This being prime wedding season and all, I attended my cousin Liz's nuptials this weekend and had a fabulous time. Besides feeling all of the joy and excitement about my cousin getting married, I also realized there are tons of possibilities for event venues along the waterfront.

The rehearsal dinner was held at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, a Living Classrooms facility, gallery space, and museum where you can learn about African American maritime history, as well as the interesting lives of Frederick Douglass and Issac Meyers. The dinner was held on the third floor of the building, which featured art inspired by President Obama on the walls and a spacious balcony overlooking the harbor (including Harbor East, Tide Point, and Locust Point). The mix of local history, art, and waterfront views made for a perfect place to start off the weekend's festivities.

The wedding itself was held at one of my all-time favorite places in the city: the Baltimore Museum of Industry. I have been coming to the BMI since I was little kid, whether for field trips or their Fourth of July celebration my family used to attend every year. Now I go back occasionally for exhibits or parties, but it was great to attend an event on such a large scale. To have Baltimore's history (both commercial and industrial) be the backdrop for your wedding, party, banquet, reunion, or whatever is a truly unique experience.

Not to mention that during downtime at the event, you can peruse general stores, printing presses, model kitchens, and canneries of days gone by. Also, there's an exhibit, article, or advertisement (including one written by my grandfather) in every dusty nook and cranny in the place, so you would never run out of ways to be entertained. Plus, who wouldn't want a nearly to-scale model plane in the middle of their wedding reception? That's just too cool.

Got back from Bonnaroo a few days ago and saw some really awesome music. I especially enjoyed headliners Beastie Boys and Bruce Springsteen. Also loved seeing some of my favorites, including Wilco, Ani DiFranco, Jenny Lewis, MGMT, Snoop Dogg, Phoenix, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Ben Harper and Relentless7. Also loved discovering new bands (like Hockey, seriously check them out). Some things I thought I'd never see? Flavor Flav totally rocking out in Public Enemy. Yeah, he might do some dumb stuff on TV, but he and Chuck D have some serious skills. Also, I witnessed Ani DiFranco and Janeane Garafalo having a mini political debate. Who would have thought those two would disagree?

But a real highlight was sitting down with the guys from Animal Collective Friday morning, a few hours before they were set to play. Dave Portner (Avey Tare), Noah Lennox (Panda Bear), and Brian Weitz (Geologist) sat down and discussed their Baltimore upbringing, planning their set lists, and what makes them work as a band.

How did growing up in Baltimore help to bolster your creative spirit?
Dave: We hung out in Baltimore mostly in high school, where we all met. I grew up in an area that was very woodsy. It was 22 acres of farmland out in Monkton. That sort of environment had a big influence on how I approach music.

Brian: In the 90s there weren't really any all-ages clubs, and bands didn't come to Baltimore as much, so we ended up going to a lot of DIY stuff. We went to places like the Loft and The Small Intestine and kids would just be playing shows. Seeing them do that was really inspiring because they were in high school, the same age as us at the time.

You guys have since gotten scattered all over the world, between Lisbon, New York City, and DC. Has it been difficult as a group to be so far apart?
Noah: We've known each other for so long that when we do get together and work on stuff, it's like we've never been apart. We also do a lot of file sending over the Internet, so distance doesn't really affect that. Our songs become songs one way or another.

You guys have said that you like bands who create "really special sonic environments." How does playing a show of Bonnaroo's scale affect your own "sonic environment?"
Dave: Time of day matters a lot and the length of our set matters a lot. Since we're playing outside, in the afternoon, for just a little over an hour, we'll have to put a different spin on it. We think about what people would normally want to hear outside and we'll just have to get comfortable with the environment. We hope for the best.

Noah: You'll definitely see more energetic songs out of us.

Dave: Yeah. Songs like "No More Runnin" and "In The Flowers" probably wouldn't go over too well in a big festival space. But more upbeat songs, like "My Girls," we could play that.

