Of course, Fest is about the people more than the concerts. You knew I was going to say that, and it becomes more true for me every year.
And this doesn't even include most of the people in my campsite.
I mean, yeah, there was music too. As always, the concerts came as a bit of a shock after 4 solid days of just hanging out and relaxing. I didn't get to see quite as much music as usual, due to the rain and my volunteer schedule. But there were some acts of note, even though the slate as a whole was rather lacking in well-known names. Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams is a softer Metallica with accordion and mandolin, and while Max's recommendation of them was sound, I have to admit I bought the CD as much for the band name as for the music. Wolfstone was the best Celtic act of the year, and their performance was the first time I ever heard bagpipes that weren't annoying and weren't playing Amazing Grace or Scotland The Brave. Tempest still has the best stage presence around, but their music hasn't excited me since the original members started leaving. I don't know how Airdance was to contra-dance to, but as a concert performer, they were better than Wild Asparagus was last year. Modern Man was hilarious, and since they're all old and dirty, they seem less likely to
Oh, yeah, and Arlo. The voice of a generation. And damn hilarious. Seriously, after he told one story about an airplane trip several decades ago, he had the entire audience in stitches, and I wouldn't have minded if he'd just talked rather than sang for the rest of his show. But sing he did. "City of New Orleans" is still his best song (not counting, you know, the one where he talks more than sings), and even though it's not actually about the Louisiana city, it still seemed more poignant this time than when I last saw him 4 years ago. It's always fun to hear him talk about "the song my dad taught me", and go into "This Land Is Your Land". In the middle of it, he made a great point: If we all lived in a perfect world, with no poverty and hunger and war, we'd have to go a long way to contribute something worthwhile. But in a screwed up world, like this one here, it's not hard to do something that has a real impact; so in a sense we're lucky. And then he closed with an awesome jam with The Mammals (also an enjoyable act on their own, by the way, but hard to pay attention to with Arlo on the bill next) that had everyone humming back to the campgrounds.
And even though I was expecting Alice's Restaurant, since I hear he's been playing it all tour, it had me crying a bit to hear it live, okay? (And, for the record, Alice's Restaurant clocked in at 17:35. This makes it about 30 seconds shorter than the album version, because everything after the 18:06 mark of that one is applause.)
Then it was time to go back, pack up, hug people goodbye (more and longer hugs than last year, as always), and head out to drive home in a dense fog. Until next time. Only 50 weeks away, too.
& so on, & so on...
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