By Phil Eil
For those of you who declined invitations to Dolores Park on Saturday: Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much. It was the usual scene: young people drinking Tecate, dogs chasing Frisbees, an eight-year-old guitar prodigy playing Creedence covers.
What’s that? There isn’t usually a third-grader playing to throngs of fans? I see. OK, then. Maybe you did miss something. Here’s what happened:
At around 6 p.m., I was lounging on the grass near the center walkway, talking with a friend, when I heard the unmistakable guitar intro to “Suzie Q.” But then, instead of a grown-up Fogerty-wannabe belting out the lyrics, I heard a tiny, determined voice wailing, “Oh, Suzie Q, baby I love you…” Curious to see who was singing, I shuffled toward the source of the music. By the tennis courts, I found a raucous crowd of hipsters whistling and hooting around a kid with an electric guitar and a microphone. Behind him, sitting on an amp, there was an older guy playing back-up guitar. I sat down and stayed mesmerized for the next 45 minutes.
My PS3 abilities no longer seem so impressive …