Folkfest flashback
Aug. 13th, 2009 11:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blue_lotus13I have not written about all the incredible music that I saw at the Folkfest. I'm going to highlight some of the great things I saw-
Ramona and I arrived on Thursday night just in time to see Kathleen Edwards. I thought she was pretty good, but Ramona and I were mainly in visiting mode. We stayed for two more acts, which were obviously okay because I don't really remember them. Oh yeah, we saw Steve Earle, who was okay, and then Boz Scaggs, who was also okay, but not really my thing.
Friday- One of the groups that I really wanted to see was called "Hanggai." They were a group of Mongolian musicians living in China. They combined throat singing with traditional instruments and some electric ones. I was quite inspired by them, and felt homesick for Mongolia. They played on a stage with Chumbawumba who were just sort of there. I found them slightly annoying, mainly because they referred to the Mongolians as "Chinese." We saw Loudon Wainwright the 3rd, who was funny and bitter, and then we saw the Wailers, minus Bob Marley. The Wailers are high energy and really tight, but I think it's sad that they are now known as the band whose charismatic lead singer died. However, they are pretty great. This was followed by Neko Case, who gave a great performance. Unfortunately, we were sitting in a really uncomfortable location between two people who kept annoying me. I had an allergy attack and was very uncomfortable, so we left early.
Saturday- I really like Danny Michel so over the weekend we saw two showcase stages featuring him and a bunch of other people, including Fred Eaglesmith and Jill Barber. Other highlights from the group stages included a set with Kasey Chambers and her husband Shane Nicholson, and Raul Malo, the lead singer from the Mavericks. We got a much better spot for the mainstage this evening so we were able to relax and enjoy Patty Griffin, who did a great set. She was followed by Iron and Wine who delivered one of the better performances of the weekend. He's absolutely amazing and I need to get his disks. This was followed by Rodney Crowell, who used to be married to Rosanne Cash. I found his music kind of dull, so I wandered around a little while he was on stage. However, he was followed by one of the best performances I've seen in a long time. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings put on an AMAZING show. I can't say enough good things about her and her band. She wowed the crowd, danced up a storm and was really interactive. She was 53 years old and had more energy than most people I know. I told Ramona that watching her was probably the closest I'd ever get to seeing Aretha or Tina when either was in her prime.
Sunday- I was tired and low energy. We watched a world showcase, followed by a Canadian one. Fred Eaglesmith was the host for one, and he was quite hilarious. This was followed by a mainstage show of a group called the Idan Raichel project. I wanted to like them more than I did, but found them a bit flat. They were followed by Bela Fleck the banjo player, who played alongside an African musician. This was followed by Kasey Chambers, Bill Chambers and Shane Nicholson. I really enjoyed their set and their songs' and Kasey's humour, which was mainly at her husband's expense. I tend to get along well with Australians, as they are quite raunchy. The headliner of the evening was Steven Page, former frontman of the Bare Naked Ladies. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed his set. He's a great performer, and quite funny. He brought Danny Michel onstage and they performed an acoustic version of Billie Jean, which was hysterical. We left when he was finishing up his act, and I was exhausted and took two days to recover from the crowds, the stimulation and the weird hours.
It was my first Folkfest experience and I really loved it.
Ramona and I arrived on Thursday night just in time to see Kathleen Edwards. I thought she was pretty good, but Ramona and I were mainly in visiting mode. We stayed for two more acts, which were obviously okay because I don't really remember them. Oh yeah, we saw Steve Earle, who was okay, and then Boz Scaggs, who was also okay, but not really my thing.
Friday- One of the groups that I really wanted to see was called "Hanggai." They were a group of Mongolian musicians living in China. They combined throat singing with traditional instruments and some electric ones. I was quite inspired by them, and felt homesick for Mongolia. They played on a stage with Chumbawumba who were just sort of there. I found them slightly annoying, mainly because they referred to the Mongolians as "Chinese." We saw Loudon Wainwright the 3rd, who was funny and bitter, and then we saw the Wailers, minus Bob Marley. The Wailers are high energy and really tight, but I think it's sad that they are now known as the band whose charismatic lead singer died. However, they are pretty great. This was followed by Neko Case, who gave a great performance. Unfortunately, we were sitting in a really uncomfortable location between two people who kept annoying me. I had an allergy attack and was very uncomfortable, so we left early.
Saturday- I really like Danny Michel so over the weekend we saw two showcase stages featuring him and a bunch of other people, including Fred Eaglesmith and Jill Barber. Other highlights from the group stages included a set with Kasey Chambers and her husband Shane Nicholson, and Raul Malo, the lead singer from the Mavericks. We got a much better spot for the mainstage this evening so we were able to relax and enjoy Patty Griffin, who did a great set. She was followed by Iron and Wine who delivered one of the better performances of the weekend. He's absolutely amazing and I need to get his disks. This was followed by Rodney Crowell, who used to be married to Rosanne Cash. I found his music kind of dull, so I wandered around a little while he was on stage. However, he was followed by one of the best performances I've seen in a long time. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings put on an AMAZING show. I can't say enough good things about her and her band. She wowed the crowd, danced up a storm and was really interactive. She was 53 years old and had more energy than most people I know. I told Ramona that watching her was probably the closest I'd ever get to seeing Aretha or Tina when either was in her prime.
Sunday- I was tired and low energy. We watched a world showcase, followed by a Canadian one. Fred Eaglesmith was the host for one, and he was quite hilarious. This was followed by a mainstage show of a group called the Idan Raichel project. I wanted to like them more than I did, but found them a bit flat. They were followed by Bela Fleck the banjo player, who played alongside an African musician. This was followed by Kasey Chambers, Bill Chambers and Shane Nicholson. I really enjoyed their set and their songs' and Kasey's humour, which was mainly at her husband's expense. I tend to get along well with Australians, as they are quite raunchy. The headliner of the evening was Steven Page, former frontman of the Bare Naked Ladies. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed his set. He's a great performer, and quite funny. He brought Danny Michel onstage and they performed an acoustic version of Billie Jean, which was hysterical. We left when he was finishing up his act, and I was exhausted and took two days to recover from the crowds, the stimulation and the weird hours.
It was my first Folkfest experience and I really loved it.
