Clark Park rocks after dark
YOU CAN'T SAY that the University City District skimped on the sound system or the temporary stage for Thursday evening's free concert in Clark Park. The small but enthusiastic crowd of maybe 200 spread out on blankets and chairs on the east and west slopes of the natural bowl, while the Campbell Brothers band tore West Philly a new zip code.
Despite heavy promotion of WXPN-FM, this first of two free concerts sponsored by the UDC didn't pull the crowd it should have (when was the last time you heard TWO pedal steel guitars dueling each other, while mimicking Sam Cooke vocals or the whistle of a freight train comin' round the bend at dawn?). Maybe if the UDC's website and poster hadn't listed the address of the park as being at "43d St. and Springfield Ave.", which is not only inaccurate, but a nonexistent intersection. Next time -- and the next free concert is sixish next Thursday evening, Oct. 12, at 45th and Chester Ave. -- I hope there's a bigger audience for Billy Martin and Socket, an Afro-pop-jazzaphonic band described by the UDC press release as being " sonic witchdoctors who heal the ailing, chase the dragons and cast spells on your world."
Hey, maybe they can cast a spell on those street signs.
