NOTE: this blog is no longer active as of 12/07. New one: http://blog.kirchhof.com
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
Wed, 15 Feb 2006
Folk Alliance Wrap-Up
Five days, 84 hours of work, somewhere around 500 musicians
pushed electrons through the faders on my console. Yesterday my legs
were like splintered lumber; I had blisters, and probably corns and
bunions and God knows what other podiatric afflictions, and was walking
around like I had glass shards taped to the bottom of my feet. Better
today.
I guess that I went into this thinking that I was going to be
hearing nothing but songs about Old Tom Cochran The Railroad Man or
Tom Dooley Hanging His Head or This Land or something. Utterly
wrong. I've done SXSW in Austin, New Music in NYC, The New Orleans
Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz, and more county fairs, regional and
reggae festivals than I can count. The Folk Alliance convention had
the most wonderful array of stylistically diverse, extremely high
quality music that I've ever seen in one place. I recommend it without
reservation. It represents the best of what we are as a people.
One thing that struck me was the complete absence of the whole punk
sensibility. If you are from the Lester Bangs school that defines
"rock" music as an angry narcissism, you're out of luck here. There
was none. At all. Oh, there were angry songs, outraged even, but they
were songs about the trials of everyday people trying to live
life. Union songs; songs of injustice; political outrage, yes. But the
anger was from a concern for humanity, not a concern for self. Songs
about not being able to get no satisfaction or about future plans
regarding someone's 'hump' were completely absent. Finally, music by,
for, and about grownup human beings being grownup human beings. It was
like getting my soul washed.
The level of pure musicianship was superlative. The very best
instrumentalists in the world were there, playing every kind of
instrument from atabaque to zither. The vocal harmonies were always
perfect, not a single note out of tune; the stage balance was always
good.
Here are some bands and musicians that really caught my attention:
- Ruth Bloomquist- Original music, early sixties-type folk
style. A duo, guitar and string bass. The place felt like the
Lamplighter in 1961, and I wanted to be a beatnik. Really enjoyable.
- Bob Cheevers - Pure swamp-drenched reality. Just a man and
a guitar. As Southern as fried pig ears with okra. Really good, funky,
mud on your feet music, sung by sandpaper scrubbed vocal cords. Great
stories, great storytelling, great songwriting. This guy redefines the
overused term "Americana."
- Meg Hutchinson - the word "songbird" comes to mind. Close
your eyes and go astral surfing atop her music. That voice.
- Houston Jones - One of my new and all-time favorite bands,
anywhere. From the Bay Area, they have a pretty traditional bluegrass
instrumentation. Their music is anything but. Twisty little musical
change-ups combined with twisty little lyrical change-ups, atop
world-class musicianship and been-there-done-that master-level
industry experience. These guys are Stone Pros, pushing every boundary
possible, and creating something that is wholly unique, with layers
upon layers of subtleties. You can hear bluegrass, delta blues,
western, gypsy, swamp, spanish, rock, jazz, celtic, and God knows
what other influences. They are surpassingly good and fun to
watch live. This is the kind of human artistic endeavor that gets you
an all-access pass in St. Peter's office. Truly accessible, intricate,
and engaging music. If there were justice in this world, Bill Gates
would be their roadie.
- The Gibson Brothers - Bluegrass so real they leave coal
tracks and moonshine wherever they walk. Great harmonies, and a great
balance. Perfect.
- Blame Sally - I almost killed this showcase 'cause no one
told us about needing a keyboard. I would've been guilty of
murder. Four women, absolutely beautifully crafted music. I think
they're from the Bay Area as well. Their music is a sort of
amalgamation of styles, maybe similar to CSNY in their prime creative
years, or perhaps the later jazzy Loggins and Messina, mixing in some
Sheryl Crow, some Tori, some Joni, some Indigo Girls. But with African
percussion added, and stylistically all over the map. Great
music. Their bridges and choruses are really strong; every song has a
satisfying payoff. Bass and guitar trade instruments, and both are master
musicians on either. Super good music, excellent songwriting, great
multi-part harmonies. Put their CD on at one a.m. with the lights
turned low; it'll melt a bucket of ice.
The most transcendent 90 minutes of the festival was a tribute to Bob
Feldman, president of Red House Records, who died last month. Rosalie
Sorrels, Eliza Gilkyson, Jimmy LaFave, and several other masters
simply sang Bob's favorite songs, from their heart to Bob. In 30 years
of doing this, I don't think that I've ever seen an hour and a half of
incandescence like this. This will stay with me as a standard by which
all other performances will be compared. It's still like a photograph.
Best line by a professional: Bob Cheevers, introducing his
record company president: "This is the man who lines my money with
pockets."
Best line, nonprofessional: Good looking guy on the smoking
deck, boots, jeans, thin Italian leather jacket, pretty much as near
to a hipster as it gets for this crowd, in a sad lament: "Man. A folk
festival is a terrible place to pick up heterosexual women."
Best turn of lyrical phrase: In a Houston Jones song: "This
Cathedral of Accumulated Error." (They later told me it was cobbed
from Wavy Gravy. No matter. It's theirs now.)
Best 'reunion' - Eric Weissberg was playing with Judy
Collins; they did a full concert and then came over to do a few songs
for the broadcast on Saturday night. Sitting in the audience was Steve
Mandell. Eric and Steve were the guys who performed "Dueling Banjos",
the Theme From Deliverance. They hadn't seen one another since they
recorded that song 34 years ago.
Best. Festival. Ever.
I remember one time, children, I was on the road on a Tuesday night
in Nashville; it was an off day. We were staying at some Quality Inn
type hotel, and I wandered down to the bar. On stage, there were six
triple scale studio musicians, playing just for fun, making the most
amazing music, music good enough to be sharp and defined like cut
glass twenty years later. It was one of the most remarkable nights of
music in my life. This festival approached that level of quality for
four solid days.
And it was the best professional engineering experience that I've
had at one of these things. The folks at Bluefish Entertainment did
the sound contracting, and Damon Lange of Nomad Sound was the
production manager. To a man, they worked wonders in getting the right
equipment to the right spot. My stage was especially a nightmare,
because no one had done any preproduction on the daytime stuff. I was
pure hell on them, requesting a DI here, a keyboard there, need
emergency drums at 3:30, need 'em off at 3:45, gimme mic stands,
whoops, we need an acoustic piano, etc, etc. On Saturday night, I used
every spare mic cord from 11 complete stages wiring up a
byzantine mess of a broadcast and recording split, and this on the
busiest, most grueling night of the festival. They came through
without any trouble, no sweat, and with professional efficiency. My
stage was a no-breaks-at-all kind of affair, and Damon, bless his
heart, would come by every couple of hours and spell me so I could
grab a smoke and hit the restroom. Brought me food, too. Every single
one of these guys rocked my world. Brilliant, talented, can-do
professionals. They have my unreserved recommendation.
I am a jaded old audio guy; I've seen most all of it, and I
generally don't even go to a concert unless I can watch from
backstage. I will gladly pay to go to this festival as a consumer, in
Memphis, next year. You should too.
A week well spent.
Posted at 10:55 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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