Keeping history alive

Last Saturday (Sept. 15), I had a little brush with history.  I drove down to Paine Field in Everett, WA for the Flying Heritage Collection (FHC) Free Fly Day.  The Flying Heritage Collection is a private collection of vintage WWII aircraft owned by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen.  The planes have been fully restored and are in flyable condition, and housed at the FHC museum for the public to view and enjoy.  On this day, there were two planes from the collection that would take flight, and I was there to see one in particular.  The FHC's Ilyushin IL2M3 Shturmovik is the only plane of its kind left in the world that actually flies!  This 1943 ground attack fighter defended the Soviet Union as they battled the Germans during WWII.  The IL-2 is a plane I'm somewhat familiar with, having flown one myself...in a computer game!

Sadly, I don't have much time to play video games anymore.  Yes, they ARE time consuming, especially when you get pretty obsessed about killing those tanks!  Thankfully, I'm able to satisfy my interest in WWII planes at air museums like the FHC.  In addition to the IL-2, the other plane to take to the air on Free Fly Day was the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt. This fighter was one of the backbones of the U.S. Air Force during the war, and earned a reputation for its ruggedness.  When I got to the museum, both aircraft were outside on display, and there were a lot of people there to see them.

 

After firing up their engines, the planes taxied out in front of the assembled crowd before taking off.  It was the IL-2's first public flight, and it didn't disappoint.  Both planes circled overhead, sometimes solo, other times side by side.  It was breathtaking to watch.

But, all good things must end, although it was equally thrilling just to watch the two planes land.  Before returning to the hangar, the pilots taxied one last time before the appreciative audience.

 

I didn't have time to actually visit the museum, but I will some day.  Just watching the two magnificent planes flying makes one thankful to all those involved in keeping such history alive.  And, even more importantly, those brave pilots of WWII who risked and gave their lives to defend their countries. 

Bumbershoot...and Barcelona

Yesterday, I went to Seattle's Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, which takes place every Labor Day weekend at Seattle Center.  Last year, I went to Bumbershoot mainly to see Hall & Oates, and ended up adding a new band to my like list...that would be Fitz and the Tantrums.  This year, my plan was to see one of my favorite bands, Seattle's own Barcelona.  If you have been reading my blog for the past year, you'll know I'm a Barcelona super fan.  There was no way I was going to miss their return appearance to Bumbershoot...they first played the festival back in 2009.

I got to Seattle Center around 10:30 am, and only had to wait a short half hour for the gates to open.  Other than seeing Barcelona, my plan for the day was pretty flexible.  After indulging in a Thai lunch...the festival is full of food options...I checked out the Visual Arts exhibits.  Barcelona was playing at Exhibition Hall, an INDOOR stage, which was a bit disappointing.  I was hoping to see the band play outdoors for the first time, but it didn't matter...it would be a great show nonetheless.  There was another band playing before them, but when I entered the Hall, I found it rather warm...almost too warm.  I decided to wait outside the building...maybe I would see the Barcelona guys before their set.  Sometimes, I'm just right about those things.  Sure enough, I spotted bass player Brian Eichelberger walking toward me.  I called out to him, and he stopped to say Hello.  I didn't see any of the other guys, though.  Hopefully, after the show?

After an hour, the band finished their set and people were filing out of the building.  By the time I decided to join the line for the Barcelona show, there were already a good two dozen people ahead of me.  Well, no front row for me!  That was okay.  Most were young women, and they weren't very tall.  When security finally let us in, it was only about ten minutes before Barcelona was supposed to start.  The band was still doing their soundchecks when everyone made their way toward the stage.  Lead singer Brian Fennell looked up to survey the crowd, and I waved to get his attention.  He saw me and said, "Hi, Wynne!"  Since it's so hard for me to take decent photos during concerts...bad lighting, unforgiving camera, too much movement...I use every opportunity to try to get SOMETHING.  Things were just about right while Brian was doing his soundcheck.

When Barcelona took the stage, it was a tad cooler than when I was first in the building...barely.  In no time, Brian was sweating.  At least he wasn't wearing a flannel shirt! (see my previous Barcelona blogs)  The bass was cranked up for the show, which vibrated the room, but at least the electric guitar wasn't...easy on the ears!  Barcelona played for an hour...here was their setlist and a couple of photos grabbed from my video.

Slipping Away
Watching Me
Slowly
Hanging In A Void
Call Your Girlfriend ( Robyn cover)
Til Death
Less Than Two
Come Back When You Can
It's About Time
The Takers

Toward the end of the show, Brian said they would be doing a meet and greet at the band merchandise booth.  When I got there, about a dozen people were already lined up waiting.  I decided to just hang around and see what happened.  Brian and drummer Rhett Stonelake showed up and immediately started interacting with the fans.  Rhett's wife Kelly greeted me...when one shows up at so many local Barcelona shows, even spouses remember me!  This was soon followed by hugs from Brian and Rhett.  Then, they got to work signing stuff and taking photos with the fans.  I waited for things to die down a bit before joining the meet and greet line.  I didn't have anything in particular for them to sign, so I opted for the Bumbershoot guide as a memento for the day.  A guy standing next to me offered to take a photo for me if I would take one for him, which I did.  When it was my turn, Brian E. showed up carrying his little baby.  He asked if I wanted him in the photo, too, which I thought would be fun.

I had been planning to see Tony Bennett, who was playing the mainstage in Key Arena, but since I went to Barcelona's meet and greet, I missed him.  No biggie...not a real fan of his music anyway.  Any opportunity to bond with the Barcelona guys is time well spent.  I DID briefly check out Civil Twilight, though.  I had seen the South African band perform at the Seattle Symphony charity event last November...I went to see Five For Fighting and coincidentally ran into Brian Fennell after the show.  Exhibition Hall was pretty packed with people...I could barely see the stage.  Shortly after I got there, they performed their hit single, Letters From The Sky.

I only stayed for a couple of songs because I wanted to grab some dinner before the last event on my agenda.  As I sat and ate my roasted corn on the cob and hot dog, I watched people massing to enter Key Arena to see rap artist Big Sean.  I wondered if that many folks stood in line for Tony Bennett?  Afterward, I made my way to the Words & Ideas stage to see The Writers Of Futurama.  It was still an hour before showtime, but there was already a good fifty people lined up!  If you're not familiar with Futurama, it's an animated sci-fi comedy series by The Simpsons creator Matt Groening that aired on Fox-TV from 1999 to 2003.  After it's immense popularity in reruns, the show was revived on Comedy Central in 2010 and continues to the present.  I had only recently caught up with those newer episodes, and I was eager to learn more about the writing team that produced such a funny and entertaining show.  For over an hour, the audience was treated to a lot of insight...AND a lot of laughs!  The highpoint was a sneak peak of an unfinished episode to air next year which featured a parody of Scooby Doo...hilarious!  In the end, I gained a greater appreciation of all the hard work that goes into an animated series such as Futurama...a LOT of hard work!

And, so, my day at Bumbershoot came to a happy end.  Before I said my goodbyes to Barcelona, I asked Brian Fennell about their tour this year.  He said November, which unfortunately would not allow me to follow their tour...my vacation is in October.  But, Brian reassured me there would be a Seattle show in the mix.  Now, THAT, for me, IS doable!  I NEVER get tired of seeing them perform.  Hmm...does that sound familiar?  Think, Five For Fighting!