T.O.P. Wrap Up

"Errr, what should I call you?” I asked.
“Honey, you can just call me Sunshine.”

And that was my first encounter with Lady Sunshine, several years ago when I was booking her band for an event. Six years later, she and The X Band knocked everyone’s socks off at Top of the Park (view clip). There had to be over 200 devoted slaves to Sunshine dancing and singing along in the street alone, not counting the crowd jamming in the seats of the beer garden.

Hey Mister Man, I’m gonna tell your wife on you
yes I am
Hey Mister Man, I’m gonna tell your wife on you
yes I am
Cause you’ve been messin round with girlfriend
Now you’re messin round with her sister, too.

TOP lost a tent and a cooler to the wind during Thursday’s afternoon storm (thankfully no one was hurt), but otherwise near-perfect weather seems to have brought out the crowds. “I’d say we’ve averaged about 30% more people this year than previous years,” said Steve Guttman, TOP Manager. “The weather, plus our location here on Ingalls Mall, has really been in our favor.” When I asked Steve whether he thought the University would allow TOP to remain on Ingalls, “I don’t really know at this point” was his response.

Hundreds certainly came out for InFlight. What a terrific band! With steel drums, funky keyboards and vocals, the band brought a taste of Trinidad and Tobago to Washington Street (view clip). This gentleman was in the spirit of the evening, and former mayor(and current Summer Festival Board Member) Ingrid Sheldon was a dancing machine. And let’s face it, the cable guy could sing “Hot! Hot! Hot!” and I’d dance like a fool.

See people rockin’ yeah people chantin’
Feelin’ hot hot hot
Keep up the spirit come on let’s do it
Feelin’ hot hot hot

Top of the Park traditionally closes with a performance by George Bedard and the Kingpins (view clip). Sandor Slomovits called them “Ann Arbor’s house band” in a review on ArborWeb, and the crowd Sunday night was digging the tunes and dancing up a storm. The Kingpins’ brand of rockabilly isn’t quite my cup of tea, but it was great to see TOP go out on a high note with such a huge, happy crowd.

So that’s it. Dozens of staff put in some brutal hours over the course of three weeks to make TOP happen – not to mention the months of planning by Summer Festival staff. Their efforts made this year's event one big, continuous party for the people of Ann Arbor, of which I was happy to partake. I usually spend the bulk June traveling, but this summer was the first in many years that I’ve been in town for virtually the entire run. Though at this point I feel a little bit like a kid who’s just eaten an entire bag of Hershey’s Kisses. Maybe too much of a good thing. Thank heavens Art Fair is only four days…