August 11, 2006
Edmonton Folk Fest 2006
Well, it was a little wet. And wet but warm is a lot better than wet and cold :) Tonight I am going to dig out my waterproof pants - live and learn. This year I am going spend more time sitting on the hill instead of standing close up - last night I shared in the Lawsons' hospitality and sat back to soak up a wet but beautiful evening of music.
One of the nice surprises for me was K'Naan. Great songwriting.
One of my favourite lines (and I am loosely paraphrasing - they were much more eloquent) goes something like Christians, Muslims and Jews fighting in wars ...who will be left to praise the Lord?
I caught a few strains of Mark Sterling's acoutic blues during the stage change as I was walking to get myself some dinner and get out of the rain for a few moments.
Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul were an interesting blend - technically awesome in a "I could jam with Bela Fleck kind of way". Impressive.
I spent the whole time listening to the Bedouin Soundclash just grooving to the bass player Eon Sinclair. Loved his bass playing - he had a very cool bass guitar - it was white - looked like a hollow/semi-acoutic type body and had an F-hole at the top. Not sure about his other gear - ampeg head I think. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I think the Tweener was Bill Bourne - always great to hear.
The Waifs are back and playing more of their unmistakable music. They were such a surprised hit the first time they were here - certainly a crowd favourite. One hilarious moment was during the last song, Vikki who was singing lead accidently disconnected her mike. She recovered and hopped right on over to Josh's mike without missing a beat. They have a great sound and it was wonderful to see them again.
The band during the next setup was Show of Hands who got to play quite a few songs - the setup for Linda Rondstadt was a little long but I enjoyed getting a good taste of Show of Hands' music. One of the members had a double bass which is always nice for me to see :) One of their songs 'Country Life' really struck me - I think I will pick it up on cd this weekend. After they left the stage there was a little lull before Linda Ronstadt and I could hear the crowd humming Show of Hands' last tune. Always a good sign.
Linda Ronstadt was wonderful - as expected she played a mix folk, cajun, bluegrass, rock all with beautiful vocals and heart. She brought a ton of great musicians to back her up (including a bass player who was playing an Eminence electric upright). My wet butt was starting to freeze so unfortunately I left before any introductions were made. Who was the man on the fiddle playing the sweetest music???
It was a great night - I got home and tried to unwind by making myself a nice cup of tea and playing with the parrots. Got a chance to catch up with Marshall, news from the road is that he is in Nanaimo enjoying his adventures and having a great time.
Posted by songdawg at August 11, 2006 7:51 AM | Festivals