VT Day 5 - A Free Spirited Day- Outsider Art, Nude Beaches, and Semifinals
Started the day trying to find a place to write, but I ended up picking a coffee shop with no outlets or wifi. Uncommon Ground did have very good coffee though, and half-off on day old old pastries. From there, I ended up at the Penny Cluse Cafe. I ordered the Lunch with Lauren without really looking because that's my sister's name, and it ended up being great. Delicious sauteed spinach, marinated mushrooms, lightly grilled tomatoes, and a side of baked mac and cheese. I think Laurens everywhere would be proud.
After lunch, the rain cleared up so I decided to see some more outdoors-y stuff in Vermont while the was nice. I took a meandering path to Lake Willoughby, a beautiful glacial lake in Northern Vermont.
On the way, I stopped at the Museum of Everyday Life which was way more fascinating than the objects it contained. It's a free museum just off the side of a state highway, and it's constantly evolving work in progress designed to be a museum celebrating everyday things from every day people for everyday people. The special exhibits while I was there were on Toothbrushes, Dust and Mirrors. While those objects might seem mundane, the special (and regular exhibits) featured a wide array of vintage historical found objects, sculptures made out of everyday objects, and art, poems and essays inspired by those objects. Everything was totally interactive and while there were suggested donations, even the merchandise was pay-what-you-want/can to further foster there manifesto of total inclusivity.
The town of Glover must have a premium on renegade artists in Vermont, because besides the Museum of Everyday Life there is also the Bread and Puppet theatre and museum. The puppet troupe specializes in what they call "cheap art" trying to reclaim ownership of artistic creativity from the upper echelons of the art world. I think I had just missed the most recent performance, but they make impressively giant puppets and perform plays and musical revues. The museum portion also has a bunch of non-puppet art that is really just far-out. I was kind of overwhelmed and moved by the sheer creative energy some people have.
I bought a CD of theirs, but I also really hope I didn't steal it. Like the other museum, the gift shop was a suggested donation type deal, and the CD had a sticker that said suggested donation $10, but the album art says Not for Sale on it. I couldn't tell if that was a kind of "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" situation so I went with sticker, left them some money and took it. If they end up reading this and wanting it back, I'm happy to give it back, but I would like to keep it because it's a mix of circus music, folk songs, theatrical readings, and anti-capitalist manifestos that is so my kind of weird.
Check out what both of these museums were bringing to the table:
Filled with revolutionary creative energy, I went to Lake Willoughby which is also noted for being a nude beach. I think because it had rained earlier there wasn't anyone else there so I just got to be naked, alone, in nature which was probably bound to happen eventually. The water was really lovely though.
After swimming and hiking for a bit, I went back to Burlington to see the semi-finals of Vermont's funniest. The semifinals were divided between two different sets of 15 comics each getting 6 minutes. I only saw the second show, because of the timing of everything.
It was a great show. I think Carl was right, when he said Vermont might have spoiled me by having all their best comedians perform in the week I happened to be there. All the comics did some parts from their 4 minutes set, but everyone did some new material.
There were a few comics who seemed newer, and I got the impression that they had done all their best material and didn't have much left. I think most people actually benefitted from having the extra time. People seemed looser, more confident that they could say everything they wanted to say.
I think my favorite of the night was probably Mike Thomas. I had liked his four minute set a lot, but the extra jokes he added for his longer set were all great, and he just brought so much energy and charisma to this set that he just lit up the stage.
Another comic that I had thought was good in four minutes, but absolutely killed their six minute set was Maggie Lenz. I don't think she even did that many new jokes, but a more relaxed confident delivery just totally made everything pop and land harder.
Other favorites of mine were Carl Sonnefeld, Taylor Radke, and Tim Bridge, who all did a good amount of new material that really worked for me. Carl actually did an almost entirely new set which I thought was pretty impressive.
Having not seen the earlier block of comics, I don't think I can really weigh in on who made it to the next round, but judging by this block it cannot have been an easy decision.
Favorite Joke of the Night: Tim Bridge- "My girlfriend walked up to me and said, "Fuck, marry, kill..." and I said, "Yeah, that's the plan."
Favorite Random Sightings: Tomgirl Juice Co. right next to Shy Guy Gelato; A group of Amish school children playing volleyball; a fresh veggies stand in front of a gun shop; Discount Feathers (because I hate paying full price for feathers)
Regional Observations: I've seen a lot more horses in Vermont than anywhere else.
Albums Listened To: Blood Money by Tom Waits; Blood Sugar Sex Magik by the Red Hot Chili Peppers; Bloodshot by the J. Geils Band; Blowin' Your Mind! by Van Morrison; Blowout Comb by Digable Planets
People's Favorite Jokes:
What did the fish say when it swam into a wall? Dam
