Vancouver Folk Music Festival Day Two @ Jericho Beach Park -- 07/20/13

The second day of the 26th Annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival was packed, so let's just get right to it.
(See day one here)

It was a day of seeing workshops, and started off with one called Songwriters' Café featuring a score of Canadian talent. Led by Justin Rutledge, who was joined by Miranda Mulholland on the violin, it also included Hannah Georgas, joined by her guitar player Rob Tornroos; Kathleen Edwards, joined by Jim Bryson; and Del Barber, joined by... no one.
The best thing about the workshops is the collaboration that can happen, and there was a touch of that here; Kathleen and Jim joined in on Hannah's song "Robotic", helping on vocals. There were also a couple of cover songs, Hannah covering "Bye Bye Love", and oft-covered song made famous by The Everly Brothers, and Edwards with a sultry version of Nirvana's "All Apologies". I was also very impressed by Del Barber, who I had only heard a little of before the weekend. His good storytelling convinced me to check out his full set later in the afternoon.

I caught a bit of Reid Jamieson and his folky singer/songwriter fare, and later on in the day there was the Going Bi-Coastal workshop, with Charlottetown, PEI's Tim Chaisson and Mo Kenney from Waverley, Nova Scotia representing the east, and Vancouver's Hannah Georgas, and Victoria's Aidan Knight taking care of the west.
There was some nice collaborating in this workshop, Aidan and Hannah being familiar with each other at the folk fest, and Chaisson joined in a Mo Kenney song on his fiddle. Hannah also covered Sarah Harmer's "Coffee Stain" and as the workshop drew to an end, Aidan got everyone -- on stage and in the audience -- to join in to "Jasper", which was one of the highlights of the weekend, and Tim wrapped it up by pulling out his fiddle and evoking a good old fashioned east coast kitchen party.

From there it was off to Del Barber for his own set. Musically, he is a pretty good folk singer/songwriter with a bit of a country edge, but it's his charm and storytelling that put him above others. Introducing most songs with a story, and chatting with the crowd between -- and sometimes during -- songs. Even when he screwed up (something he would attribute to bad karma the next day) he covered effortlessly.
There was also a great song that was about Archie marrying Veronica (an even that happened in Archie comics a few years ago) which was my favourite of the set, and he ended with a cover of "Harvest Moon"
Del was one of my favourite "discoveries" of the festival, and I will have to make sure to catch him next time he is through Vancouver.

As the sun arced over Jericho Beach Park, I caught the first couple songs from The Wooden Sky, but they were having technical issues to start and the heat was starting to bear down, so it was off to the beer garden and catch Maria In The Shower in the background. I had heard a lot about the East Van band, but never seen them live. They put on a pretty fun set, and I'll have to catch them next time they put on a show.

Not long after that, the main stage started for the night, with Danny Michel and The Garifuna Collective. Danny recently went to Belize to record and be inspired, and he came back to Canada to do the festival circuit with them as his backing band. They traded off songs, with highlights being "Survivors Guilt" and the catchy "What Colour Are You?", and put on a very energetic and fun set.

And then, ending my day was Whitehorse. One of my most unexpectedly favourite shows of the year so far was when I saw them at the Commodore, so they were one of my most anticipated of the weekend.
Married couple Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland are excellent musicians separately, but when put together, something magic happens. With only the two of them on stage, they have an array of instruments and looping pedals at their command, crafting each song from scratch, building them up one by one. Starting with "Killing Time Is Murder", the duo wowed the crowd, especially with Melissa's voice and Luke's guitar skills.
Aside from their own songs, they did a couple covers; a little bit of George Thorogood's "Who Do You Love" slipped in to "Radiator Blues" and a JJ Cale's "Crazy Mama" in the middle of the set. They also played each other's songs as well, including Luke's deliciously bitter "Broken" and Melissa's "Passenger 49", starting soft and then exploding part way through.
After what seemed like not nearly enough time, they wrapped up with the intense "Jane". They definitely didn't disappoint.

That was all for day two (there were other performers after Whitehorse, but I had to leave early). Day three would feature a couple more workshops and solo shows, and another one of my favourite festival discoveries.

Vancouver Folk Music Festival: Day Three -- 07/17/11

Well, Sunday was the final day of the 34th Vancouver Folk Music Festival (see days one and two here).
Luckily the weather decided to be somewhat cooperative, and the rain held off for most of the day. I've heard it was the first VFMF in 15 years that it wasn't a scorching hot weekend, though to be honest I would prefer a little overcast and rain to that -- though I am sure I'm the only one.
But enough about the weather, and on to the music. Sunday was filled with workshops, which are bands/artists sharing the stage to jam together, and a few shows in the evening.

