To round off a glorious weekend of abundant music, I came back to town where I was greeted by the Norman Music Festival. In only its third year, this festival has grown a lot, and this year was extended to two nights of tunes. After sitting through the greatest musical performance of my life on Thursday (Jonsi) and experiencing one of the most exciting shows of my life on Friday (Flaming Lips) I had become pretty musically overwhelmed and most of what I heard at the festival had a hard time impressing. The exception was The Non, who was accompanied by the Cloud Collision Orchestra and performed a very powerful show. The setting in which they played also added a lot to the show. The set took life on the Sooner Theatre stage in a huge, gothic-looking cathedral with no windows and rows upon rows of classic red seats. The downside of this set-up was the fact that no one was able to stand while the bad performed, but perhaps this only added to the mesmerizing effect the band conveys. It was hands-down, the best show I saw at the festival, and though I had a difficult time fully appreciating all the other music out there, it was still awesome to walk around downtown Norman with friends and witness such a successful and grand event take place in a culture whose quality music scene seems to be rising every year.
