One of the more surreal experiences of my life, the paper sent me to Philadelphia for the massive Live 8 event, to follow Nashville band Jars of Clay. Those whip-quick-deadline front-page stories are a thrill, but super stressful — you’re reporting in a frenzy, then writing in a double frenzy, all under weird/frenzied conditions (like, in this case, wandering around backstage at one of the biggest events of the decade, while Beyonce rolls by in a golf cart).
