Twenty minutes to seven, with the duck dinner too dry to enjoy, I was discontentedly awaiting the show to begin.
The Triple Door was as nice as always. The ever-perfect sound system, the friendly waitstaff (although their sobriety could be questioned), the wonderful starry backdrop on the stage…
Soon enough, the dry duck had been whisked away and replaced by an endless flow of drinks.
And soon enough, the show began.
And heaven, as many seem to imagine it, had conjured itself on 2nd and Union for two hours.
Peter Spencer – the host – kicked off the night by regaling the audience with lost tales of the original Fast Folk movement in New York, and offered his enchanting “Chinatown” as the very first musical number of the night.
He was followed by a string of nauseatingly talented artists, from Eric Miller to Jeremy Serwer to Holly Figueroa O’Reilly.
Each performer played one song, and then Peter Spencer was back on stage with more anecdotes about Bob Dylan and the vast number of seemingly immortal tuning jokes and the concept of folk music as a process instead of a genre.
And then he’d introduce the next guest.
And, six times out of eight, the next guest would again stun the audience with talent. And the applause from the packed venue served as evidence.
Sure, there were low points in the evening, but they were few and far between – and heavily overshadowed by the rest of the show.
It was a magnificent display of Seattle Americana.
One can only hope that this Fast Folk Revival catches on.
And one can only hope that you jump on this bandwagon before it gets too full.
For it’s nice to have a dry duck be the low point of the night.
