So I was not well-rested or full of pep when I got up, did my exercises, and showered (the shower was weird too, not wanting to turn on or to turn fully off). And when I got down to the breakfast room at a little after 9 (breakfast went until 10) it was packed and there was nowhere to sit! Actually, most of the chairs in the Hampton lobby were not really chairs, they were some kind of Medieval torture device that you couldn't either slouch in comfortably or sit up in comfortably.
It wasn't a great morning. We got up Dave later than we should and he was very rushed while we were both ready to leave, thinking that the line was growing and growing and we were going to be late. But the secret was to be mellow. I was actually thinking of being so mellow that I might come back to the hotel for a nap later that afternoon ... it wasn't a very compelling lineup as I say.
But whatever, we got saddled up, drove the short distance over and got in the car line (well organized for once!) and Dave grabbed a chair and joined the people line, which wasn't very well organized at first, but then settled in. We were back, sitting in the hot sun waiting for the GRF gates to open. We recognized some of the people in line, and I'm sure they recognized us. Again, P&D were not far behind us in line.
Pamela Means and her guitar came on first right on time at 1:00. She played some good blues on the guitar and sang some acerbic protest song, with a smile. She was ok, but what I really wanted to start the day with was Mamma's Marmalade down on the Deans Beans stage.
Dave was up front too and I stayed for their whole set of really entertaining newgrass. I can't say where a tight band, there were plenty of flubs in their set and a couple of confusing moments. But they sure made up for this in enthusiasm and they were obviously so delighted to be on the stage at the GRF, it was charming. Lily Sexton on fiddle, Mitch Bordage on mandolin, Rich Hennessy on banjo, Sean Davis on guitar, and Curtis Bordage on bass all had some great runs. They shared vocals (except for Curtis) and had some fine moments there too, especially Sean Davis holding nothing back and singing like his feet were on fire, and Lily Sexton doing a great cover of Cold Rain and Snow (only GD song of the Festival!) in which she not only killed the guy insouciantly but then left him out in the weather.
Great stuff, and then brought Dave back up to one of the vendors for his advice on some scarfs that had caught my eye. Already started on the main stage was The Suitcase Junket and Matt Lorenz was as excellent as ever, with a great ringing guitar sound, some funky beats, and his sister Kate Lorenz accompanying him on vocals.
Hung out for a few tunes from them and then was off again, back down through all the vendors, the kids and art tents, the hammock setup, and the people playing frisbee and twirling hoops down to the Deans Beans stage again. It really was a beautiful day and though hot, was thankfully not at all humid.
Charlie Hunter & Lucy Woodward were holding forth, and again I was delighted by them. I'd thought from the description of their duo act that it might be more technical, jazzy music than I wanted at that time of afternoon, but it was really captivating, if only for a few songs. Charlie Hunter was sitting on a chair and playing a seven-string guitar, which allowed him to thumb a bass line while finger-picking the other strings. And Woodward did not try to dominate the sound with her voice, filling in with some tasty wails and hollers. This was more top-notch music being led by an eclectic and/or excellent guitar. I was stuck to the ground there for a bit, then moved on in a mellow way.
Checked out the Parlor Room stage and was just in time to catch the last two songs by Session Americana, the second featuring Ali McGuirk. They were playing every instrument in sight, including a "pre-war parlor guitar."
And then wow! Back up to the main stage for one of the sets of the Festival. The others were more blown away by Samantha Fish than I was, but only because I was a little more ready. She had a great band with her, possibly the guys described in this article ... it was the same instrumentation at least. But the star of the show was Samantha, who cares who else was on the stage. She was out there with a perm, lots of makeup, high heels, glowing nails, and skin-tight pants, and she was letting the guys excel and then turning up her Gibson and letting the blues flow. She rocked our asses off and then took names. And she writes a lot of her own songs, another incredible musician just waiting to be noticed.
But as we discussed, she's not waiting. She puts on the sexy outfit and then grabs your attention. This is probably part armoring herself to become what she needs/wants to be on stage, and part doing what she needs to do to get herself noticed. I saw Samantha later on the Green House stage, solo on a beautiful walnut acoustic, and she was looking not quite as glamorous in the bright sun rather than the stage lights (still very glamorous though). And she was just as good, perhaps better in a stripped down setting.
Yeah, they had the "Green Stage" thing going again, which was called the Tiny House stage at one point. It's the little pop-up stage past the beer tent and before the porta-potties, and was very popular again. Besides Samantha I didn't time it right to see many acts there, but others in our group did. I caught bits of Ladama, Upstate, and Eilen Jewell there as well as Samantha.
