Little Bang Theory

A Weekend Of Music! July 21, 2008

Ah, Summer – hot sun, cold beverages, finger food and outdoor music. Throw in some little cotton dresses, and I’m all over that!

…Figuratively speaking, of course 😉 !

The Granddaddy of music festivals in these parts is the yearly Green River Festival, featuring an eclectic mix of performers on two stages, a nice selection of fine restaurants representing on-premises, craft vendors and hot air balloon rides (although with those going at $225 per person, I’ve concluded that ballooning is a spectator sport.)

This year’s festival began with a free show in downtown Greenfield on Thursday evening and ran through a scheduled Sunrise Balloon Launch on Sunday. The Pagan Sphinx and I got together with our daughters, Elder Progeny and Ultimate Spawn (or Supergirls 1&2, if you’re you’re a Pagan ) for the Friday evening and Saturday shows, braving an unsettled weather forecast in true New Englander style.

We arrived at Friday’s show a little late (just in time to hear the first act get cut short by a sudden rain squall, which we sat out in the parking lot. Then in we went, getting to see Eilen Jewell:

…Local Gurrrl Made Good, and her excellent band, featuring Jerry Miller on guitar:

Remember when people who looked like that played clarinets and accordions? I do!

But on Friday night, Jerry played the bejeebus outta his red electric, laying down a mix of Texas Swing and good ol’ rock-n-roll and quite effectively stealing the show.

Which was unfortunate for headliner Jimmy Vaughan, who was up next and seriously suffered from the comparison. He put on a helluva show, though:

And sang up a heartfelt storm, for which I have nothing but praise:

We all hoovered vendors’ food, stuff like Elmer’s legendary jambalaya (’twas guuud!), Thai spring rolls and fried whole belly clams (yeah, I know, it’s rabbit food for the next month! 😆 )

Saturday was an epic Summer outing, with the first band starting at 1pm and the last scheduled to wrap it up around 11pm. We got a late start (three-ish,) electing to endure the record heat and humidity for a couple less hours so as to hopefully have some energy left for show-closer Lucinda Williams.

The day was indeed tumultuous, with record crowds sweltering under brooding skies

while the rockin’ music was punctuated by the crackle-and-boom sound of reeeeally close lightning:

Fortunately we got not much more than a couple of brief showers, just enough to bring out a sea of umbrellas and, thankfully, cool things down incrementally. We learned later that the entire area had been ringed by violent, damaging thunderstorms, while our happy expanse of sun cabanas and high voltage wiring was spared.

Pretty cosmic, eh, man??

Anyway, the afternoon was tons of fun! We ate like piggies, with Elder P making good on her stated intention of learning to cook this summer by assembling a delicious Portuguese tuna salad and a spectacularly good batch of salsa; PS brought a variation on her prosciutto and watermelon salad, which was excellent, and I brought chicken quesadillas and guacamole.

Oh yeah, and a big batch of margaritas on ice. ‘Cause I read something about electrolytes being important on hot days 😉 .

But as good as the food was, we came for the bands, and every time they started I was up and moving toward the front, drawn to the music, which was as excellent as it was varied. Forro In The Dark took me by surprise, being a standing line-up of guys playing the kind of instruments which might wind their way down a cobbled Columbian back street, including a drum worn around the neck, played on both sides and lacking none of the insistence of a full kit

and a player of flutes and horns who was a total crowd-stopper:

Followed by Crooked Still, a barely categorizable blend of genres melding banjo, fiddle, cello and double bass with gorgeous vocals:

Followed by Los Straight Jackets, a south-of the border surf band with an, um, original sort of stage presence:

Yeah, that’s right, stretch masks. I gotta wonder what they thought about the black tuxes and spandex masks in the 200% humidity which came along with the 95-degree weather. And then to hold this pose

…for a ten minute drum solo… Seriously, some ideas are better on paper. But they tore it up on the twin guitars, kicked my ass really, with a South-of-the-Border Surf Thing happening which was technically brilliant, and still made me sweat!

Then came Mavis Staples, a Living Legend on her Last Leg:

She roared through a set of classic Gospel and R&B numbers before collapsing in a metal folding chair and fanning herself with a program, letting her band take a half-hour solo which I never regretted, ’cause they were great! Seriously, catch this Legend while you can, because nothing lasts forever, even if it’s this good.

Then came the Grand Finale, Lucinda Williams, who refused to stand still for a photo, but totally rocked the house:

Very cool.

And all the while, the hot-air balloons rose and sank in the background, occasionally synchronizing their “blows” in a musically informed light show:

It was a good show, right down to the last ghostly revelers leaving the Second Stage dance tent: