A Short Diary of The 2007 Basilica Block Party

7:00PM: Arrive at Basilica. Never a good sign when people are on the streets outside giving away their $35 tickets.

7:05PM: Does anybody know what the purpose is of the whole ticket system for buying food and drinks? There must be some reason that they make you stand in two different lines to buy a $4 bag of Mini Donuts, but I'll be damned if I can figure it out.

7:40PM: Nice to meet you, cute friend of a friend. Uh, yeah, Lifehouse is really great. Oh, that's your boyfriend. Nice to meet you too. I'll be leaving now.

7:50PM: Is that guy up there really wearing a Yankees hat? I can't tell because he's facing sideways for some reason. Now turned almost towards me. Turn around, you audacious asshole, so I can berate you for that hat I think you're wearing! As you can see, the band is really drawing me in with their performance.

8:00PM: Sending text message to my friend Nick who's in Houston right now: "Lifehouse sucks. Twins score?"

8:05PM: I cannot stress enough what an awful band this is. Every single aspect is directly from the cliche book of jaded performers. The lead guitarist is rushing ahead of the everyone else, the bass guitar is out of tune, and the entire performance from the songs to the lead singer's "banter" to the trashy sorority girls brought up on stage to dance while being ignored by both the band and the Jumbotron lacks any trace of freshness or spontaneity. Thank you, Cities 97, for bringing in another band who doesn't give two shits about playing their own songs. D+ show.

8:10PM: Oh, the guy is wearing an Under Armour hat. Still looks like a tool. OK, time to leave this stage.

8:40PM: Nick calls back, Twins are up 8-0; slow down boys, you're gonna need to save some of those runs for when Boof pitches tomorrow.

8:45PM: There's some kid with a 2005 St. Olaf homecoming shirt. I don't recognize him; he looks about 14 and is hanging out with a group of the douchiest looking kids I've ever seen. I'll bet his brother plays campus golf in sweatpants with one leg rolled up and his student ID sticking out from under his crooked baseball hat. I always made it a point to walk directly in these guys' path, just daring them to hit their damn tennis ball at me like all the sunbathers, cars and pedestrians who happen to be intruding on their "course". Anyway, this kid is wearing an actual Yankees hat, so that's probably enough to say on the matter.

9:00PM: Some guy proposes to his girlfriend in front of everyone on the grandstand. This must have been a tough thing to set up logistically, because he was about as surprised as her when they pointed the camera at him, and his bewildered proposal goes about as gracefully as a Tiger Woods high-five. She says yes, but only after about a ten-second pause and accompanied by a look that says, "you couldn't have at least done this in front of more than 1000 people?" Seriously, the Basilica Block party has to rank somewhere below a minor league baseball game and above the local Friday night fish fry at the Legion on the list of public events to propose at.

9:10PM: Amos Lee finally comes on the main stage; that's what I'm talking about. He played at spring concert this year and rocked the house. His drummer looks like a Muppet Hunter S. Thompson; how can you not be impressed by that?

9:35PM: The middle-aged man in front of me wearing shants has made it his drunken mission in life to stand directly between me and the stage. It isn't even that crowded, but however far I move to one side, there he is, striking up a conversation with a terrified co-ed or dancing with a lizard-skinned 60-year old with hair four shades past platinum who has either not taken or taken too much of her medication.

9:50PM: Everything that the previous band lacked is present in this concert. The musicians are all connected beyond being all wired to the same sound system. Lee gives background for his songs, shows sensitivity and great appreciation for the relatively small outdoor concert crowd, and says a few good words about Minneapolis without obviously pandering to the crowd. The only thing missing is a few more upbeat tunes; much of the crowd isn't as drawn into this one because the noise level is such that you can hold a conversation with the person next to you without having to scream (though that doesn't stop some folks). B+ show.

10:15PM: Heading out the gates, people are giving away cans and bottles of Volt energy drink. Vendors are discounting their food for people with a leftover ticket or two. Most concert events like this are out to screw you in any way they can (and for the most part, this is no exception), but at the end it was nice to see good Midwestern common sense take over. Or something.