OK, time to keep rambling and I wanted to catch at least some of Lowdown Brass Band downhill. I was a little disappointed with their style at first but then warmed up to them quickly. They featured more vocals and beats than jazzy brass, but were very talented. Their tuba player was so powerful he often turned to the side or even to the back of the stage so his sound mixed with the others better. And they have two very talented vocalists, including one who can croon with the best of them.
Headed back uphill with another detour over to the Parlor Room stage for a few songs and again, I was very glad I did. Sean McConnell, who's written some Nashville hits but I'd never heard of before, was holding forth on a big red electric Rickenbacker. Only took me one second to realize this was not boring solo guitar, this was the good stuff. One of those guys with a very confident voice, just the right style on his instrument to back it up, and some great chops.
But ... I wanted to catch most of Tyler Childers's set and was back uphill and bellied up to the stage (or as close as I could get), this was authentic modern country and there were a lot of enthusiasts up there. Tyler was up front with his guitar, his drawl, and his long gaze, as well as his excellent songs. And he had another great band: keyboards, bass, drums, and two multi-instrumentalists whose default setting was "electric guitar" but also played pedal steel, banjo, mandolin, and probably stuff I missed. He played most of the songs from his great record, Purgatory, and probably some from his about-to-be-released record, and he closed with a solo version of his popular Lady May. Had the great thrill of turning around at the front of the stage and seeing a sea of people, back to the umbrella line, all standing up and rapt on Tyler's songs and his great band.
I was king of tuckered out by then and was able to squeeze in a trip to the car, to the Green Stage, and get some food from the La Veracruzana stand. By then it was time for Low Cut Connie, and the crowd swelled for this act. He started off on top of his piano, and just upped the theatrics from there. Again, he had an excellent band and he opened with his hit, All These Kids Are Way Too High. But it was time to ramble again, he kind of did the opposite to me of nailing me to my seat.
I didn't think I had much choice though, but headed downhill to check out Red Baraat and again, I was very glad that I did. He probably tops my list of surprisingly good bands at the Festival, and there were many of them. They had a rocking mix of winds (including tuba and soprano sax) and electric guitars and were led by Sunny Jain on vocals and dhol drum, kind of a double-ended big thick tom-tom that he beat with some sturdy sticks. With their trap drummer going full speed too they whipped up a musical frenzy that was a lot of fun.
Yikes! Time to head back uphill, gush to everyone I could about the band they just missed, and to settle in for The Wood Brothers. I was really looking forward to seeing them, had heard them many times and loved them, but had never seen them. And they did not disappoint. Besides the great quirky guitar sounds and vocals of big brother Oliver Wood, younger brother Chris Wood was incredible on stand-up bass. He bowed it, plucked it, rubbed it, and at one point got some white things out of his quiver and set the tension on the strings in some weird way and got some more sounds out of them.
And Jano Rix on drums and percussion was marvelous himself. Late in the set, he grabbed a guitar and came up front for the trio to sing together. BUT he did not play it as a guitar, he played it solely as a percussion instrument. It had one string on it that he sometimes struck as a drone, had a gourd clinging to the sound box like a remora fish, and he played it between both hands.
OK, we were done and packed up to leave. We were tempted to stay for The Stone Coyotes and to maybe catch some of Angelique Kidjo's set, but it had been a long day and we were ready to head back to the hotel. Which we did!
One problem was that I realized I was starving, though I'd had several rounds of food throughout the day. Tristan and Scott were still at the concert, but we met up with Michelle and DaveL down in the lobby, again with lots of chips and beer and much to catch up on after that great day of music. Chips weren't going to do it for me though, but the breakfast room was not locked and I peeked in and foraged. I made myself a bowl of raisin bran and peanut butter, which was fantastic! That's going to be my new go-to dish.
Tristan and Scott showed up and we talked into the night, and soon it turned midnight. And Michelle and Scott were ready with a bottle of champagne, which was so nice of them! It was now July 14th 2019, Sarah's and my 40th wedding anniversary. We poured champagne all around in hotel coffee cups and Sarah dug up some old pictures of our wedding, which was truly a long time ago.
More great conversation ensued and by the time I made my excuses and staggered up to the room and got to bed it was 2AM!! So much for my Saturday morning plans of a mellow day with a nap and an early bed time. But this was a wonderful day of beautiful Summer weather, discovering new and old bands (12 of them), and talking with friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment