At the DJ Academy

Dancing to Daft Punk in the DJ Academy booth, where I am about to take a class on how to scratch and spin records. This will be a good warm up for the silent disco, where everyone has headphones on and is listening to the same music, but from the outside, it looks like everyone is dancing to the music in their heads.

I just came from Kaki King who is a phenomonal guitar player. Her fingernails are extremely long and she played acoustically on the sonic stage. Her instrumental music is soothing and she is so extrememly talented with those 6 strings. She plays the body of the guitar so that it sounds like there is percussion playing with her. I left the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to go see Kaki King. The experimental electronic music must have been a theme that day at the Which Stage, before the Yeah Yeah Yeahs the Animal Collective played. The set started out strong and danceable but then slowly turned into a strange mix of sounds that was almost hard to listen to. We stuck it out until the end and they pulled it together, ending on a strong note where it seemed as if they were interacting with the audience and with each other. I left the Yeah Yeah Yeahs when the screaming started.

This morning I sat underneath a tree and listened to Toubab Krewe, a band from North Carolina that plays West African music. I saw them play at the Pour House when they came to visit Charleston. I love complicated instrumental music. After Toubab Krewe, Bela Fleck played a set that gave my friends and I a much needed break from dancing in the sun. He played dueling banjos as his last song. Bluegrass is my favorite.

Have I mentioned the sun yet? It came out after I left the cafe this morning and has been around all day. I believe sunscreen is for wimps, but for those who burn easily in the sun, a lot of water, sunscreen and a hat are needed today. My idea of a shower was running into the fountain with hundreds of other sweaty dancers. I got a good tip from the guy next to me, "just don't look at the color of the water".

Have I mentioned the water yet? Eggs. Sulfur. Wow. There are free water stations where you can fill up empty water bottles and the smell is overwhelming. Katie said, "when I burp, I taste eggs". Yummy.

I am on my way to see Ani Difranco and Lucinda Williams before I go back to the tent to take a break. Phish plays from 11-2 and then Girl Talk goes until after 3 in the morning. Good thing I brought my dancing shoes. Off to learn how to be a DJ.