Notes From the NMF

Which stands for Norman Music Festival, the third annual bash held this weekend in downtown Norman that features way more bands than you could shake a drumstick at.

1. It's a chance to see quite a few Okie musicians, which is neat. I got to see folks I know, like these guys. And this young woman, who also sang the national anthem at the first-ever NBA playoff game held in Oklahoma City last week. And I found a new group that had a great show and which I hope puts out more than a 3-song EP sometime soon.

2. As befits Norman, the Oklahoma city that most wants to be like Austin or Seattle, it's not all that organized. More than 200 bands split among around a dozen stages during the one-day "open" portion of the event? Unless there are some bands you know you want to see, there's really no way to catch up on what's offered. Had I not been early to see Maggie McClure, I'd have missed Green Corn Revival entirely, and that would have been sad.

3. The First Baptist Church of Norman has some smart people aboard; they sold their parking lot for $5 a space which was a lifesaver for an event that is being held in the middle of a downtown area that features no large parking areas.

4. The signage and mappage were brutally inadequate. Stages that were tucked back in alleyways were shown as hovering in the white space in between blocks, and there were no maps off the main drag. And printing the schedule with the latest times at the top of the different lists and the earliest times at the bottom might be a cute idea for an ad or a T-shirt but it's a ridiculous way to try to inform people of what's going on.

5. A huge variety of styles were represented. Of the three I took in, Post Arcadia's a kind of folk rock with a little bit more kick, Maggie McClure's a songwriter/vocalist with one foot in a jazz lounge and Green Corn Revival sound kind of like late-period X with a steel guitar. No favorites played here.

6. Unless you're next-door neighbors with Yukon Cornelius, wearing a knit hat in April looks silly, especially when the rest of your outfit is a too-small undershirt, skinny jeans that you can't pull up over your behind and artificially aged Chuck Taylors.

7. Kudos to the Norman Lions Club for holding their carnival in conjunction with the festival and giving the kids someplace to play so the parents could catch some breaks between shows.

8. I'd love to compliment you on your Earth-friendly sloganed T-shirt, but the cloud of burned tobacco by-product you've just exhaled into the greenhouse layer made me cough.

9. It may have been a long time since I approved of the extra-marital activity referenced in Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," but that doesn't mean I like it when some Okie hip-hopper wrecks it by making it a backup loop for him to rap over.

ETA: Should mention it was overall a good time ;-)