Or Sunday, rather. Saw the following folks on Day #2 of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival:
- the first half of Eliza Gilkyson’s set
- The Be Good Tanyas (excellent)
- Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers (awesome spastic rockabilly hardcore)
- the second half of Rykarda Parasol’s set (exploring the blues dirge / murder ballad / goth connection — with great clothes too, like they stepped out of Dame Darcy’s Meatcake comic book)
- the first half of Guy Clark’s set
- the second half of J.D. Crowe and The New South’s set
- Laura Cantrell (yes, my current musician crush. Oddly sparsely attended, so I snuck off near the front row again. Excellent, like the last time I saw her)
- the first half of Dolly Parton’s set (!) (I could barely see — though I caught glimpses of her in a bright powder-blue suit and a similarly-colored rhinestone-studded guitar — but you can’t beat the opening combo of “9 to 5″ / “Jolene” / “Crimson and Clover” / “Me and Bobby McGee” / “My Tennessee Mountain Home” / “Coat of Many Colors.” And she was funny too — the hundreds of people at her stage were eating out of her hand…)
- the first half of Emmylou Harris’s set (played with Buddy Miller! I was drinking Miller Lites with Special K and 40 though, so I wasn’t paying much attention)
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Played hooky for the first time in a long time (except for the good plays at Bindlestiff the other night with J-Lu), and saw the following folks today at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival (for free!):
- Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez (definitely checking out their CDs — hot stuff)
- the first half of Patty Griffin’s set (hers too)
- Toshio Hirano (someone get this man into a studio!)
- the first half of the Del McCoury Band’s set
- Joan Baez and Steve Earle singing “Jerusalem”
- the second half of the Dry Branch Fire Squad’s set
- Buddy Miller (with Emmylou Harris guesting on two songs!)
- The Knitters (basically, X and bassist Johnny Ray Bartel — totally cool just to see Exene Cervenka and John Doe hamming it up, plus Dave Alvin shredding on lead guitar)
- Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (amazing, obviously; and yes, he sang “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” — and she sang “White Rabbit!”)
- the second half of Los Super Seven’s set (basically Calexico, Joe Ely and Raul Malo — excellent as well)
As you can imagine, my mind is still blown from all this incredible music! Tomorrow will be even more packed…
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Just came from Day One of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass fest in Golden Gate Park.
Highlights:
- Michael Peasall (I figure he’s the dad) saying of the Peasall Sisters (they’re teenagers now, much grown since O Brother, Where Art Thou?, “But if any young men looking for a girlfriend come by the merchandise booth to introduce themselves, I’ve got a gun and a shovel and I won’t hesitate to use them both.”
- The Hot Club of Cowtown was a revelation — joyous, infectious Western swing. I gotta check one of their albums out.
- A blistering cover of “Cumberland Blues” from The Waybacks, with Darol Anger on guest violin. (Only downside: a ton of hippies in their fifties freaking out while this was playing.)
- Nick Lowe ending his mostly-solo set with a hushed, dead-serious version of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love And Understanding.”
- I had to choose between John Prine and Steve Earle — went to Earle’s moving though predictably downbeat set, though he opened with a hearty “F The CC.” (Loved the way some parents had to cover their kids’ ears, especially when he asked the audience to shout “F-U-C-K” with him.
- Ralph Stanley’s hilariously immodest self-introduction. Well, he’s earned it.
- Best of all: Buddy and Julie Miller singing the heartbreaking duet “Forever Has Come To An End” — and then Emmylou Harris, in full Meg-Ryan-Goes-To-Safeway gear (she was wearing dark glasses and a baseball cap), jumps on stage to do third-part harmony. The audience seemed stunned, as was I.
Later tonight: White Magic! Six Organs Of Admittance! And best of all, Ghost!
Tomorrow, depending on whether my daughter Izzy will put up with it: Gillian Welch!
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