Newport Folk Fest '09 Highlights - Old News Moves Slowly

Every blogger in the world has brought you the lowlights of that damn VMA show – we GET it, Kanye is a giant douchebag. But is anyone else going to give you a peek into a festival that took place a month and a half ago? I think not! But Juano’s got the goods - here it is kids, everything you never wanted to know about The Newport Folk Festival ’09…

Voted Most Likely To Incite Rebellion: Tom Morello, The Nightwatchman

Okay, I know this guy lost some credibility after he turned into a giant pussy in Audioslave – especially compared to his amazing stint with Rage Against The Machine. But a couple of years ago, Mr. Morello went folk – just him, an acoustic guitar, and the occasional harmonica and stomp box - yet somehow, he’s more of a rock god now than during his heyday. This is his second visit to the Folk Fest, and I think he got the crowd even more fired up this year.

Highlights: He debuted a new song, “Dogs of Tijuana”. But the real standout was his cover of “This Land Is Your Land”, complete with the original final verse that the record companies didn’t want you to hear. He has the kind of stage presence that makes you want to change the world…at least for the 45 minutes of his set. But during that time, if he had asked us to burn the venue to the ground I don’t know if we could have said no. (Now if we could just get that same level of enthusiasm from Mr. Morello on his Nightwatchmen studio albums, we’d have a real movement…)

More Info/Set Download: Check out his whole performance, available for download here thanks to NPR's (National Public Radio's) web site - just look for the download link at the top of the page.
Most Likely To Wax Poetic About Squirrels and Bob Dylan: The Decemberists

Ah, The Decemberists - to define you as prog-folk with a dash of thrash guitar would just pigeonhole you. So we’ll just call you a bunch of weirdos who make great music. The band took a break from their scheduled routine for the Folk Fest’s 50th anniversary – they’ve been performing their epic concept album, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety during this tour. Instead, their set provided us with such faves as “O Valencia!” and “The Crane Wife Pt. 3”. We were also treated to what leading man Colin Meloy referred to as “the worst song I ever wrote” – “Dracula’s Daughter”. C’mon man, don’t be so hard on yourself – it was really funny…oh, it was supposed to be tragic…ahhh.

Highlights: A recreation of Bob Dylan going electric at the ’65 Folk Fest was performed during “A Cautionary Song” by The Decemberists Family Players. To give you an idea of how truly surreal that telling was, a big ol’ squirrel had a key role in this wacky rendition…’nuff said. We were also lucky enough to witness the American debut of two new songs: “Down By The Water” and “Copper Mine Song”. But the biggest treat came from the vocal talents of two of the women touring with the Hazards of Love troupe: Becky Stark (of Lavender Diamond) and Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond…huh, kind of a sparkly gem thing going on with these bands). Stark was entrancing backing She & Him at last year’s Folk Fest, and was equally wonderful here. But Worden, as the Queen in the Hazards fable, had one of the most commanding voices I’ve ever heard – the studio version just didn’t do it justice. If you have a chance, SEE The Decemberists before the end of this tour!

More Info/Song Downloads: Check out 3 songs from their phenomenal set here, again from NPR. To check for tour dates, go to the bands page here (they'll be in New York and Vermont this weekend, if you're feeling like a road trip).

The Gillian & David By Any Other Name Award: Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Machine

In Gillian Welch’s band (who played Saturday’s show), David Rawlings plays second banana, and vice versa for David Rawlings Machine (who played on Sunday). Huh. Luckily, they’re both extremely fun and incredibly talented – both with a strong, unique voice that shines through.

Highlights: For Gillian, it was her exhaustion that led to my favorite moment. Announcing that she had been on the road and sleep deprived for WAY too many consecutive hours, she confessed to being a bit delusional. She decided to roll with that feeling and broke into a transcendently hallucinatory cover of “White Rabbit”. She also played one of my faves, “Look At Miss Ohio”.

For David Rawlings Machine…man, it might’ve been his duds. Yeah, the tunes were great, but you should’ve seen this wide pinstriped lavender suit he was wearing - snazzy! But the music was pretty darn good, too – from a cover of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “I Hear Them All” to Bob Dylan’s “Queen Jane Approximately” to the encore of Johnny & June Carter Cash’s “Jackson”, Mr. Rawlings knows how to please.

More Info/Set Downloads: Check out Gillian Welch's set here and David Rawling's Machine's set here.

Most Likely Soundtrack To A Good Old-Fashioned Bloodletting: Tim Eriksen & The Shape Note Singers

Any of us who lived in Western Mass during the early ‘90s probably remembers the band Cordelia’s Dad, who married classic folk stories with a punk soundtrack. That act eventually went mostly acoustic, and now Tim Eriksen has gone even more unplugged. Starting the show solo, surrounded by a variety of traditional instruments, he played a slew of centuries old ditties. He was eventually accompanied by his former Cordelia’s bandmate Peter Irvine on percussion.

Highlights: So where were these Shape Note Singers that were supposed to be with him, I wondered? Well, they came out about halfway through, and they absolutely filled the stage. Shape notes are basically a way of writing music for large groups, each note representing a vocal sound (fa-sol-la-mi). And when sung together (completely a cappella in this case) by such a large congregation that Mr. Eriksen had with him – beyond impressive.

More Info/Set Download: Check out the set here, and for more backstory about shape note singing, check out their page here.

Most Likely To Be Photographed Nude On A Bucking Horse: Ramblin’ Jack Elliott

Okay, so I know that this guy is a bit of a legend. And yes, it was his 78th birthday on the day of the show. And they did make an announcement about no flash photography before the start of the set. But when the guy stopped dead every time some poor schlub with a camera showed up, it made me think less about his musical legacy, and more about C.O.M.S. (Cranky Old Man Syndrome).

Highlight: To his credit, Mr. Elliott made a compromise with all would-be photographers in the audience: if they would stop taking pix during the set, he would let us photograph him in the parking lot, nude on a bucking horse. Y'know, I'm as open-minded about role play as the next guy, but that sounded a bit overindulgent...

Two Acts I Wish I'd Seen More Of: Langhorne Slim & Billy Bragg

I'll file this under: too many stages, too little time. For Langhorne Slim, I was in the wrong tent and only caught the last two songs of their set - but they had the crowd up and dancing. That doesn't seem like that big of a feat, but when you're the first act of the day (starting your show before noon), a lot of people won't give you that kind of attention. I had never heard these guys before, but I'll certainly be looking forward to checking out more.

I've heard Mr. Bragg's studio work in the past, but it's really the silly banter between songs that makes him so entertaining. His comedic rants make his very political messages much more appealing - it seems like Billy and Tom Morello might have a lot to talk about over a frothy pint or two...

More Info/Set Downloads: Luckily for me (and you, as it would seem), NPR posted both full sets. For Langhorne Slim go here, and for Billy Bragg go here.

Oh, And There Were a Few Living Legends, If You're Into That Sort Of Thing...

Being the 50th anniversary and all, they had some acts you may have heard of: Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie to name names. I'm assuming you may already know about these folks though, right?

That's it for now. Maybe next time I can dig up some news that's even more outdated - I'm talking Mesozoic, baby. Fingers crossed!...

Newport Folk Festival 2008 - Day 1, Part 2 (The Rains Came)

And now for the rest of the day – did I mention it was starting to sprinkle a little rain on the festivities during Steve Earle?…

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!

Newport Folk Festival 2008 - Day 1, Part 1 (In The Sun)

(Just as a disclaimer, I only attended the festival on Saturday...)

6:00am: “No…No! Captain Stubing, I don’t care if this is the Love Boat, I told you I don’t want to see your poop deck!”… Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz! (annoying alarm clock noise) Whew, what a weird nightmare – crap, is it really 6 in the morning?! Rassum frassum Newport…

7:30am: Stupid birds singing, stupid sun out, stupid people on the road in front of me. Need car-to-car missile system to clear traffic! Grrrrr!

7:45am: Dunkin Donuts coffee good – feeling humanity resurface. Caffeinated Juano happier, doesn’t want to smash puny humans.

10:45am: In Newport now, found nifty back route to Fort Adams last year. Yay, no downtown gridlock!

11:00am: Pulling into Fort Adams – seriously, they’re charging $15 for parking? Gotta say, liked Dunkin Donuts sponsorship a helluva lot more than the Festival Network so far.

