British Summer

There are several traditions that define the great British summer. Women get all dressed up and don their three foot high hats to attend Royal Ascot, people take up every inch of sidewalk space to sit outside of the pub with a pint or a Pimm's, and everyone breaks out the BBQ to cook outdoors where one minute the sun is beating down and the next rain drops appear out of nowhere. One of the greatest British summer traditions is music festivals and outdoor concerts. Yesterday I was able to partake in this great tradition by attending a Jack Johnson concert in Hyde Park. The venue opened at 2pm and the first act was scheduled for 4pm so we got to the park at 3:30pm to stake out a spot for 6 on the grass. It seemed we arrived just in time to get one of the last decent spots that was blocked by the platform for the sound guy. With the opening acts (Mason Jennings, G. Love & Special Sauce, and Ben Harper) still 30 minutes away we decided that it was a good time to start having a few drinks.

I was really looking forward to this concert because there's nothing like being outdoors in London with a pitcher of Pimm's and some good entertainment. Unfortunately, as is likely in England during the summer, the forecast was for rain that evening so it was hardly Pimm's weather when we arrived. We started with a few beers and about an hour later the heavens parted and the sun came through. It went from brollies and wellies to tank tops and sunglasses in a matter of minutes. This was definitely Pimm's weather now so we ventured off to find ourselves some. Luckily a stand nearby had them flowing freely so we grabbed our pitcher and went back to guard our spot.

Mason Jennings came on first and although I was not previously familiar with his music, the performance was very good. It was fairly mellow with just him and his guitar but it was enough to get the crowd growing. G. Love & Special Sauce came on next, whom I've also never heard of, and didn't enjoy nearly as much. It was a little too punk and irreverent for my taste. Then came Ben Harper who was fantastic. I hadn't checked the lineup so I was surprised he was opening for Jack Johnson as I would have expected him to headline his own show. He played an excellent set with mainly songs from the new album but he did close with Steal My Kisses. Finally Jack Johnson came on but at that point I was already a couple beers and two pitchers of Pimm's in. I even managed to get my way back to the bar for a final pitcher without having enough money but the gentleman was kind enough to give me one anyway. Those who know me well understand that I could have been quite happy and buzzed after the first beer so why I thought I had the ability to absorb this amount of alcohol was lunacy. I do recall Jack Johnson playing some of his popular songs such as Sitting, Waiting, Wishing and Upside Down but as my friends would say, I was three sheets to the wind at this point. Also, in my not so "indoor voice" I kept "whispering" to everyone that I was really drunk. Even to the lovely people around me whom I'd never met before.

I did somehow make it to a very late dinner after the concert with the help of my trusty companions. They even managed to get me all the way home without any episodes. As soon as I got upstairs and into my flat there was no holding back though. I rushed straight to the toilet and unleashed everything that had been in my stomach over the last 8 hours. Not one of my finest moments but life is full of exciting experiences.