It took me a full day to recover from the Kimmel Center's Summer Solstice festivities - a full day! But when a celebration lasts from 3 in the afternoon until 6 a.m. the next morning, it tends to hit your pretty hard. But it is so worth it.There were events for everyone from toddlers to yuppies to octogenarians. Funny how I find my interests falling into all three categories. I'll just provide a few highlights. The Swaray African Safari Ensemble performed in the Kimmel Center lobby with impressive energy. Few people could resist the urge to move to their music. The only strange aspect of their performance was that I looked away one moment and the next moment they had African dancers on stage in Vegas showgirl outfits. African dancers? Yes. Gaudy sequined bikinis? No. Next time don't distract from the theme, guys.
Philly native rock band The Brakes seemed thrilled to be performing in the impressive space of Verizon Hall, and they played with the ingenuity and enthusiasm to prove it. It was refreshing to see such a humble group of guys perform in a big-time concert hall, and the acoustics certainly did their indie/blues sound justice. Culture Vulture will definitely be keeping her eyes on these guys for future performances.
There was also a Guitar Hero death match, er, competition in Verizon Hall. The fact that it looked incongruous on the same stage as the Philadelphia Orchestra made it a little bizarre, but no less fun. Let me tell you, too, this competition was fierce. I saw a 12-year-old boy break a grown man with the flick of a wrist. Tensions ran high, but luckily there were no hard feelings.
On the Hamilton Rooftop Garden, which you have to visit if you've never gotten that close to the Kimmel Center's skylight ceiling, the incredibly strong women who comprise Shofuso Taiko performed traditional Japanese drumming. It was almost a dance as well as a musical performance, and the women were all in perfect unison. After the performance they offered a brief taiko workshop, in which I participated. Taiko is just a little bit harder than I anticipated. Let's just say I may have been singled out for extra help by the instructor.
Into the night, DJ Spinderella of Salt-N-Peppa fame (yes, as in, "Let's Talk About Sex") span dance tunes in the Perelman theater-turned-club. It was a little awkward at first grooving to hip hop in the same space where I usually listen to cello soloists, but I quickly adjusted, and judging from the packed room so did everyone else.
Although I didn't quite make it to the drum circle at dawn (I was going to improvise and somehow play my body), I definitely feel I got my money's worth out of the event. With my longest day of the year well-spent and the pagan worship checked off my to-do list, I feel entirely satisfied.
