tunes for cans

Had a lovely weekend with the Mrs.

Saturday night we went to a benefit concert at Hampden's own Village Church. The entry fee was $7 or 5 nonperishable food items per person, with either to benefit the Maryland Food Bank. Only had a couple canned items we felt we could part with (and we did -- so long, Apple Pie Filling) so we went the cash route. I haven't spent a whole lot of time in churches in my adulthood, but it was kind of nice to sit in the slightly chilly, candlelit church and listen to three groups I knew nothing about. The second group to play was the Cameron Blake Band, and their music was church/worship-related, though neither in a "How Great Thou Art" or "Our God is an Awesome God" kind of way, exactly. A sample lyric: "Our fig plant has rot with fever and cough." Some interesting stuff going on. Headlining were Caleb Stine and a couple of his band, the Brakemen. Loved it. Sounded a little bit like the other guy from Uncle Tupelo, and he clearly enjoyed another day to play some of his really solid compositions. Thoroughly enjoyable tunes all around, and a few more full bellies in these hard times.

Then Sunday, my wife took me to the National Aquarium in Baltimore to see some some dolphins and stuff. My wife's wonderfully terrific blog somehow resulted in some complimentary seats at the new dolphin show -- provided we listen to a presentation about buying a timeshare in Boca. No, we were simply asked to spread the word. Well, I must concur that them is some smart and charming dolphins! If you've got some rugrats, find a little time to take them to the aquarium, won't you? The show features not only some astounding vertical leaps by the be-flippered ones, but also a nice primer on conservation for the young set. As for the rest of the aquarium, I'm again impressed by just how much ocean life they can feature in such a relatively finite space. Personal favorite: the porcupinefish.