellow.


And if everything goes as planned, State Senator Welch will replace Bernie in the US House.


Next up were the kids on their bikes. You can't see it well in this picture but most of them had their bikes decked out in red, white and blue decorations.


Followed by the wacky bikes.


The Lyme Town Band. I've never even heard of the town of Lyme.


This one was my son's favorite which makes sense for a four-yeal-old boy. It's the local minor league baseball team, the Vermont Mountaineers, on top of a firetruck. Little boy nirvana.

By the way, after topping Sanford 2-0 this afternoon, the Mountaineers are 14-7 and enjoy a three-game lead in the Northern Division. The amusing part of today's game is that it was a make-up game from Friday's rain-out and they forgot to notify the umpires. After realizing they didn't have any umps, the team called a local guy who left work early and came over and umped the game alone. Such a typical northern New England way of doing things.


As my friend, Nik, always pointed out...Americans love things that rhyme. If it rhymes, it must be true!


And after the "no nukes lady", come some of the sailors from the USS Montpelier which is an active nuclear attack submarine. Oh, I love the back-to-back contrasts of this parade.

My wife and I were having dinner outside at Conoscenti last night when a few of the sailors walked by in their dress whites. We both immediately had the same thought..."It's Fleet Week in Montpelier???"


Next up was Chris Robinson and his band promoting the Washington County Family Center. Looks like they need a bass player. Hmmm, I wonder where they could find a bass player...hmmm.


Did someone ask for dancing hippies?


And who did the parade organizers put right after the dancing hippies? That's right. The Civil Air Patrol. With their shiny helmets, they look like the ROTC guys from Omega House.


Apparently, Montpelier has a unicylcer club.


Next up were the farmers. Another big hit with the little ones.


I gotta get me a set of "green walls".


Time for the beauty queens. Where's the guy with the "Fuck Barbie" shirt when you need him?


And what do you put right after the beauty queens? That's right. Dancing pagans banging sticks together. Such a great parade.


It's not a 4th of July parade until you have a few white folks in Che Guevera t-shirts playing steel drums.


The Raging Grannies. Seriously, don't fuck with the Raging Grannies.


Kevin of Buch Spieler rocking out "Aiko Aiko".


These guys are my favorites. The Shriners are a bunch of old guys who are probably jacked up on about 1,600 mg of ibuprofen as they cruise around in these little go-carts high-fiving all of the kids along the parade route. The thing I love is when they drive up and over their accompanying truck (which doesn't stop) on the ramps attached to the roof. It's great. Everyone goes nuts for these guys.


Coming down the ramp.


The back of the truck that the go-carts go up.


This guy freaked out my son. I'm sure he'll be waking up any minute now screaming about a bad dream. I'm blaming this guy when that happens.


These are the folks that want VT to secede from the US. Ever since they published their newsletter about how 9/11 was a big federal conspiracy, I've dismissed them. This little showing didn't win me back.

By the way, in continuing the "contrast vibe", the parade organizers put these guys right after The League of Women Voters. So, The League of Women Voters came through encouraging everyone to register to vote. Then these guys came through with banners saying "Refuse to Register". Some parade organizer has a great sense of humor.


Next up...Bread & Puppet. Love 'em or hate 'em, they always put on a good show.


More protesters against Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.


Bread & Puppet's bus. Yep, they're hippies.


And what should follow an anarchist theater group? That's right. The minor league basketball team.


Followed by...Civil War re-enactors. I like how re-enactors always make themselves Generals.


Time for an oompa band and some laderhousen.


The beginning of the end. Smokey the Bear. You can just see his hat behind the tractor's wheel.


The firetrucks are always the big grand finale.

Another year. Another great parade.

After the parade, there's a two-hour party on the state house lawn which is concluded with a fireworks show. And tomorrow, on the actual 4th, we'll hit the Worcester parade (11 a.m.) which is followed by the Strawberry Festival at the Methodist Church and chicken BBQ on Ladd's Field.

Now do you see why the 4th of July is my favorite holiday?

Sufjan Stevens | The Star Spangled Banner (Live)