A good part of everyone’s first day at any Folk Alliance (Northeast, Southeast, etc., in this case Folk Alliance International, held this year in Montreal, Quebec, is just saying “Hello” to old friends, and catching up. In the official schedule, the grand ballroom, however, heavy hitters stepped onstage for the “Best of 2018” awards and to recognize those who made news in since the folk community gathered a year before. The Good Lovelies, three Canadian gals with ethereal voices that interlink like colors in a as, as closely, yet as distinctly as colors of the rainbow. Their song opened gently, a capella, and blossomed like a time-lapse film of a blooming rose.
The gals made such an impression that we headed directly for their showcase, and continued to be impressed by not only the music, but the funny patter and relaxed stage presence. No lightweight act, the Good Lovelies delivered a crystal image of the declining fortunes of middle America, “Nobody Lives Her No More,” about a family’s eviction from their modest home.
In a bold turnaround of genre, Willie Nile’s socially-conscious lyrics rock the house, whether he’s slinging electric or acoustic guitar. Nile dedicated “The Innocent Ones,” written years ago, to the 41 Guatemalan children who perished in a fire this week, and the song fit the situation and our times as if it were written yesterday. He dedicated “The Road to Cavalry” as another tribute, this time to the late Jeff Buckley; the song featured a killer solo by longtime bassist JohnnyPisano. With Nile, you never forget he’s a rocker at heart, but he got into his “House of 1000 Guitars” to remind us anyway.
Steppenwolf founder John Kay quoted Muddy Waters, saying, “Blues had a baby and they named it rock and roll,” and proceeded to sing and play wonderful, straight-ahead Chicago blues on his resonator. Very much alone onstage, stripped of pretense, Kay wowed the audience, including in his set a particularly memorable “Rollin” & Tumblin’.”
Birds of Chicago, whose killer second album made big waves on radio and big crowds of fans, gave us a relaxed performance punctuated by Steve Dawson’s absolutely stunning guitar. More on the Birds of Chicago later.
Grammy-winning Nashville songwriter Jim Lauderdale played in Dan Navarro’s room, giving us a taste of country music’s breadth with three songs, “Three-Way Conversation [between you, and you and me],” “Violet,” a melodic heartfelt song of love and loss from his upcoming album, and one he co-wrote with his pal Buddy Miller, another venerable songwriter, “Hole in My Head” [“I need a girl like you like hole in my head/You make me feel so bad I wish I was dead”]. Country boys sure know how to have fun, and they bring it with ‘em when they come.
Tim Easton’s literate set—true to folk traditions—alternated between kindly advice and fun stuff, from a “do unto others” message to the story of dropping acid on a journey to see the Kinks, decades ago. With an acoustic guitar and a harmonica stand on his shoulders, Easton needs no help connecting with an audience.
Tom Wilson, of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and Lee Harvey Osmond, sang a few songs, then read from his autobiography, punctuating his reading every few paragraphs with snippets of relevant songs every few paragraphs. Lately recovering from a health issue, Wilson’s voice seemed as strong and vibrant as ever, though he apologized for not being able to stay up as late as he used to. Well, dammit, his set started at 2:20 AM, so….
—Suzanne Cadgène
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