Speaking of your latest album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, can you explain why the venue was significant enough to inspire your album name?
Dave: It wasn't so much the actual venue, as it was the idea of it, and Merriweather was the closest we could come. Plus, we were really into the way the words sounded together.

Noah: Yeah, it was more about a big outdoor space filled with music and sound.

Kind of like here at Bonnaroo.
Noah: Yeah, exactly.

A couple hours after our interview, Animal Collective came on stage. They definitely played an impressive set that included the crowd-favorite "Summertime Clothes." They especially went all out on "Fireworks," which featured a festival-inspired extended jam. My only complaint? I wish the powers that be would have given Animal Collective a later time slot. Their dreamy, ephemeral sound definitely would have carried over better at night and, surely, the lights they had on stage would have been more appreciated. But given the time, environment, and crowd, Animal Collective definitely represented Baltimore well.

[Image: Animal Collective at Bonnaroo, courtesy of C. Taylor Crothers]

I can't even believe my good fortune.

Here I sat, cleaning out my inbox, when our advertising design director, Vicki Dodson, stuck her head into my office.

"Hey, Amy."

"Hey," I said not looking up from my computer screen. (I'm a jerk like that sometimes.)

"Do you like Fleetwood Mac?" she asked hesitantly

She had my attention now.

"Um, yes. Yes I do."

"Well, there's a guy from WTMD handing out free pairs of Fleetwood Mac tickets outside of Taco Fiesta right now, but you have to hurry, he's only going to be there until about 2."

You know how in cartoons, characters in a hurry run through walls leaving a perfect outline of themselves behind? Yeah, I basically did that.

Sure enough, I hustled up the block from our Lancaster Street office and there was the WTMD man, sitting at a sidewalk table enjoying a taco with his dog.

"Want a pair?" he asked casually.

I don't even think I said anything, rendered mute as I was by the complete good fortune that had befallen me. I merely nodded, and accepted my tickets before scurrying back to the office.

So, of course, I'm thrilled to be attending tomorrow night's concert at 1st Mariner by my all-time favorite band, but I'm equally excited that it happened the way it did.

You know how most of the time things in life are hard? Everything takes, work, planning, coordination, endless amounts of communication, compromise, and patience. And then, every once in great while, you get exactly what you want. That's what happened to me today. So . . . good day.

Now watch me get into a car accident on the way home.

On Friday my boyfriend and I were on the way to the O's game (where we got to see a grand slam ball actually go through a rainbow—so awesome!) when it started pouring down rain, so we took refuge in Sullivan's Steakhouse on Light Street. Admittedly out of place in our soaking wet Orioles T-shirts, we saddled up to the bar to try some cocktails.

While the ambiance of Sullivan's is certainly pretty swanky (jazz playing, dark wood interior, dim lighting), the prices for their cocktails weren't as horrendous as I expected. Their list of signature drinks was pretty standard and each came in at $9.95. I tried The Knockout, made with orange vodka infused with pineapple slices and an orange twist. The vodka-soaked pineapple wedges certainly packed a punch, and overall the drink was just the right amount of sweet, sour, and strong.

But my boyfriend spotted a sweet tea martini made with Firefly Vodka, something I've been dying to try since I heard raves about it from friends in South Carolina. Sullivan's version of the drink mixed the vodka with sweet and sour mix, simple syrup, water, and topped it off with a twist of lemon. It was delicious. With just the right amount of sour mix to compliment the vodka, it was just like sipping a sweet tea in the middle of a muggy, Southern summer.

While we were, though, we realized the best nights to visit Sullivan's bar are Thursdays and Sundays, where, from 5 p.m.-close, you can get their signature cocktails for only $5 each. With the friendly service, classy atmosphere, and delicious martinis, something tells me I'm going to come back—maybe more appropriately dressed next time.

To see a more food-centric review of Sullivan's, check out the June issue of Baltimore magazine.

[Image: courtesy of sullivanssteakhouse.com]