Some relish the unknown – I even used to fashion myself as a person that constantly sought new lives, newer people and I dreaded certainty.  I’ve changed over these Vermont years! 

This political season though, I’ve found myself obsessed with the idea and prospect of change.  I dream of change in local, state and national politics and discourse.  I fantasize about a colossal tectonic change in the entire collective, national cultural inner-self.  Change?  Whoa, I tell myself, “don’t jump the boiling creek until you’ve studied your options”!

Now it’s Monday, June 2, 2008.  Tomorrow night the Democratic primary season will come to an anti-climatic close.  For the sake of simplicity, let’s just call it a “51-49 race”.    No one has ever been nominated using any metric other than delegate counting.  Change?  (I warn myself again!)

As we approach the rise in the hill before us this week, it sure is frustrating not to be able to see over or around that looming knoll!  We all know the options.  When we reach the top of hill, the path could split multiple ways.  Are we approaching the top of a hill, or an edge of a cliff?  We won’t know till we get there folks…   Where is the leadership of our Party?  Pelosi and Reid; Gore, Schroeder, Carter and many others?  Will we see leadership and unity after Tuesday? 

Or, will the party enter the convention in Denver with a raw fissure dividing us still at “51-49”?  Alternately, will Denver be a space and a place of soaring possibilities? …….  Will I be dreaming or dreading?

Senator Ted Kennedy went in for brain surgery to have that tumor removed today at Duke University. He is out now and doctors say it was successful and accomplished its goals (not sure what to make of that). Kennedy was awake during the surgery and apparently in good spirits:

Asked by his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, how he felt after the surgery, he said, “I feel like a million bucks. I think I’ll do that again tomorrow,” Kennedy’s office said.

He’s going to start chemotherapy, as well. Best of luck to him.

More here.

Wanted to take a break from politics for a moment to remember Bo Diddley, who just died from heart failure at the age of 79. It’s impossible to overstate the influence Diddley, with his trademark square guitars, had on everyone from Buddy Holly to The Clash. Although clearly embittered by not being sufficiently appreciated – either in terms of acknowledgement or financials – for his part in the very invention of rock and roll, Diddley kept on playing, and many of us remain grateful.

(time-out for some shameless self-promoting; as far as how “political” this post is, I guess that depends on what your definition of “is” is).

Tickets for the 2008 Northeast Kingdom Music Festival go on sale today, June 2.  For those of you who have never gone, or never heard of it, the NEK Music Fest is an incredible weekend of off the hook music, friends old and new, creative expression, and community-building.  From Seven Days’ recent Vermont Summer Preview Issue:

Summer music festivals have long been viewed as the domain of the nomadic jam-band scene. In large part owing to the epic outdoor concerts proffered by our own Phab Phour, Phish, the very term “Vermont music fest” conjures visions of barefoot revelers feverishly wiggling to their heart’s content. But, of course, music in beautiful outdoor settings appeals to a far wider audience. And, thanks to one industrious Vermont fan, the hills are alive in an unlikely corner of the state with the sounds of a remarkable variety of music.

Ed DuFresne, best known as the man behind the scene at Montpelier’s eclectic Langdon Street Café, founded the Northeast Kingdom Music Festival six years ago. Following the lead of any number of jam-oriented fests, the two-day concert initially featured a fairly predictable lineup of heady acts. But recent years have seen a fundamental shift in DuFresne’s approach to booking, and the result has been a vibrant celebration of local, regional and national talent from diverse genres.

Though NEKMF has yet to announce a headlining act for this year, the lineup is already worth the relatively low price of admission – around $65 for both days and camping. It features a slew of Langdon Street faves, including indie geeks The Mathematicians, Americana darlings The Amity Front and local-ish newgrass outfit The Powder Kegs. Previous years have brought an impressive roster of national talent, as well, including funk-punk legends Fishbone, righteous babe Anaïs Mitchell and the then up-and-coming act Gogol Bordello. So expect big things when the headliner is announced.

Though the music is always excellent, the festival’s real draw might just be the pastoral setting of its adopted home: the Chilly Ranch in Albany. It’s only a short jaunt to Bread & Puppet’s digs in Glover, and some primo swimming holes are even closer. So load up the cooler – the festival is BYOB – and plan to spend August 1 and 2 with 2000 new friends.

Well said.  While it may cost $40, $60, even more to see a two or three hour show of your favorite band (or well over $150 for a weekend at the big, “oh my god these kids are annoying as all hell” Bonaroo-style events) the cost to get in to NEKMF starts at a preposterously low $65.  Kudos to management for keeping the costs down, especially in these economic times (full disclosure: I am a part of that management team; even further disclosure: I argued, unsuccessfully, for steeper ticket prices this year).  What better way to spend your economic stimulus money than a weekend supporting local Vermont entrepreneurs, musicians, food and craft vendors, and the guys who rent us all those port-o-poties from Danville?

Hit the link at the top of this page to get to the Festival website (which is in the process of being updated and revamped).  There you can find out more info, buy tickets (locals can find out where to go to purchase discounted ‘early bird’ tickets), get updated about the lineup, and maybe get talked into purchasing the fun and eclectic NEK Music Festival Movie (from True Form Pictures of California), which highlights the performances and events from the first five years.

The official band line-up for this year, which as always, includes some of the greatest musicians you’ve never heard of as well as a healthy smattering of the best that VT and New England has to offer:

Mr Lif

The Devil Makes Three

Mathematicians

The Screaming Headless Torsos

The Superpowers

The Powder Kegs

Vorcza

Accordian Death Squad

The Amity Front

Pariah Beat

The Primate Fiasco

Stripmall Ballads

Rusty Belle

Danny Schmidt

In This Century

Evan Crandell and the Too Hot To Handle

DROP

Jan M. Meese