Fiona

After the Gulf Stream repelled Danielle and Earl, Fiona materializes in the Western Atlantic and may be able to slip her puck past the goalie.  Stay tuned for details on how she's going to make it to Atlanta.

So after thinking twice about it all, I went ahead and purchased my ticket to Big Ears 2023 after all. Among my reasons and justifications were:

• I had already made nonrefundable hotel reservations for that week.  Even if I didn't go to Knoxville, my money would have.  I could cancel my reservation, but that only meant that the hotel would be free to book my room to someone else while still keeping my money.  It seemed that with or without Big Ears, I was going to be staying in Knoxville next March.


• Okay, $800 is a lot of money, but it's really all that I do in any given year.  In my retirement, I'm not, say, going on cruises or travelling to ballparks across the USA.  I'm not even going to other music shows here in Atlanta.  $800 may be a lot, but not so much when it's all you got.


• Also, as previously reported, I finally sold the Unsellable Condo in Vinings. I should get a modest sum of money from the sale, and splurging a small part of that windfall on a VIP pass for Big Ears seems entirely justifiable.


• What turned me off about the lineup was the selection of indie rock bands that I already knew.  A big part of the appeal of Big Ears is the process of discovery - finding new artists one had not heard before.  Last year, it was new favorites Alabaster DePlume and Damon Locks' Black Monument Ensemble.  I playlisted some of the artists for this year that I didn't know on Spotify, and already have made some great new discoveries.  So I'll be going to Big Ears next year not so much for the familiar (the veridical), but in a spirit of adventurous discovery (the sequential).


• The John Zorn sets, even if they're all in one day, still look absolutely amazing (especially the Cobra ensemble).  One of my regrets of Big Ears 2022 was that I didn't attend more of the Zorn sets.


• At this point in my life, the festival is part of my definition of who I am and what I do.  Not going would be a denial of my self.

So, the ticket is booked and the reservations are made!  Now all that's left is the 6-month wait. Let's hope Fiona doesn't derail my plans.