Family Tree

 

2020 has not been much about Festive Living.  It's more about quiet living and reminiscing of festivals from the past, dreaming of when we can go back to them.  This year during the cancelled Jazzfest weekend, I made a big board of all the "Lagniappes" that people have given me over the years,  and hung it on my wall to remind us of the good times.    Last week I was saddened to learn of the  passing of Joe Perez, aka Big Chief  Pony Dancer, who is tied to many of my festival experiences and had given me many of the buttons and other trinkets on this board.

 There are two sides to my festival family,  which I will call Home and Travelling.  “Home” includes all the  northeast festivals stemming from RI Cajun/ Rhythm and Roots, Grey Fox, and more.  Travelling  festivals are the New Orleans Jazz Fest & other destination festivals around the country.   As a founding member and face of the Petdekat Krewe,  Joe was at the top of my Travelling festival family tree.  Back in 1998, preparing for our second trip to New Orleans Jazz Fest together,  My husband Joe and I were searching for information on the internet, using the first computer we bought the prior year (which was so expensive we couldn’t afford a return trip to Jazz Fest in 1997) .  We came across the Jazz Fest Forum, a chat board hosted on the Jazz and Heritage website.  It had a purple background with white text so some people refer to it as the Purple board.   Here you could exchange all kinds of festival info and travel tips with others from all around the country.  They had handles or nicknames, usually incorporating their home state or city  like Stevemiami, Neenatlanta, and Bethesdaboy.   There was one named Ponydancer who was always talking about something called Petdekat.  He and stevemiami were selling T-shirts online with a really cool design of a sax-playing cat partying late into the night.  On the back it said “Petdekat Krewe”.  While we were a little skeptical of dealing with people online, we wanted to get the shirts and meet some of these people, so we sent a postal money order to a  Florida address  and received our shirts in time for fest.  That year, wearing the shirts at the fairgrounds, we met dozens of other like-minded folks from all over, and that was the beginning of our travelling fest family. 

Over the years, the Petdekat Krewe, whose mission is to seek out live music and have fun in a “loosely disorganized” fashion,  put together many events and get togethers, like crawfish boils in Audubon Park on the Tuesday between festival weekends, shows at night clubs, group dinners at restaurants.  Joe was at the helm of many of these events, with help from other members.   Because of Joe and Steve and Petdekat Krewe, I had an instant family of festival friends from all over.  While most of the meetups centered around New Orleans Jazz Fest every year, we could also go to festivals in other parts of the country and hook up with other people from the Krewe that we had initially met in New Orleans and communicated with through the online chat forum in the off-season,  learning about festivals in other states.  We  travelled to south Florida a few times for blues festivals and most memorably the Fiesta Tropicale, which was a New Orleans themed music festival and Mardi-gras style celebration in Hollywood Florida in February.  This was my favorite memory of Joe – as he rallied the krewe to be in the parade with floats, costumes, beads etc.    

Some of the musicians playing at the festival, and the out of town folks,  stayed at the same hotel and it was there I met the NJ branch of the PDKK.  There are so many friendships that grew out of the Petdekat Krewe.  Because of the PDKK, we could go to a festival anywhere and usually find people to hang out with, and get some knowledge of the local area, which always makes it better.  We went to the first Austin City Limits festival because of a tip we got on the board, from Swag, and hung out with him when we returned 2 years later.  In 2006 we went to the Tall Stacks festival in Cincinnati OH based on another PDK tip, and had a great time with Bryan, Patti, Greg and Kathie from Canada, and Rhea (who has since passed).  The Threadheads, a broader, more organized festival group with a philanthropic side, arose out of the Petdekat Krewe.  It was through PDKK  I first met Jenn and Dave, who lived in MA for a while before moving back to New Orleans and becoming the nucleus of many Threadhead gatherings.   Her “board name” was IBJamn so their home became known as Chez-BJamn.  Sadly, we also lost her 2 years ago due to illness.

On the fairgrounds,  Joe was an unmistakable character,  always colorful,  dancing around, passing out “Lagniappes”.  He also was in a marching krewe at Mardi Gras called Mondo Kayo and made many elaborate costumes for that.  There are tons of photos on the Petdekat and Mondo Kayo Facebook pages of him dressed in all his festive regalia.

Would he had lived longer if he hadn’t lived so large? Maybe… but then he wouldn’t have been Big Chief Ponydancer.    Fest in Peace, brother.   We’ll miss you!

Right: me with Joe at Mike Arnone’s Crawfish fest in NJ.  

