I wrapped up First Friday by re-tracing some of my steps back down Gay Street, through Market Square and back into Krutch Park. Options dwindle as the evening wears on because venues start closing, but I’ll deal with that issue more completely, later.
I ran into a guy playing a new looking, though inexpensive guitar, playing to no one in a dark stretch of Gay Street.
I found a couple playing music in the Emporium and listened to them for a while and checked out the art in the back hallway. The music reminded me a bit of the Civil Wars, though I have no idea if the artists would find that a valid comparison.
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| DJ at Swagger, Market Square, First Friday, May 2011 |
I found a DJ blasting out a house version of reggae music from Swagger giving that end of Market Square a cool vibe. I even saw Ricky dancing around inside, though I couldn’t quite catch him with my camera.
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| Drum Circle and Dancers, Krutch Park, Knoxville, May 2011 |
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| Dancer and audience, Krutch Park, Knoxville, May 2011 |
But the real action was in Krutch Park where the Drum Circle had grown and included dancers, hula hoopers and all sorts of hippy types from 20 to 70 years old. Not that everybody there fit the profile – there were plenty of people just enjoying the scene with the earth flag, multi-colored hair, long hair, tie-dye and general celebratory fun.
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| They say that Shaft is a bad mother drummer . . . |
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| Mystery Dancer, Krutch Park, Knoxville, May 2011 |
As I passed back through the square a full hour after many places had closed, it was still packed with people. All the things I caught tonight and I missed the history walk with Jack Neely and David Dewhirst in the Old City, the State of Franklin movie at the East Tennessee History Center and Ben Sollee at the Bijou, all of which I would have loved to see. This was about a perfect night for being out and being happy to live in Knoxville, Tennessee.