Boulevard Bash

With the number of festivals growing every year — I think the number now stands somewhere around 25,000 neighborhood festivals in Chicago alone (that may be slight hyperbole since that averages out to about 40 per neighborhood, but it sure seems that way) — the best that a festival can hope to do is reflect the neighborhood around it. And, maybe I’m just being biased since it’s a block north of my apartment, but I think Boulevard Bash might have done that better than any festival in the history of the universe (that might be slight hyperbole since permutation says there have probably been billions of festivals on various planets since the universe began and I haven’t attended every one of them, but it sure seems that way).
Just a brief bike ride up Milwaukee from the new heart of coolness, Boulevard Bash exploded onto the scene this year with a Chicago band focus headlined by Waco Brothers, Smoking Popes (who were incredible on the one night of the three I went), and some band I’ve never heard of. But, in the words of Meat Loaf, «two out of three ain’t bad.» Wait, he’s not from Chicago. Let’s pretend like someone local covered him.
But, well beyond this, on Saturday night, on the «side stage» (which was a bit too close to the main stage and had some sound bleed at the back) there was a mini-​festival in the evening devoted to the Polish character of the neighborhood. And people came out for it decked out all in red, waving Polish flags, and rocking out. It wasn’t polka bands. It was live, modern music sung by imports and second-​generations and people who just wanted to be Polish for the night. And, similarly, the people were the slightly gentrified, rough around the edges, friends and neighbors that make me glad to call Logan Square home.
There is a slight problem in all of my over-​romanticizing of the festival as some sort of local showcase. There were very few vendors at all and only one or two of them were local restaurants. With the huge amount of hip places and old stand-​bys in the L7, they could have probably found any number willing to sling their foods and drinks.
Also, the sponsor was Dos Equis. With Revolution Brewery right down the street they missed an opportunity of a local brewery sponsorship. Not that I minded seeing cutouts of the World’s Most Interesting Man (a well-​created master of hyperbole himself) all around or cute college-​aged girls in safari gear running games (although this did clog the middle of the festival).
Maybe next year, this will be the best festival in Chicago and they can extend it down Sacramento right to my doorstep (how much more local can you get than that?). After all, I’ve been to so many street fairs that I no longer go to festivals, festivals come to me. And, well, that’s less hyperbole than most of the things I’ve said. Or is it?