Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band are one damn fine way to start a festival. Big, loud, rollicking, stompy country blues delivered up with an extra helping of sass. No wonder there was a lineup all the way to the first aid tent when they did an autograph session after the show.
I ran my errands (checking in with my compadres in the record tent, booking an interview with Lightning Dust, partaking of my first volunteer meal of the weekend) during most of Socalled’s set. I did catch enough to realize that the reality of Klezmer hiphop was not quite as compelling as it sounds.
But oh, Joel Plaskett! Canada’s BFF, the sweetest guy in rock and roll, delivered a high octane set, marred only by the fact that the jumbotrons crapped out for most of his set. So instead of Joel’s lovely boyish face, we were treated to an hour of two gigantic blue screens of death.
The insanely catchy Mighty Popo from Rwanda suffered the same blue screen fate as our boy from Dartmouth, but we chair-danced and sang along regardless.
City and Colour ended the evening with a well-received set, one that had decidedly more rock and roll chops than their extremely acoustic offering at the festival a couple of years.
Audience highlights:
– all the babies and toddlers rocking they heads off all around us.
– toddler rollups
– the Resident Offspring meeting with the charming Mr Plaskett for a photo op for the record books.
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coming up: the rain and the cold set in for real during Friday of the folk fest.
