Anyone who attended Max Arts last week saw a lot of great art and memorable performances. The two nights of music on Thursday and Friday showcased a whole lot of Hoover talent: Michael Tartell, Saoirse McSherry, Alicia Bierstedt, Andres Fonseca, Sneha Elango, Ed Powell, Sami Ismail, John Paul Thompson, former Hooverite Lewis Liu, honorary Hooverites David and Kris Wray, and of course the debut of the Hoover Family. The Hoover Family brought a little groovy back. Which is nice in the middle of a Chicago winter. The Hoover Family was a twelve piece group - a dozen or duodecad - reflecting some of the diversity of Hoover, with wee ones and grown-ups, men and women, different ethnicities and faiths. Anyone remember Woodstock? Well, neither do I. But I bet most of the people who were at Woodstock don't remember it either. We had our own Richie Havens in JP, and our own Jimi Hendrix in Andres, and sweet harmonies like CSNY. It was a few minutes of peace and music. Without shutting down the New York State Thruway, or oceans of mud, or overflowing latrines. Years from now, millions of people will say they were there.
