3:00pm: Still at the Harbor Stage, waiting for my most anticipated band of the day, She & Him. If you don’t know who that is – first off, shame on you, but the “She” in the equation is super-cute indie movie sensation Zooey Deschanel while “Him” is alt-country hipster M. Ward. And if you haven’t HEARD them and you’re whining that “This is probably just another pampered Hollywood star needlessly indulging her musical fantasies!” – just shut up now, because theirs is one of the best collaborations/albums of the year. Deshanel’s soulful, delightfully off-kilter vocals mesh perfectly with Ward’s arrangements - a mix of music that is complex in its simplicity punctuated with endearing lyrical musings. Couldn’t have been more excited - so of course the skies had to open up right after they hit the stage. I’m not talking about a little rain, I’m talking about a hosing down rivaling wet t-shirt night, kids. But the show went on in the tent, with Deschanel in a sparkly yellow dress eventually covered by a polka dot poncho as we hit monsoon season. They were troopers, even when technical difficulties threatened – Ward had to abandon the acoustic guitar when it gave some (continuous) loud feedback, pulling a Newport classic and going electric. The highlights of the show? They played a good portion of the material from Volume One (their recent debut CD) during the 14-song set, with Deschanel occasionally playing keyboard. Their two singles were big hits, a rockin’ version of “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here” and their breakout song “This Is Not A Test”. Sandwiched between those two gems was “Magic Trick”, a song from M. Ward’s solo work, which also featured the talent of Jim James – the My Morning Jacket frontman who is up next on this stage. Two other songs of note: first, backup singer Becky Stark (of Lavender Diamond) got lead vocal duties on her own song, “The Garden Rose”, and “Lingering Still” was the other non-solo-act non-album-track – very well received by the audience. They all took their bows after the finale of “Sweet Darlin’”, and Zooey graciously accepted flowers from a fan.4:00pm: I now look like I’ve BEEN IN a wet t-shirt contest. No way to get under the tent, so we’ve been flat-backed against the fort wall, which has a slight overhang. Not MUCH shelter, but not AS drenched as other folks, so there’s that…
4:10pm: The aforementioned Jim James comes out. I’m not the biggest fan – I like the guitar work, I respect the man, I just don’t get the whole singing-in-a-tin-can vocal sound that he likes. But my girlfriend loves him, so I’m trying. At any rate, he came onstage with a little electric effects box (is there a more technical term – I’m sure, but you get the picture) that he rocked out with solo for the first few songs, later to be accompanied by M. Ward for a few songs (the two seem to travel in the same circles quite often, not just today – I saw Ward open for My Morning Jacket at the Webster Theatre in CT). The rain stopped partway through his set, so we decided to ring out our clothes and take a walk.
4:45pm: Got to the Waterside Stage and couldn’t hear anything at a distance. The Felice Brothers were supposed to be playing, and I was hoping they didn’t have to cancel them due to the rain. As we got closer, we could see the crowd and hear some singing and instruments – unplugged, how quaint, I thought (I also assumed that the tiny tent covering the sound storm probably wasn’t enough to shield it from the rain, and maybe fearing electrocution cut the power. I later learned that electricity had gone out due to the storm, and this was the only stage without backup power.). Trudged through the mud and puddles to get as close as we could, but the crowd was thickly massed around the band to hear better. It turns out that they had taken the act off the stage and into the audience to make things a little more personal. Their energy was astounding, and Ian Felice (lead vocals/guitar) was already starting to lose his voice from shouting. Oh, and he was down to four strings on his gee-tar, presumably lost to the frenetic first half of the show. James Felice, a bearded bear of a man, squeezed the accordion with flair, helping lend some backup voice to his brother. Simone Felice is the crazed drummer of the family, and he was encouraging the audience to sing and clap along, leaving his kit to maniacally roam the middle aisle in an attempt to bring the energy levels to a combustible level. On washboard and fiddle was Farley, joining in the raucous antics. When Ian asked for requests towards the end, it may have been a mistake – people were obviously shouting out things that were too difficult without a mic. They did the big crowd-pleaser, their first hit, “Frankie’s Gun”, and Ian got to take a break when everyone sang pretty much the whole song for him. James had everyone up and dancing with the band at one point shortly before the end, and prefacing the last song (which I think was a rousing rendition of a traditional tune, “Hallelujah (Lay My Burdens Down)”) Ian said it was their finale, then he was going to go die of throat cancer. Hopefully not, because I have GOT to see these guys again!5:40pm: Went back to the Fort Stage to check on our soggy chairs and bags. Stephen & Damian Marley were still playing – much later than they were supposed to be, but everything on that stage was rain-delayed. They had the crowd up and dancing, but I confess I was preoccupied with drying out – although it was really fun to watch a bunch of older ladies playing the part of the dancing fools:)
6:00pm: The big finale, The Black Crowes. I love-Love-LOVE their studio music, but I confess I’ve been fairly disappointed seeing them live in the past (I’ve see them twice before). My previous experience was that they would noodle around on the guitar, extending each 3-4 minute studio song to a 10-15 minute opus. One of my bad experiences was a nearly two hour set consisting of seven songs. Yeeesh. Don’t get me wrong, I like some jam bands and guitar solos in general. But when you lose track of what song the band was playing out of sheer boredom, they’ve lost you. This set was almost the exact opposite – they came out with acoustic guitar for the first few songs, keeping it to the 3-4 minute limit. Good, I thought, maybe they’ve figured out the right stage formula. But it never really got any flavor to it, and I actually found myself wanting more electric guitar, god forbid. Chris Robinson has an amazing voice, but it just seems like they weren’t giving it an opportunity to shine. It sounded like there was a lot coming off the latest disc, Warpaint, like “Whoa Mule”. Although it’s a solid effort, it may be a bit on the slow side to showcase the band’s talents. I want to love every facet of these guys, but I just don’t get the live stuff…
All in all, a fantastic day – I just wish the rain hadn’t trapped us for so long. As usual, the most fun to be had was at the smaller stages, since they provide more intimate venues and have such great new talent - we've seen Old Crow Medicine Show, Hot Buttered Rum and Foghorn Stringband play the Waterside Stage in the past, and such an exciting way to be introduced to new music.
Coming up soon, I'm looking forward to seeing the Felice Brothers again, and as luck would have it they will be appearing at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA on Friday September 5th (for more info/tix go here). Hope to see you all there!
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