dopediana
25th August 2003, 13:02
best fucking four days i have ever spent in the history of my life. seriously. aside from the partying aspect, the atmosphere was full of wisdom, love, desire for change, and all those beautiful hippie sentiments. and now, i'll review some of the bands and singers i had the immense fortune to see. (it's 8 in the morning and i'm typing this at my grandmother's house and i am absolutely exhausted so pardon any spelling/grammar errors and lack of lyricism)
baka beyond- aMAZing! the guitarist of baka beyond lived with the baka tribe of pygmies in africa for a year and was inspired by their music, came back to england, started a band that sings afro-celtic music. really quite awesome. the beats were really moving (i got up and danced) and there was this part in one song where the women did this amazing vocal thing that i can't really describe but it sounded like one voice singing really high except every two beats the voices would overlap.
Pieta Brown with Bo Ramsey- not much of a fan. pieta's lyrics are not that complex or poetic, at least the ones i heard and the songs just didn't really tickle my fancy. bo, however, is a great guitarist.
Bob Brozman And Led Kaapana- hawaiian songs! this was absolutely beautiful. led kaapana is THE master of the ukelele, guitar, mandolin, any other traditional folk instrument you can name. he also sings very high.
ok, i'm tired. brief descriptions now.
Disappear Fear- two sisters, awesome harmonizing, did a great rendition of phil ochs' "is there anybody here"
Eddie From Ohio- really high energy band, great songs
Give and Take Jugglers- these guys were great. i especially liked it when one guy was juggling lit torches and said "you know, there was one juggler juggling torches and he used to walk down among the audience. he called it the moses effect"
John Gorka- there's no need for words
Dennis Hangey- this bagpiper has been at the festival every year for over 30 years. he has a degree in bagpiping or something of the like. if i liked bagpipe at all, i'd say he's excellent.
Terri Hendrix- not of relation to jimi hendrix, but she is really something else. there was a great song about late night tv.
The Holmes Brothers- i love blues and i love gospel and these guys were really great. they also played with odetta.
Magpie- in dulcimer grove they played a song with a very irritating refrain, and i decided i didn't like them but eventually they grew on me when they sang "bracero" (phil ochs again!)
Nerissa & Katryna Nields- beautiful voices and beautiful songs. i really recommend them. they have a sense of humor and alot of passion.
Odetta- YES! IT WAS ODETTA HERSELF! IN ALL HER TURBANED GLORY! she sang, among many other songs, "burgeois town" (or whatever it's called) and we all sang along on "this little light of mine." it was AWESOME.
Plena Libre- musica puerto riquena. very good, very animated, i got up and danced.
Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys- this was great, because i didn't get to see them when they were in my hometown. they really know how to jam in a folky way.
April Verch- i didn't catch her show except for the very last song. she was fiddling the song "devil's dream" and tap-dancing. it was very virtuoso. i was in awe.
ani difranco. fucking awesome. amazing. she really is incredible live. she's ferocious at the guitar. she sang all new songs, i guess because i didn't hear any of them at all before. ah, and watching the music in action was fantastic, because she really is THERE, she's IN the song. my favorite one was the song she opened with. i don't know the name and there are too many songs to root through to try and find the lyrics, but the refrain was something like "don't be shy because in the morning i'll be gone" or "one night is all we have" or something like that. argh, why can't i find it?!
i also loved "evolve"
i walk in stride with people
much taller than me
and partly it's the boots but
mostly it's my chi
and i'm becoming transfixed
with nature and my part in it
which i believe just signifies
i'm finally waking up
and there's this moth outside my kitchen door
she's bonkers for that bare bulb
flying round in circles
bashing in her exoskull
and out in the woods she navigates fine by the moon
but get her around a light bulb and she's doomed
she is trying to evolve
she's just trying to evolve
now let's get talking reefer madness
like some arrogant government can't
by any stretch of the imagination
outlaw a plant
yes, their supposed authority over nature
is a dream
c'mon people
we've got to come clean
cuz they are locking our sons
and our daughters in cages
they are taking by the thousands
our lives from under us
it's a crash course in religious fundamentals
now let's all go to war
get some bang for our buck
i am trying to evolve
i'm just trying to evolve
gunnin for high score in the land of dreams
morbid bluish-white consumers ogling luminous screens
on the trail of forgetting
cruising without a care
the jet set won't abide by that pesky jet lag
and our lives boil down to an hour or two
when someone pulls a camera out of a bag
and i am trying to evolve
i'm just trying to evolve
so i walk like i'm on a mission
cuz that's the way i groove
i got more and more to do
i got less and less to prove
it took me too long to realize
that i don't take good pictures
cuz i have the kind of beauty
that moves
ani was doing a little comedy routine between each song (she was acting a bit high/wired if you ask me, could just be adrenaline) and one of them was like this.
