Get it fresh

Hope you're tuned in to String Fever this afternoon--NCPR veteran Danny Gotham is on with Barb Heller--unless, of course, you are listening to live music somewhere. No matter how good the medium, music is like corn on the cob, it should be eaten fresh from the field. You can catch Danny farm-fresh on Saturday at the Edwards Opera House, along with another familiar face in the North Country, John Kribs. Terry and I gave ourselves a pre-birthday treat on Sunday at the Ottawa Folk Festival, hearing the likes of Eliza Gilkyson, Iris DeMent, Greg Brown and Dar Williams. Rained all day, but still way better than a digital download. Music is a communal art form, both in the performance and the consumption, and has been since people whacked together mastodon bones and ululated. So lose the headphones and head out where the music plays.