Brewfest

September 7, 2021

Brewfest

I got back to Key West just in time to spend a nice week with my wife Kathy before she headed off for the better part of a month. She drove first up to Massachusetts to visit friends and family in Marshfield and then was off on an amazing bicycle adventure with our friends Tom and Cheryl. Beginning in Burlinton, Vermont, they intended to bike 30-60 miles a day for about 18 days, up into Canada over to Quebec City and then returning to Vermont.

I was to be holding down the fort while she was off and I must admit that it is nice to be back in Key West for a bit of time, it seems like we have been on the go most of the summer and for me at least, an extended stretch in Key West was welcome. It’s not like there wasn’t stuff going on here, though I must admit, my preference is to pretty much hole up inside my house, reading, catching up on movies and shows and watching some football.

Labor Day weekend means the return of Brewfest in Key West. The event, which is one of my favorite annual events has had the misfortune of being canceled for the past two year, in 2019 a hurricane threat canceled all the festivities and of course last year, the event was like most things canceled due to the Covid pandemic.

This year, it was back and seemingly none worse for the wear. There were the standard dinners and beer parties that surround the main event, the Saturday afternoon festival on the beach at the Southernmost Beach Café. I attended a couple of the beer pool parties at least until they got too crowded and I had VIP tickets to the main event which was from 3-5 PM before it was opened up to the general population.

The VIP tickets allow for a couple of hours with far less people, which was especially comforting during these Covid times, but many of the breweries hand out special free swag and tap specialty beers that are not available to general admission. They also have food, which in itself is a big enticement.

This year there were perhaps a few fewer breweries present, but at the same time there were a lot that were first time attendees, which I like a lot as it introduces me to new and different brews. The trend this year seemed to be spiked seltzers as many of the breweries had various seltzers in a staggering array of flavors and styles. I tried a few, but mostly stuck to the wide array of beer selections that were on hand.

As usual there was a large local contingent on hand for the event and I saw the usual cast of characters among my beer loving friends. It was nice to be outside and doing something social. The weather was a little warm as is usual for Labor Day weekend, but thankfully it wasn’t beastly hot as it has been some years. This marks the 10^th annual Brewfest and I have been fortunate enough to attend every one. 

Shooting Stars and Comet Tails

 

August 21, 2021

Shooting Stars and Comet Tails

The last few days that I spent in Indianapolis before flying home to Key West, I took some time to do a little exploring. Even though I spent the first half of my life there and visit often, at least once a year, there are still new things to discover. Places and things that I have never seen even though they were basically right in front of me. I suppose anyone could say that about a place they have lived or spent a lot of time. There is always more to see and do, more to discover.

I started by taking a drive to Crown Hill Cemetery. Located on 38^th Street, a couple of miles north of downtown, Crown Hill is the third largest private cemetery in the United States covering 555 acres since it was established in 1863.  There are currently over 225,000 souls buried there, but it was one in particular that drew me to visit. Famed outlaw John Dillinger. Having recently visited the location where Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed and killed in Louisiana piqued my interest in the Hoosier outlaw who was gunned down after being betrayed by the woman in red outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago.

My next stop was at a museum devoted to another iconic figure in Indiana history, The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. Vonnegut is from Indianapolis, attended Shortridge High School and though he moved away about as soon as he could, he would often visit Indianapolis and I would see him at times when he visited family in Indianapolis and would come into Hamaker Pharmacy and charge things to his family’s account.

The museum opened in its current location in 2019. Located along the famous jazz corridor near Indiana Avenue in what was once a famous jazz club on Senate Avenue, and is pretty damn cool. Highlighted attractions of the library include a museum, art gallery, and reading room. The museum features rare remnants from Vonnegut's life, including the author's Purple Heart medal awarded to him for his service in Germany during World War II , the author's Smith-Corona Coronamatic 2200 typewriter, an unopened box of the author's Pall Mall cigarettes discovered by his children behind a bookcase following his death, an unopened letter sent overseas (in the course of World War II) to the author from his father, a series of rejection letters sent to the author by magazines which are periodically rotated, and a complete replica of his writing studio.

Perhaps the coolest thing to me personally on display is a letter that Vonnegut wrote to my friend Jake Query, apparently Vonnegut took Jake’s aunt to the Shortridge Prom and he responded to Jake’s request inquiring if there were prom photos that he might have. 

Finally, I attended two more concerts during my final few days in Indianapolis. The first was at what is one of my favorite venues, the Hi Fi in Fountain Square where I went to see actor Billy Bob Thornton and his band the Boxmasters. It isn’t often you get a chance to see an Academy Award winning actor leading a band, but this was not frivolity as Thornton and his band have been together since 2007, have toured extensively and released multiple albums.

While not the greatest band ever, they are not bad either and they have a ton of fun while playing to a pretty packed venue. It was a good time and it felt good to be out at a small club show again, though I did wear my mask, one of the few on hand that did, for the entire evening.

The last night in town before heading home to Key West, I was at a larger venue, The Amphitheater at White River State Park where I was seeing my all-time favorite band, Counting Crows. The openers were two acts, neither of which I had seen previously but had been hand picked by Adam Duritz, Matt Sucich and Sean Barna. They were both really good and set the tone for me getting to see the Crows for what I believe is my 103^rd time. 

This was my first show of theirs in two years, thanks to Covid and my first time seeing them since Adam cut off his trademark dreadlocks. Their show was solid, very good I would say, but certainly not among the best I have seen of them. Touring in support of a new release, this time the “Butter Miracle” album that came out earlier this year, the band played a 19 song set, that featured most of the new ep as well as a nice selection of their more popular hits.

https://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/

https://www.theboxmasters.com/