Do You Realize . . .

. . . that everyone you know someday will die?

So sing the Flaming Lips, who are headlining today in Atlanta's Centennial Park at an all-day event called Party in the Park.  For several reasons, I'm not going.

First of all, today is the first annual Sound of Silence music event at the Atlanta Zen Center, with several musicians, including our old friends Triop, performing from noon on into the afternoon.  While you would think that this confluence of music and Zen would be something right up my alley and the reason that I'm not going to the Party in the Park, I can't attend Sound of Silence either.

Although I'm just freshly returned from Birmingham, today I had to instead ride to Athens, Georgia to see a new project site with a former colleague of mine, whom I'll apparently be working with again.  It was a laid-back day, a non-strenuous drive there and back again and an opportunity to catch up on the last 10 years with my former colleague, but unfortunately it was something of the calm before the storm, as the project has a very tight schedule and some very imminent deadlines.

But while the round trip to Athens and back conflicted with the afternoon's Sound of Silence, it wouldn't have been enough to keep me from the later Party in the Park.  No, the ultimate reason I'm not going to hear The Flaming Lips and company is the happy coincidence that I have tickets this evening to see St. Vincent and Shearwater at the Variety Playhouse, instead.

(St. Vincent at the Earl, Rocktober, 2011)

St. Vincent played last year at The Earl during Rocktober, the last time one's likely to see them as a venue as small as The Earl.  And while I've seen St. Vincent once before and Shearwater twice, both times at The Earl as well, I'm still looking forward to seeing them both again, especially at the larger Variety Playhouse.

Per the usual, pictures will follow, and come to think of it, I need to post the pictures from last weekend's Beach House concert as well.