The best year ever
Regardless of your opinion on the line-up this year (and it was a good one), the 40th edition of the Regina Folk Festival will go down in history as the most successful edition of Western Canada’s longest-running music festival yet.
The first inklings came in right away. The much-adored-by-us Ontario singer/songwriter Basia Bulat was the weekend’s first headlining act and her performance hinted at the brilliance that was to come. She’s a tiny, charming woman and her personality was on full display as she took the stage without any accompaniment, leaving her band at home for this trek. She opened with an acoustic guitar that was nearly the same size as her, playing the title track from her forthcoming brand new album (!), Heart Of My Own (out October 6th). The tone of the song fit seamlessly with the cuts from her debut, a wounded but optimistic, folky number that pushed her vocals to the fore.
She played some of the highlights from her first record, including “In The Night” and the proper full-length version of “Before I Knew.” Those songs featured the autoharp, an unusual instrument that is just one of her trademarks. While the cross between an accordion and a harp looks somewhat awkward to play, it was an interesting element that the audience embraced. I’ll admit to an embarrassing act of fandom during “Before I Knew”; given that she didn’t bring a band with her, I decided that someone should provide the syncopated handclaps that are so prominent on the sparse album version of the tune. My brother and several others in the area immediately in front of the stage and Bulat seemed genuinely tickled by the enthusiasm from a crowd that was still trickling into the park.
In all she played three new songs during a set that seemed entirely too short, 45 minutes passing in what seemed like 25. It left me with high hopes; not only for the forthcoming new album but also for the tour date she promised to return to Regina for this fall. I’ll give you three guesses as to who will be the bald guy standing at the front of the stage clapping his hands.
Immediately after her set concluded, the evening’s MC announced that the night’s passes were officially sold out. A cheer went through the crowd, one that would be repeated the following night as well when the same announcement was made. This is noteworthy, as the festival has apparently never sold out two nights in the same weekend. There have been rumblings that Sunday eventually sold out as well, but there’s been no mention of that on the festival’s website.
After a bite to eat (and some drinks to drank) at my current favourite Regina eatery/drinkery we ventured back to the park as the strains of http://www.plantsandanimals.ca/current/?p=5Montreal’s Plants and Animals. They seemed to be extremely well-received by the now-bustling audience, one of the more rock and roll acts tossed into the mix amidst more acoustic/folk performers. They sounded extremely tight over the course of the few songs I caught and definitely lived up to the expectations created by their excellent album Parc Avenue.
Iron & Wine co-headlined Friday night and got a huge response from the capacity crowd, enjoying a cooler summer evening after the sun’s retreat. Sam Beam also wandered out onto the stage with nothing and no one but his acoustic guitar, playing his entire set solo. He seemed to be in good spirits as he opened with the Postal Service cover he’s best known for. He seemed mildly surprised more people weren’t singing along, although a slight call to action took care of that problem very quickly. From where I stood it looked like people were too busy being in awe of him to sing.
His set was lengthy, made more so by the fact that he truncated a lot of the songs, eschewing intros or lengthy bridges and focusing on the lyrics and vocals. He seemed to drift in and out of a constant tempo on several numbers, especially the lengthy “the Trapeze Swinger.” That might’ve been the track I was anticipating most and it didn’t disappoint, Beam’s voice and tempo swelling and contracting to build up the tension provided by the extensive backing band found on the studio version. It was a spare and haunting performance amplified by the smoke/steam/whatever drifting across the stage from its rear. It also showcased one of the most surprising elements of his set: the dude can sing. I’ve always retained my perception from his earliest four-track recordings, that he half-whispers all his songs because he can’t belt it out. That’s decidedly untrue; the guy has a beautiful voice when he sings out and he has even better control over it.
Like most “big” artists that pass through our city, Beam commented on having never been to Regina before. During one of his many tuning breaks between songs, he talked about walking around the city during the day. Heading into one track he stopped abruptly, looked up, and said, “I smell funnel cake.” As the crowd laughed, he seemed genuinely tickled by the development, commenting that usually he only smells pot coming from his audiences.
He played a lot of songs from all aspects of his catalogue in his hour, including “Sodom South Georgia,” “Upward Over The Mountain,” “Woman King” and “Cinder and Smoke.” A sudden decision to play “Radio War” came at the behest of a fan up front, but another call for “Resurrection Fern” fell by the wayside (much to my dismay). He wrapped up with an extremely wonderful take on “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” (my personal favourite), strumming his guitar only occasionally and letting his glorious falsetto ring out over the city’s downtown. It was a powerfully intimate set, the only misstep being a hookless new song that stuck out like a sore thumb.
Sadly, that was pretty much the bulk of my Folk Festival experience. I did manage to catch a few tunes from the Deep Dark Woods after my work shift Saturday. They played one of the free “stages” to a crowd I can only describe as huge. Compared to last year’s free performance on the same day by Old Man Luedecke where there was 30 people, the couple of hundred that jammed in between the trees in Vic Park’s north-east section seemed like a veritable ocean of humanity. It was nice to see; those guys deserve it.
For perspectives on the rest of the festival, you can check out the local paper, the Prairie Dog (though a proper review will likely appear in their print version), and CBC3’s coverage. If you catch any other reviews out there, be sure to let us know in the comments.
K-Os - I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman [3:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Plants & Animals - Bye Bye Be [3:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Iron & Wine - Upward Over The Mountain [4:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadOnce again, click the link that is the specific artist’s name for purchasing links. Also, visit the Folk Festival’s website for more on the best weekend of the year every year.
