See my Youtube channel for abundant clips!
I am my new hero. I began my concert experiences today at 10am at the folk fest. I finished them at 10pm at Trooper Fest 3, dancing enthusiastically to Rong. I was engaged in the pursuit of live music for over 12 hours solid today, logging in over 20,000 steps (probably at least 5,000 of which were dancing), and spending on the weekend upwards of $1000 on music and folk-fest related stuff ($20 for a water bottle? It's going to a good cause!). And that's with a media pass!
I feel I have done music justice this weekend. And yet still I write.
Understand, from the outset today, I was still feeling exhausted, sunburnt, and slightly wonky-gutted from the day before. I was also awakened by the kitten after five hours sleep -- he is up at dawn and meowing, every morning, even after you feed him; I tried to go back to bed and he came to pounce on my guts, so I gave up... I then spent the next three or so hours writing, then woke Erika and we got on with getting ready, ultimately arriving at the Folk Festival at just after 10am. We set up at the South Stage gospel tent, and then I rushed over to the East Stage to see Sam Parton and Paul Pigat.
I really like Sam. She told me a story, a bit later, when signing a record, involving Peter Buck, who she shared a bill with the night of the Minus 5 gig, which was where I met her. I wish I could repeat the story -- it involves a gift I gave Sam that evening, that Peter was, uh, skeptical about. I can say no more, but it made me think Peter is probably a pretty decent guy (and made me wonder again about how badly burned he may have been in the music biz over the years).
She and I laughed about it a bit backstage, anyhow, and it gave her something cryptic to sign on my record (Sorry, whoever-you-are; you will not find the answer here [the question being, "Cookies?").
Oh, I shook hands with Elizabeth May, who was saying hello to... who is that? Lennie Gallant? I have no idea. Again, this was a bit later (I asked her if she minded my paparazzi-ing her and she did not).
Note: Jake Xerxes Fussell, who I shot here, has a song about ducks. Well, with ducks in the title, anyhow. It's an instrumental.
Sharon Steele would see the duck and shoot vid of me with it. It came when she quacked. Someone else took the duck's photo, and Sharon remarked, "That duck's famous," referring, I think, to my earlier blogpost.
But I'm getting ahead of myself, because Sam was on the east stage two sets in a row, the latter in a workshop with Fussell -- who did a touching song called "Jubilee," I think, which I shot a clip of -- and Kellie Loder, who did a great queer anthem about wanting to wear a suit when you're expected to wear a dress (shades of "Black Tie" by Grace Petrie, which I first heard last folk fest). I did not shoot that, but I enjoyed it, and had cause to reflect that I had joked with Petrie about having given Ferron albums to lesbians in the festival two years in a row (Petrie, last year, and Amythyst Kiah, the year prior), telling her I was going to make it a tradition! If a visiting lesbian played, I would get them Ferron!
But, sorry, Kellie, I did not have a Ferron album up my sleeve for you today. I didn't know your music before today! If you are reading this, and don't know Ferron, and WANT to -- out and queer in Vancouver in the 1980s and still active today -- consider this my raincheque.
...But you probably know her, anyhow (Grace and Amythyst didn't).
Where was I? Ah, yes. Having enjoyed Sam's first set, I raced back to the gospel tent, where my wife and I were seated too far away for me to get any meaningfully good shots. I did, however, get to snap a few candids while I was autograph-whoring (successfully).
I must say, though I did not catch the whole set -- also taking in a bit of Emily Wurramara on the West Stage, when I went on a toilet run -- I was most impressed, of the songs I heard, by Rich Hope doing "Gotta Serve Somebody." Regardless of it being from his Christian period, I think forced to pick a favourite Dylan album of the 1970s, I'd go with Slow Train Coming -- which I realize would be a contentious choice for most people. Desire is also awesome, but uneven. I certainly love Slow Train much more than Blood on the Tracks, though I concede that that is objectively probably the better album (I think I like Street Legal better than that one, too, and maybe Planet Waves).
Y'know Mark Knopfler is on guitar on Slow Train Coming, right? Seriously, if you've missed that album...
Anyhow: Rich told me later that it was his wife that suggested that Dylan song (which Hope connected to Trump in the states, but I missed the intro. I gather it was potent, however). I don't know Rich's wife, but my compliments and thanks. More people should do Christian Dylan at the Gospel Tent -- it seems under-mined and rich. (Saved is good too, but less for songs, more for the energy of it).
Rich also did the slightly more obvious "Further Along," which I also enjoyed, though much less; still, that is a gospel standard that has NOT worn thin for me, unlike, say, "Amazing Grace" and "This Little Light of Mine," which are just too overdone, bordering on "Kumbayah" territory: not at all inspired or exciting, from a music-snob POV.
But that's me. I was much, much more impressed (and I told her so later) with Meredith Moon doing "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)". Do you know the story behind that song? I only learned it recently myself -- there's a whole Wikipedia page on it (you can also hear Woody sing it here). 32 people died in a plane wreck; 28 of them were Mexican migrant farm workers, and four of them white folks in the crew. The four white folks were memorialized by name in the news while the remaining 28 were listed just as "deportees." This is why the song makes a point of naming people:
Goodbye to my Juan, farewell Roselita
Adios mes amigos, Jesus e Maria
You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane
All they will call you will be deportees
The brilliance of Moon including it on the gospel stage is that not only is it politically relevant, obviously, but it is also completely 100% lacking overt Christian content, while nonetheless being deeply, on the best possible level, Christian in its message -- a message that Jesus Christ himself, champion of the poor and downtrodden and confronter of hypocrisy and moral mediocrity, would clearly endorse 100%.