"i'm glad you got the worst past you on friday. it's been a great summer for thunderstorms. when you're least expecting it they creep up behind you. you turn and look and then whoosh, it's gone. kinda like that chick on the bus." *she laughs*
oh, come on now people, that wasn't vulgarity! that was poetry!"
i suppose it was funnier there than typed on this thingy. she's amazingly passionate. and i suppose it was from being a seasoned performer, but she knows all the subtle nuances of singing on a stage. when she wants her voice and herself to fade away, she throws herself back from the mike, thus disappearing from the large screen where they have the cameras on her. she'll go walking around the stage during the instrumental parts. she's just absolutely brilliant, knows how to create the atmosphere, etc. i was in awe.
baka beyond- aMAZing! the guitarist of baka beyond lived with the baka tribe of pygmies in africa for a year and was inspired by their music, came back to england, started a band that sings afro-celtic music. really quite awesome. the beats were really moving (i got up and danced) and there was this part in one song where the women did this amazing vocal thing that i can't really describe but it sounded like one voice singing really high except every two beats the voices would overlap.
Pieta Brown with Bo Ramsey- not much of a fan. pieta's lyrics are not that complex or poetic, at least the ones i heard and the songs just didn't really tickle my fancy. bo, however, is a great guitarist.
Bob Brozman And Led Kaapana- hawaiian songs! this was absolutely beautiful. led kaapana is THE master of the ukelele, guitar, mandolin, any other traditional folk instrument you can name. he also sings very high.
ok, i'm tired. brief descriptions now.
Disappear Fear- two sisters, awesome harmonizing, did a great rendition of phil ochs' "is there anybody here"
Eddie From Ohio- really high energy band, great songs
Give and Take Jugglers- these guys were great. i especially liked it when one guy was juggling lit torches and said "you know, there was one juggler juggling torches and he used to walk down among the audience. he called it the moses effect"
John Gorka- there's no need for words
Dennis Hangey- this bagpiper has been at the festival every year for over 30 years. he has a degree in bagpiping or something of the like. if i liked bagpipe at all, i'd say he's excellent.
Terri Hendrix- not of relation to jimi hendrix, but she is really something else. there was a great song about late night tv.
The Holmes Brothers- i love blues and i love gospel and these guys were really great. they also played with odetta.
Magpie- in dulcimer grove they played a song with a very irritating refrain, and i decided i didn't like them but eventually they grew on me when they sang "bracero" (phil ochs again!)
Nerissa & Katryna Nields- beautiful voices and beautiful songs. i really recommend them. they have a sense of humor and alot of passion.
Odetta- YES! IT WAS ODETTA HERSELF! IN ALL HER TURBANED GLORY! she sang, among many other songs, "burgeois town" (or whatever it's called) and we all sang along on "this little light of mine." it was AWESOME.
Plena Libre- musica puerto riquena. very good, very animated, i got up and danced.
Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys- this was great, because i didn't get to see them when they were in my hometown. they really know how to jam in a folky way.
April Verch- i didn't catch her show except for the very last song. she was fiddling the song "devil's dream" and tap-dancing. it was very virtuoso. i was in awe.
ani difranco. fucking awesome. amazing. she really is incredible live. she's ferocious at the guitar. she sang all new songs, i guess because i didn't hear any of them at all before. ah, and watching the music in action was fantastic, because she really is THERE, she's IN the song. my favorite one was the song she opened with. i don't know the name and there are too many songs to root through to try and find the lyrics, but the refrain was something like "don't be shy because in the morning i'll be gone" or "one night is all we have" or something like that. argh, why can't i find it?!
i also loved "evolve"
i walk in stride with people
much taller than me
and partly it's the boots but
mostly it's my chi
and i'm becoming transfixed
with nature and my part in it
which i believe just signifies
i'm finally waking up
and there's this moth outside my kitchen door
she's bonkers for that bare bulb
flying round in circles
bashing in her exoskull
and out in the woods she navigates fine by the moon
but get her around a light bulb and she's doomed
she is trying to evolve
she's just trying to evolve
now let's get talking reefer madness
like some arrogant government can't
by any stretch of the imagination
outlaw a plant
yes, their supposed authority over nature
is a dream
c'mon people
we've got to come clean
cuz they are locking our sons
and our daughters in cages
they are taking by the thousands
our lives from under us
it's a crash course in religious fundamentals
now let's all go to war
get some bang for our buck
i am trying to evolve
i'm just trying to evolve
gunnin for high score in the land of dreams
morbid bluish-white consumers ogling luminous screens
on the trail of forgetting
cruising without a care
the jet set won't abide by that pesky jet lag
and our lives boil down to an hour or two
when someone pulls a camera out of a bag
and i am trying to evolve
i'm just trying to evolve
so i walk like i'm on a mission
cuz that's the way i groove
i got more and more to do
i got less and less to prove
it took me too long to realize
that i don't take good pictures
cuz i have the kind of beauty
that moves
ani was doing a little comedy routine between each song (she was acting a bit high/wired if you ask me, could just be adrenaline) and one of them was like this.
"i'm glad you got the worst past you on friday. it's been a great summer for thunderstorms. when you're least expecting it they creep up behind you. you turn and look and then whoosh, it's gone. kinda like that chick on the bus." *she laughs*
oh, come on now people, that wasn't vulgarity! that was poetry!"
i suppose it was funnier there than typed on this thingy. she's amazingly passionate. and i suppose it was from being a seasoned performer, but she knows all the subtle nuances of singing on a stage. when she wants her voice and herself to fade away, she throws herself back from the mike, thus disappearing from the large screen where they have the cameras on her. she'll go walking around the stage during the instrumental parts. she's just absolutely brilliant, knows how to create the atmosphere, etc. i was in awe.