Yesterday, I was in heaven. I really couldn't be much happier.
While I type, I'm listening to the live stream of Neko Case. And there's a banjo and Kelly Hogan on "Train from Kansas City"! Just perfect.
I woke up in Somerville. Now that is a great way to greet the day. SK and I got ready to pick up her sister. Note to self...it takes about twice as long as you think to get to Newport from wherever you are on the weekend of the Folk Festival. We rolled in just to catch the final bars of Billy Bragg. We set up camp at the main stage, just right of center-stage and right in front of the sidewalk. I really like watching the performers, so it wouldn't be as much fun to be behind that sidewalk, as it's constantly full of people. SK and LK had us well supplied with seating and food. We were starving when we got there, despite a good breakfast, and dug in, while we waited for The Avett Brothers to take the stage. My sister was still in traffic, which bummed me out because she loves these brothers and that was a big reason for her going to the Festival.
For some reason, I really like to keep a list of the songs played when I go to concerts. Just like keeping score at a baseball game, it keeps me more engaged and I can note great plays. This will also come in handy when I go to make a playlist of the best songs that I heard from the two days (now that I'm listening online). I don't know all the names of songs, so I just write down what I think the chorus is or some distinct lyric. SK was nice enough to donate her printed schedule to my cause. Thinking now, I could have just used my paper ticket, but that didn't occur to then in my hunger.
Unlike last year, when I just sat at the main stage seeing all my favorites there, this year was the year of choices and bouncing around. Thankfully, nearly every act can be listened to and/or downloaded here. Give those folks at MVY some money if you appreciate the listening.
We had a bit of time before making choices while we enjoyed The Avett Brothers. I would describe this quartet as 100% there to perform. I mean, look at this picture. Everyone is in motion. They love to yelp and holler and scream a bit, but they play all out, all the time. Leah and I are actually going up to NoHo to catch them again tonight. She loves them and I can't pass up an opportunity to see live music, especially on vacation! I loved hearing them play Down With the Shine, I Would Be Sad, and Talk On Indolence. I was entertained by a guy next to us who I called The Third Avett Brother...he was singing every word and dancing around until he ditched his girlfriend to get up close to the stage.
Next up was Gillian Welch. I hope she continues to perform at Newport, as I will never grow tired of her. She always entertains the audience between songs and David Rawlings complements her so well. Apparently, her flight was delayed five hours and so they had to get a police escort to the show, just making it there, with only the clothes on their backs and their instruments. She was without contacts in and too sweaty for glasses, and claimed to feel like she was on drugs. She asked the sound techs for some reverb and then they broke into "White Rabbit." The crowd went wild. It's worth listening to, although you can't hear the reverb on the recording. Just prior to that, she played "Throw Me A Rope," a song that she has not recorded, but she played last year. I don't know the origins of the song, if it's hers or something traditional, but I really hope she records it one day. They also performed one of David Rawling's "It's Too Easy," that I quite liked as well. Everything else were songs I know well and took me back to my first year of teaching, when Gillian was a constant sound in my ears. They closed with "I'll Fly Away" and I'll say that David Rawlings gives Allison Krauss a run for her money as a partner on that song.
Now is when the fun began...we hustled over to the small tent that was busting with fans of Brett Dennen. This is when the dancing overcame me. Dennen is a fun artist to watch. His style is pretty unique and his voice has a bluesy twang to it, but yet sounds so young and clear. He is 29 years old, but could be 16, by the looks of him. I am definitely going to get his album, as I only have a few of his songs, but he swayed me to believe that I need all of them. As I keep the set lists on paper, I star the songs I really like...behind the Avett Brothers, I starred more of his songs than any other (mostly because I heard songs that were unfamiliar to me).
We went back to the main stage to see the last three songs of Fleet Foxes and hear someone yell, "I want to live in your beard!" All but one musician on stage had a beard, so I'm not sure which beard was the preferred one, but the lead singer (?) said something along the lines of that being a pretty stanky apartment to live in. I'm looking forward to listening to the full show of theirs.
From Fleet Foxes, we made our way to the medium-sized Harbor Stage for Iron and Wine. I have been trying for some time to see him, but while I can do a lot of things on my own, going to concerts in the city at night is not something that's easy for me. So, despite having tickets to see Iron & Wine in 2007, I didn't go, for lack of a partner in crime. Today, I had plenty of people there to enjoy it with me. I missed the first song...devastating...Such Great Heights, but I can relive it infinitely. It was a bit startling to realize that Iron and Wine is just one man, Sam Beam, who records all the sounds you hear on his albums. If you listen to the recording from the concert, it sounds to me like he's probably in a small club or coffee shop. It was quite intimate and all eyes were on him. We worked our way up and people left to see other acts and soon had a great view and could finally hear everything he said between songs. It's tough to pick a favorite from this set as everything was done so simply and so well. Although, I'm glad that I saw him at a festival, because alone, his songs might make you feel a bit down or lulled.
Then came the Decemberists! They were already going when we got back to the main stage, but we caught about half of their show. And man, do they put on a performance. They got the crowd involved at many points and even put on a little show. During the penultimate song, A Cautionary Tale, the "Decemberist Family Players" came down into the crowd to perform a reinactment of Dylan going electric, starring Dylan, Pete Seeger, producer Bob Jones, and a squirrel. It was a hoot! The band closed with Sons & Daughters, encouraging the entire crowd to sing along: "Here all the bombs they fade away." I think it was the perfect venue for singing those words.
The closing act of the evening was Pete Seeger, co-founder of the Festival, with his grandson Tao Rodriguez Seeger. Pete Seeger! Living legend! It was a sing-along of great folk songs like Turn, Turn, Turn, This Little Light of Mine, If I Had a Bell, This Land Is Your Land, and more. For the second half of the sing-along, the artists of the weekend came on stage and joined in. I loved Worried Man Blues, led by Gillian and David and the story Seeger told about This Land Is Your Land. Apparently, years after Woody Guthrie wrote the song, children were taught it at school, but not all the verses. Guthrie told his son, Arlo, to write down the verses. My favorite, seldom-sung verse is:
As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!
Two years of Newport in a row. I think this is now a tradition. It is worth every penny you pay to get there. Everyone we saw today was someone I would want to see anyway. Bring a blanket, some chair, some yummy picnic food, sunscreen, and water and you are set for a great day.
There's so much on NPR about the Festival. Set lists, shows for listening, pictures, etc. I will be reliving this day for a while.
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