Beards Are In

Beards are in. This is what became evident yesterday as I watched six--that's right--six bands play in the afternoon and evening. It's the longest concert I've been to. Certainly, there are music festivals here in town, but I rarely stay for more than a couple of bands. Yesterday, I stayed for the whole thing, mainly because three of the six bands are some of my favorites in town.

The concert occurred at a barn up on Polaski Street owned by the artist Stan Mullins (quite a bit of artwork was featured on the walls as well, which made for interesting viewing). Essentially, the show was a party for Venice Is Sinking, which was celebrating its third anniversary.

Of the five members in Venice Is Sinking, three had beards. Taking into account that Carolyn the violinist wouldn't likely grow a beard, that leaves beards on three of four. Most other bands were much the same, though I'd have a hard time tallying up exact totals for all of them, as my mind won't recall the faces of every band member in the other groups. And the trend continued into the audience, where male with beards probably made up half the audience.

What's the deal? It's winter, I suppose, and a beard does help a bit. Beyond that, I don't know. Am I tempted to grow back my own? Sort of. I liked the look, but not everyone else did (most who made a comment said something positive, but a few said something positive only after I got rid of the thing). But I hated all the other hassles--washing the beard, getting food it in, and the inevitable habit of playing with it; beyond that, I look older with it, and I don't particularly want help with that!