Capital AudioFest 2019

It was 77 degrees on October 31 and the weather on the drive down reminded me of an amplifier I once owned: dark, gray, and dry. The weather app on my phone said there were tornado warnings for the Washington, DC, area, but that could not diminish my excitement about going to Capital Audiofest at the Hilton Hotel in Rockville Maryland.

I felt a few drops of rain as I hauled my suitcase into lobby. We had gotten there safely, and Gary Gill and Christina Yuin (the show’s organizers) welcomed us as we entered the lobby. Check-in was easy, there were friends and hugs everywhere, and then I heard a huge crashing sound. The building shook. It sounded like two tractor-trailers had collided on the street outside. I ran to the glass doors and looked out. A wall of rain, so dense I couldn’t see across the street, was blowing horizontally, from left to right. One by one people (including one dressed like Fred Flintstone and another dressed like a sexy security guard in excessively-tight shorts) emerged from the deluge, laughing.

When I woke up this morning, it was 42 degrees.

Capital Audiofest is my personal-favorite audio show. I love it for the vibe and the people. When I first covered CAF, there were only 36 exhibitor rooms; now I’ve counted 86 rooms plus dozens more exhibitors.

The show opens today. Tonight, I intend to crash Part-Time Audiophile’s “Under Forty” cocktail party and the VPI “after party,” but today I will be checking out the product premiers and attending some of the more than thirty seminars and events.

When the second thunderclap hit, I was staring at a huge atrium with what appeared to be 10 million LPs.

You are invited.