The other great politcally-relevant tune of the day, at least with lyrics that I could understand, came as a tweener, when Willi Carslisle did a Steve Goodman song called "The Ballad of Penny Evans." I didn't know that one -- an anti-Vietnam war song told from the POV of a war widow. He also did the only accordion song I heard this year, a cover of "Beeswing," which I much prefer on guitar, I must admit. Erika and I have seen both Grace Petrie and Richard Thompson himself do it this past year. It was okay, if not particularly suited to the instrument, though he did quip, memorably, that the squeezebox is the perfect instrument for the global socialist revolution, because you play both ends against the middle and don't care how many people hate it (ha!). He did an original in there, too, "Critterland." I liked that better, but didn't shoot it!
Of course, there may have been political content in Les Mamans du Congo x Rrobin sets I saw, too, but I didn't understand any of the lyrics, so... I've gone ahead and posted clips; see here and here. I hope no one gets in trouble -- there seemed a clear anti-war theme to some of the "theatre" of their dance performance.
Mostly I just danced myself.
Emily Wurramara
There was lots I took in. Sometimes it was entirely on the fly: I'd take a trip to the port-o-potties or water refill station and take a minute to go see what's going on at the next stage over. Sometimes the high points weren't even musical. In some ways, the sweetest moment of the gig was when a shy woman named Betsy came over, seeing that I was waiting at the South Stage backstage for artists to emerge, and asked me if I would give the female artists lavender wands she had made with lavender from her garden. One went to Meredith Moon, another to her trombonist Charlotte, one went to Ruthie Foster, and then... I had two left over. Since Rich Hope's wife had made such a wicked choice, suggesting that Dylan, I gave one to Rich to give to her, and then I gave the last one to Fiona Black, with thanks: "I don't know if Betsy knows who you are but if she does, she'd want you to have one."
You can see the wand I gave Ruthie, below.
Most of the high points were, of course, musical, though. Derek Gripper did trance-inducing, beautiful, but strangely abstract guitar; I have not had anyone bring both Steve Reich and John Fahey to mind at the same time. I was pleased to see Gord and members of Haram checking him out.
Blue Moon Marquee were energetic and expressive and their swingin' five-piece incarnation was much more exciting than their two-piece tweener on Friday (which hadn't won either my wife or I; Sunday changed that).
I only caught a bit of their set, but the Langan Band had great chemistry and such enthusiasm for playing, I mistook them for being Irish (they're Scottish!). The strangest moment was when the double bassist was suddenly raptured up to heaven, mid set (I jest):
There was exactly one band that didn't raise my enthusiasm above the meh level -- though I couldn't really hear their lyrics, which might have changed anything. We left shortly after Ruthie Foster did "That's Alright Mama," taking it "back to the blues," she said, except the song, if I recall, was every bit as rockin' a rock tune when Arthur Big Boy Crudup did it as when Elvis did; the bluesy elements that Foster added were all her own.
It was awesome. My cellphone was kaput, by that point, and we did not complete that set, but only because we were absolutely satiated and exhausted (and I had a punk show to get to). Ruthie won us, rest assured. We're fans. We've got her new, Grammy-winning record, too (signed!).
But the absolute peak of the weekend was Les Mamans du Congo. I actually don't want to post video of them at the moment until I know how they feel about it, but if you're looking for something amazing, go see them at Butchart Gardens on the 23rd. Or at Salmon Arm on the 25th. Or Calgary on the 26th. Dance, costume, theatre, and music unlike anything I have heard, that was nonetheless utterly engaging and danceable... I danced harder to them than I did to Rong doing "Run With Us," at the end of my adventures yesterday. That's sayin' something.
As far as I know, Les Mamans du Congo x Rrobin will not be at this festival in North Vancouver on the 27th, but then... who will be? There is no indication, but it's free!
Having bailed on both the Zawose Queens (one bit of performance with Elisapie aside), and missed Bab L'Bluz entirely, I was very glad to engage so thoroughly with Les Mamans Du Congo x Rrobin.
I was writing previously about needing a thread to follow into music. I have not always found myself with a thread when it comes for music from Africa. Even the music of a great like Fela Kuti has long passages that don't move me much. But I would have bought Les Mamans Du Congo records in a heartbeat, if they had any. They were amazing. Seriously, if you can see one of their shows, do.
I have not posted that much about vendors this year, but I want to shout out to this friendly guy from Rudi Organics, which was the clothing vendor who most caught Erika's eye.
Buying my wife a shawl (the one the Rudi guy is folding)
Haram, of course, were also terrific. That I did shoot some video of, which Gordon has blessed my posting -- slightly weird that I could only shoot from behind for this (the front was packed) but it pays off once Grdina starts conducting the audience...! Again, watching his hand gestures, conducting, I was reminded of John Zorn, but while Zorn looks aloof-and-in-his head, Grdina is also doing stuff like getting people to CLAP ALONG. There was no clapping to Electric Masada, as I recall. I think I gotta say it: Grdina>Zorn, at least in terms of the sheer pleasure I took from seeing Haram live.
Then I went to that punk show, bought a Rong shirt, and came very close to moshing. Noelle had an All Cats Are Beautiful t-shirt, with Trooper's image on it. I'm not sure if she realized that that was MY JOKE on Facebook, in writing about Trooper, but I was flattered beyond words (it's an alternative to the more usual meaning of ACAB). She's doing another run of shirts, if you missed it (find her on FB as "Noelle McKee").
I want a Trooper ACAB t-shirt so bad. (No, no, not the band Trooper. The cat. See here. 3xl, Noelle, please!).
