Shocked!

Thursday: I checked out the Comfest schedule (looking for something that I did not find) and found, to my astonishment, that Michelle Shocked is headlining the main stage at prime time on Saturday. Make my day! Suddenly I have a specific, compelling reason to go.

Friday: I am psyched to go see Michelle Shocked, and Gven Golly is up for it, too, so we can share the excitement of seeing this quintessential punk-folk artist and cultural revolutionary in person. I've never seen her live, but I love her work. Her place in the schedule is sandwiched between other bands I want to see, so I'm looking forward to a great time.

Saturday: I listen to a couple of old CDs, "Short, Sharp Shocked" and "Texas Campfire Takes," while working around the house. Gven goes out to do some errands, and I go about my yardwork, laundry, and general chores. It rains, but it's no big deal, it's been raining on and off all week.

Then, due to a minor miscommunication, my projected departure time comes and goes, and Gven gets home about an hour later. "The secret to a long life is knowing when it's time to go," says one of her songs. Should we even bother at this point? I consult the oracle.

Better late than never, we drive in silence to Vickie Village and squat in a friend's vacant driveway, assuming that he won't mind since he's in New Mexico, and thuse succeed in parking a few blocks from Goodale Park, where we arrive halfway through the final song of Michelle's set. She and the band do "Anchored Down in Anchorage" as an encore, one of her most touching songs. It's clear that this formidable woman has connected with the rain-soaked but spirited audience here in central swingstate, and true to her word, she keeps on rockin'. I, however, am disappointed due to my own unmet expectations.

We walked around, saw a few people we know from work, from yoga class, from the old neighborhood, from church, from drum circle, from work. We stopped briefly at a few booths to looked into art, Buddhism, revolution. We listened to a couple of bands for a couple of songs, but somehow never quite got into the rhythm of Comfest. Still, it was worth going, just to bear witness that there are people still putting themselves on the line for their beliefs.