Random notes from a site by the lake... or rather from the Brewery Bar downtown Orillia... nice place...wooden.
A park full of old hippies in Tilley hats and fold-up chairs...staunchly patriotic amidst the pop-up roofs of their VW vans. Eerie gathering of homogeneity, knee braces and Smiley faces making their way through the cropped grass like so many ungulates.... I rathered the raucous bar crowd, Bud buddies for life dancing up a dusty storm to some country blues band... noisey teens and heres a hint...not a twitter from them.... those kids do know how to dance to the rock and roll.... A park at night is still...too still...every breath of breeze is magnified, shadows form and fade.... its a act of faith to force oneself further into the sleeping bag.... still those ungulates could be heard on their soft parade after dark... I ramble among the rebellious rabble... I ramble now...I think the knots on the seatback opposite are conspiring to form a face...a bat...rather evil too.
Could be the lack of sleep...ah well who's complaining? Not me...not after last night's display of young stars.
I got in just beyond Royal Wood and the Skydiggers. I did catch the final three..
Jenn Grant.... a vision in rust,
Basia Bulat, an amber mermaid, a siren, swimming in sound surfacing, her voice lapping against the crowd like the pillowy whitecaps on Lake Couchiching.
Luke Doucet, the tuffest of the twang in the purple dusk.... that Gretsch...a flash of cameras in the distance like sparks of lightning.... and in the falling swrling mist and fog they roared we are here. WE ARE HERE. HEAR.
A word about the history lesson... Luke spoke about America, a style he has been tagged by. He resists...look at the roots, Ian & Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Ron Sexsmith, The Band... the source of America is Canadiana...sure I've said the same myself on too many occasions.
Luke then kicked into The Day Rick Danko Died..."I was in Woodstock...", he was joined on stage by his wife Melissa McClelland...for the encore young Holly Doucet came on and together they sang Parton's Jolene and Springsteen's I'm On Fire.
They were....they all were.
Jadea Kelly was among the audience with the legendary Richard Flohil. She has been working on a record with her band and producer Dave Baxter (Blue Rodeo, Justin Rutledge). The young lady from Whitby is very excited about the results. Jadea of course sang with Protest The Hero but she has now taken a turn towards folk, country, alt-country...lets call it Canadiana...
Mariposa reserves its Friday nights for upcoming performers so in that spirit here is a link to Jadea's site. Tis her on the stool in green.
Tonight Daniel Lanois plays the mainstage....get up here.
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