The day started with an 11am workshop called "Independently Minded", with Kathryn Calder, Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans Band and Imaginary Cities, which was without a doubt the best workshop I had seen all weekend. There was lots of jamming and collaboration between the musicians on stage, with the members of The Weakerthans basically playing backup for both Bryson (obviously) but also Imaginary Cities. Calder also jumped in often, at the very least on a tambourine.
Each band played three songs; Kathryn threw in a new song, Jim Bryson's "Decidedly" sounded great, and everyone pitched in to help Imaginary Cities end the workshop with "Hummingbird", which was spectacular.

The next workshop was also up there, in terms of collaboration and sheer fun. "All Fired Up" consisted of Danny Michel, The Burning Hell, Imaginary Cities (again) and Jason Wilson Band. I wasn't too hyped on Jason Wilson Band, they had a bit too much of a Dave Matthews vibe, but the others were pretty great, with members of The Burning Hell being really good about jumping in, much like yesterday. Again, "Hummingbird" was a highlight, and even though it was the fourth time I had heard it that weekend, it didn't get old. The Burning Hell ended their last song with a little bit of "In The Air Tonight" slipped in, and the group finished off the workshop with a pair of covers. First Jason Wilson Band with  "54-46 Was My Number" by Toots & the Maytals and then Danny Michel with Los Lobos' "Life Is Good". Both had near everyone on stage join in, and the ending of "Life Is Good" had the crowd join in on clapping and "Ooh la la", with everyone leaving the stage, resulting in the crowd keeping the song going strong for a couple minutes after they were done.

The third workshop of the day was a "secret" one, in that it wasn't listed in the program, but was on the online schedule. It featured Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three, Wendy McNeill and Elliott BROOD, and seemed a bit shorter than the others, with each band only playing a couple songs. LaFarge was pretty fun, with a crazy washboard player, and McNeill was good as well, but the best part of the set was everyone joining Elliott BROOD for "Miss You Now".

It wasn't long after that that the evening shows started, with Kathryn Calder kicking off the night on Stage 3. Even though I'd seen her a couple months ago (and that morning at a workshop, for that matter) I was still excited to see her play a full set with her band, and she did not disappoint. Even after she mentioned it not raining, only for a trickle to start, as if on cue.
But despite the sogginess, her set was really fun, especially with such energetic and upbeat songs as "A Day Long Past Its Prime" and "Follow Me Into The Hills", and one of my favourites of hers, "Castor and Pollux", which ended the set.
There were also a couple new songs, "Turn A Light On" and "City of Sounds", teasing a new album out in October, which I am eagerly anticipating.

setlist
All It Is, Down the River, Slip Away, A Day Long Past Its Prime, If You Only Knew, Turn A Light On, Follow Me Into the Hills, City of Sounds, Arrow, Castor and Pollux.

Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans Band was up next, staying on Stage 3. They had a bit of an awkward introduction, and at one point there was a holler for "Tournament of Hearts", so I don't think some people (including the emcee) really "got" the concept behind members of The Weakerthans as Jim Bryson's backing band, but that didn't diminish from being a fantastic set. As well as The Weakerthans, Rusty Matyas from Imaginary Cities was also playing with the band, on keys, guitar and trumpet.
I had seen hints of it during the workshops, but the full set proved what a great storyteller Bryson is, and what an engaging frontman he is, especially when backed by a group of musicians that talented.
A few of the highlights from the set were "Decidedly" and "Up All Night", both really fun songs, as well as "Freeways In The Front Yard", which had Jenny Whiteley out for vocals. The last song of the night, "Wild Love", was probably the most energetic of the set, (finally) getting people to their feet and ended with a bit of CCR's "Proud Mary", getting the crowd to sing along. As it came to a close, members of the band left the stage one by one, with Bryson "firing" them, leaving just him.

There were a few more acts after, on both Stage 3 and the main stage, but at this point everyone was pretty beat, and we figured there wouldn't be a better way to end both the day and the festival than with Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans Band.

So overall, I would say the weekend was an incredible success; I am so glad I got the chance to finally go to the Folk Fest, weather be damned. I wish it had been scheduled a little differently; there were times where three things I wanted to see happened at once and times where there was nothing I wanted to see for a couple hours... But I think there was only one person that I completely missed, everyone else I was able to catch in some form or another, either a full set, a workshop or a tweener.

Now, who's ready for next year?

Vancouver Folk Music Festival: Day Two -- 07/16/11

It was a little rainy for day two of the Vancouver Folk Music Fest, (see day one here) but it was just a little wet, it was still good, and the day started early with an 11am workshop. The workshops consisted of three or four bands on stage at once, playing each one of their songs, with the chance for others to join in and jam with them. Sometimes they did that, though sometimes it just ended up being each band playing a song individually.
And again, I will attempt to keep things as brief as I can, but this was probably the most packed day, so no promises.

