It's a marvellous night for a Bluesfest...

I am still in shock from the lineup at this year's Bluesfest. It's beyond ridiculous. It's incredibly cool. It's going to be my social life until July 15th, which is really, really cool. Not as cool as my neon-yellow Bluesfest wristband, but still fantastic. Actually, the LED lightup wine glasses you can buy there are pretty cool too; I'm planning to get one tonight.

Last night's headlining artist was Van Morrison. We unfortunately got to Lebreton Flats a bit after the set started, and thus, disappointingly, missed Moondance. The crowd ranged from the (forgive me) geriatrics, aka people old enough to actually know Van Morrison music, to the kids that only know him for Brown Eyed Girl; some of these whippersnappers cut in front of us at the beer tent, so I didn't and don't approve of their presence.

Van -- if I may call him Van -- sounded good. Great, in fact. Just like on the radio, very cool, very calm, and very mellow. To watch him, though, was just like watching him on tv. For such a great performance, there was one thing he wasn't doing, and that's performing. No crowd interaction, no encore, just up there doing his thing, not for us, but for himself.

Good for him, I sort of think.

Overall, the first night ran smoothly, as far as my "consumer's eye" could see... well, from this height, anyway (the height at which, some may note, it is silly to go to a concert... you might as well be standing in a crowd of people, staring at their backs, listening to a radio...). Good snacks (Chris approved the poutine), friendly volunteers, and a seamless transition from when Van left his stage to the less-than-a-minute-later when the next band started playing an amazing instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's ... um... song about Vikings and the land of the ice and snow... at the stage across the field. Well done!

Calling it a night at about 9:30 (kaff -- geriatrics!), we decided to not brave the transpo-bound hordes, and walked home hand-in-hand along the river, a quiet, moonlit, and very romantic spot. The temperature was perfect; it was a lovely end to a beautiful summer's night.

Well, almost the end. When we got home, I downloaded Moondance.

Oh, and the theme from Magnum P.I., too.