July 14, 2002
Dallas, TX
I really hate this Festival. There's so much that they do wrong.
First of all, the middle of July is not the ideal time weather-wise to hold a festival on the concrete of downtown Dallas. Second, though it's a "Taste" festival that's supposed to highlight the area restaurants, the food selection is pretty uninspired, the prices are high, and the quality is not especially good. And even worse, you have to use tickets - sold in strips of nine and nonrefundable - to buy stuff. This system seems designed to guarantee that you leave with wasted tickets in your pocket - pure profit for the Fest folks who are already gouging you (8 tickets for a beer). Finally, the music lineup seems ill-thought, jumping around stylistically, so there's not likely to be more than one act in a row that appeals to anyone. Despite all that, this was a chance to see Delbert McClinton (for free), so I headed down and saw a pretty good set. Delbert seemed genuinely pleased to be performing, and the band backing him was quite solid. |
Delbert. | |
Delbert blows some harp. | |
Horn section. | |
The crowd on their feet! | |
Delbert takes a turn on the keys. |
Photos copyright © 2002 by Swag