11:20am: After setting up a base camp at the main stage, we head over to the Harbor Stage (the mid-sized of the three) to check out the Young at Heart Chorus. Yes that’s right, we traveled three hours from Western Mass to catch a band from… Western Mass. But with all the attention they’ve gotten from their award-winning documentary, we figured it was about time to actually see them.

11:30am: Impressive band backing Young at Heart: Freddy Freedom (Drunk Stuntmen) on guitar, Jim Armenti (Lonesome Brothers) on bass and Ken Maiuri (Mammals, School For The Dead) on keyboard. (Sorry to say I didn’t recognize the drummer, but I will amend if I find out who it was.) Steve Sanderson (Drunk Stuntmen) was also around, mainly helping set up the mics for upcoming singers (and lending a hand with vox at their urging on “Dancing In The Dark”). If you don’t know the story of the Chorus themselves, they currently range in age from 72 to 88 and do covers of songs ranging from Bruce Springsteen to the Ramones. Sounds interesting? Pull your heartstrings a bit? You don’t even know until you see it live – I saw tattooed up, muscle-bound tough guys with tears fully flowing by song #2, no exaggeration (as for me, I'm pretty sure my sun block was just making my eyes water). And the material! Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side” (with the “giving head” line appropriately – and very cutely – censored with an “ahem” at just the right time), Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”, James Brown’s “I Feel Good” (with some crazy dance moves that almost made ME need to take a nap), The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” and the obligatory Bob Dylan tribute for the set finale, “Forever Young”. Young At Heart’s name says it all – and I wish I could show as much energy at 37 as they do now.

12:15pm: Checked in on the main stage, caught the end of the Cowboy Junkies. Much louder than I remember them – but quite good. Lead singer Margo Timmins has quite the set of pipes.

12:25pm: I was a little worried about this. All the stages are starting to have a lot bigger acts playing, and the headliners seem to be getting more pop/cult-friendly every year. With the Black Crowes as the finale today, and Jimmy Buffett tomorrow, this year seems to be much more jam-packed with attendees. Couldn’t even get past the people standing in back to get into the TENT for Jakob Dylan. Listened to two songs from the back - he played the big single, “Something Good This Way Comes”, for the second - couldn’t deal with the masses of people beyond that…

12:40pm: Went to the Waterside Stage (the smallest of the three, generally showcasing up-and-coming talent) to catch the second half of Red Rooster’s set. They’re a pretty cool alt-country band from New York, and one of the winners of the Ourstage.com competition for slots to play the fest. There were male/female harmonies, banjo and saxamaphone – Oh My! I plan on exploring a bit more of their stuff at redroostermusic.com.

1:20pm: Caught the end of the legendary Richie Havens’ set, which finished with a rousing cover of “Maggie’s Farm” – are you sensing the Bob Dylan trend here? Makes sense given the venue and all, I suppose…

1:40pm: Headed over to the Harbor Stage again to try and stake a claim after Dylan’s set was scheduled to end. Pushed through the throngs to find a little patch of grass off the right side of the stage we could call our own (there was still no getting near an actual seat). Planned to stick it out through Steve Earle/Allison Moorer and She & Him.

1:50pm: Steve Earle came out solo with an acoustic guitar, starting with the appropriate “Christmas In Washington” – which calls upon the spirit of Woody Guthrie to “come back to us now”. Earle’s wife and musical compatriot Allison Moorer came on stage a few songs in to accompany him and did a solo song, “Mockingbird”, about halfway through. The weirdest part of the set? A DJ provided a techno drum backbeat for the last few songs. When you think of Earle, you generally picture a scruffy folk/country singer with earnest and honest songs, and a couple of rants about the police – like the one that started when the speakers picked up some other audio (“It’s probably the cops – they think they own all the frequencies”, he jibed. Give him a break, he was in prison for a bit.) The point is, you don’t expect to hear electric beats backing him up – once you got used to it, it was okay, but hearing him shout “Kick it!” like a kid at a rave was still unnerving. His upbeat singles “City of Immigrants” and “Satellite Radio” actually worked pretty well with this arrangement, a nice exclamation point to a set pulling half of its songs from his most recent effort, Washington Square Serenade.

Up Next: Part 2 - And then the rains came… Craptastic!