First workshop was the "Sounds Of Home" with Joel Plaskett, Jim Bryson, The Burning Hell and The Dardanelles, moderated by Joel, who started things off with "Love This Town". They went down the line and each played three songs, with others occasionally joining in. Though the joining in didn't happen too often, but the best at it was members of The Burning Hell, especially their baritone sax. I hadn't seen Jim Bryson live before, but he was pretty good, especially "Metal Girls" (but more on him in day three) and The Dardanelles were definitely a maritime band, with a couple sea shanties. It was a pretty fun workshop, but it would be overshadowed by the two the next day (ooh, foreshadowing!).

The next show for me was one I was looking forward to the most, Imaginary Cities playing a full set. They went on a little late due to some technical problems; which seemed to be persistent on Stage 3, where I spent most of my time at the festival, but with the sheer amount of things on stage for the weekend and the required quick turnarounds, it was forgivable.
They started off with "Say You" and played most of the songs off their amazing debut Temporary Resident. Marti's vocals were amazing live, and Rusty was as great as you would expect.
Highlights were "Ride This Out", one of my favourite songs this year, which starts mellow and then explodes, and the climactic "That's Where It's At, Sam" which ended the set. "Hummingbird" was also fantastic live. It was an incredibly fun set, and I was so glad to have seen them play a full set during the festival.

setlist
Say You, Marry The Sea, Ride This Out, Cherry Blossom Tree, Calm By Storm, Temporary Resident, Where'd All The Living Go, Hummingbird, That’s Where It's At Sam.

Soon after, the evening shows started with Danny Michel at Stage 3. I wasn't overly familiar with his stuff, but he won me over in his first song with some cool looping, which I am a sucker for.
He was really fun to watch live, and even if he hadn't told a story about finding one of Paul Simon's apples and trying to plant a Paul Simon Apple Tree from it, I would have been able to tell his influence on Michel.

There were a few songs I recognized through the set, "Maybe You Can In Your Heart", "Feathers Fur and Fin" and "Who's Gonna Miss You", and he brought the show to an end with some more looping -- after having a couple problems with the pedals, but his persistence paid off -- and then some awesome use of sound effects off his iPod, which is hard to describe but awesome to hear.

After him was The Burning Hell again, but this time for a full set of their own. They are a pretty hilarious band, but not in the "novelty song" kind of way, more like clever lyrics and storytelling. Two great examples of that would be "Flux Capacitor", the title track from their new album, as well as "Dance Dance Dance" which had its very own disco break. They also have an incredibly upbeat, folk rock sound, and the combination of both those factors make for an undeniably fun set.
They wrapped up with "It Happens In Florida", an interesting spin on a love song with lyrics like "Love, it’s like a newborn child: seems interesting when it’s young, gets pedestrian after a while", and at the end, lead singer Mathias (and his big bushy beard) was getting the whole crowd to sing along.

Next up was [the legendary] Buck 65, who I had never seen before, so was really interested to see. He had a laptop and turntable and nothing much else on stage, aside from a music stand which he read lyrics to a couple songs off of, and was joined by Marnie Herald for backup vocals, especially for a lot of the songs from 20 Odd Years. The songs were not quite the same without the likes of Jenn Grant and Nick Thorburn, but she did a really good job regardless.
Buck was really energetic and fun to watch, dancing around and hamming it up for the children in the crowd, especially during "BBC", and he was also a great storyteller -- which makes sense with his CBC Radio 2 show Drive -- as he told a tale of going to not just the wrong venue, but the wrong city to play a show in Sweden.
Some other highlights from the set were "Indestructible Sam", which had Emily Wells join him on violin, the incredibly fun "Zombie Delight", which is about exactly what the title implies, and a bit of an experiment... He mentioned he played a festival recently at the same time as John Fogerty, so as a kind of "thanks" to the people watching him, he used "Run Through The Jungle" as the musical bed for "Wicked & Weird", which was pretty amazing. He put on an incredibly fun set, and I would definitely see him live again, given the chance. (Unfortunately, I had to miss his workshops the next day)

Finally, closing out the night was Elliott BROOD. It had been a long time since I had last seen them live, and I was definitely excited to hear their new stuff. And the "death country" trio did not disappoint. Even though there was a couple times that Mark looked frustrated, the band sounded absolutely great.
The awesome instrumental "Chuchwagon" and the new single, "Northern Air", just one of the few new songs they threw into the set, were both a few of the highlights, as well as the bands intense energy. Mark and Casey, who share guitar and vocals, and Stephen on drums all had an incredible energy to them and are amazing to watch live.
After everyone sang along to "Oh Alberta", they handed out the trademark tin pans and wooden spoons -- and after seeing them live thrice before, I finally got one of my own -- to bang along to "This Valley Town", and then for the big finale of "Write It All Down For You" with the whole crowd banging and shouting along to the HEYHEYHEY!'s.
But of course, that wasn't the end, as they were back out for one more, the soft -- or as soft as the Brood can be -- and beautiful "Miss You Now". An amazing set, and definitely one of the highlights of the whole festival.

Well, that's two days down and one to go, with the last day consisting of two absolutely amazing workshops, and a couple other great concerts by Kathryn Calder and Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans Band.