Left, top to bottom:

1.      1. The last “lagniappe” from Joe, which I received through another original PDK Member,  at the 2019 Threadhead Patry.  
2.       Joe at the fairgrounds during Bruce Springsteen’s Jazzfest set in 2014.
3.       With a group of Kats including Neenatlanta and some of the ‘Lanna krewe.  I’m wearing my 2001 PDK shirt.
4.       Bluekat, Dave,  Joe Perez and my Joe in 2004, one day when the fest was rained out and people gathered at the Chez-B’Jamn

 

Friday September 4, 2020

Today is the beginning of Labor day weekend, and is the first time in more than 30 years that I am not attending the Rhythm and Roots festival at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, RI.  (formerly Cajun and Bluegrass festival).  In 1987 I went to the Cajun Festival at Stepping Stone ranch for a day, with a guyfrom work.  That relationship did not pan out, but once I saw Queen Ida and Beausoleil,  among others, I  was immediately swept off my feet in a love affair with Cajun and Zydeco music, and the whole festival vibe.   The following year I returned with some friends, again for just a day.  They liked it but were not as into it as I was.  Finally, in 1989 I decided to sign up as a volunteer, because it was free and I could camp out there all weekend.  The Sunday before I was going to the ranch for a volunteer meeting, and told Sara about my plan, and she wanted to join me.  So we both volunteered together.  I worked in the children’s area and she did staff kitchen duty. From then on I was hooked.  We went the next few years together as volunteers,  having the most fun possible in a weekend, with very little sleep and hardly any expenses, except for maybe a case of beer.   The Children’s area duty was fun but exhausting, (because some people would just drop their kids there while they went off to party) so in the following years, I moved on to the Information booth and Ticket Sales, while she stuck with Kitchen duty.   When I would return home on the Monday, I’d sleep and relive the magic of the festival in my head, riding the rhythms of the Cajun and zydeco music, the way you feel like when you return from a day at the beach and feel like you’re still riding the waves.  Back then, I would only see the other festival people once a year and it was so sad knowing  you’d have to wait a whole year to do it again.

In the early 1990’s another festival was born at the ranch, the Big Easy Bash, which featured Tex-Mex , blues, and other southern music along with Cajun and Zydeco.  With artists like Marcia Ball and the Subdudes, it had more of a New Orleans feel than the Cajun/ Bluegrass festival, which had more of a country vibe.     The first time I went to this one, I volunteered solo and this was the first time I did a whole weekend fest by myself, but not really by myself since I was part of the crew.   At the Cajun festival in 1991, I met my (now brother in law) Pete, and on 1992 I went with  (now husband) Joe to the Big Easy Bash, I as a volunteer and he and Pete as paying customers. By Labor Day they had both joined the crew with me, selling merchandise.  We did that and /or ticket sales  for the next few years up until the time the festival moved to Ninigret Park, in 1998.  That year we worked on the shower crew but decided to quit volunteering after that in order to have more time to enjoy the festival and hang out with our non-staff camping friends.   Every year we would get there at the crack of dawn on Friday morning, lining up to get inside.  Seemed like everyone would always stress over getting “their spot” but we all usually ended up in roughly the same area, and that’s how I got to know everyone over the years.  Every year after the music on the festival stages ended, I would jam with the people I was camping with, along with friends from  RI, Mass, Connecticut , NY, Canada and elsewhere.   Some of them I only  saw at this festival, while others I would come across at other jams and festivals during the year, which became more prevalent.  It got to the point where there would be a festival almost every weekend in the summer, sometimes 2-3 to choose from.  All good times, and all stemming from the Cajun & Bluegrass festival in RI on Labor Day weekend.  Around 2012 we started volunteering again, partly because I wanted to avoid the stress of getting there early Friday morning, since volunteers could show up a day early.

Now, in 2020, this is the first time I am missing out on this festival (along with all the other ones that have been cancelled or postponed due to the Coronovirus pandemic. )  I plan to meet up with some of my jamming friends for part of the weekend, and tuning into the live-stream broadcasts of past Rhythm and Roots festivals for the rest of the weekend as much as possible.  And hoping that everyone stays healthy and safe so we can resume our regularly scheduled Festive Living next year, in 2021!

2016 Rhythm and Roots Festival, Charlestown RI

2016 marked my 30th consecutive year  partaking in the annual music festival  held in RI over Labor Day weekend in one form or another,   I started out at the Cajun Bluegrass festival in Escoheag as a day tripper in 1987-88, then a volunteer from 89 - 99 (including the transition to Rhythm and Roots and its first year at Ninigret park).  That was followed by 12 years as a paying weekend camper, because I hated to miss out on any of the festival.  In 2012 I joined the volunteer ranks again, partly to take advantage of the 1-day early access afforded volunteers  - so we don't have to stress about getting there at the crack of dawn on Friday and wait in line for hours.   So even though I haven't chronicled this festival since 2010, I think such a milestone year deserves a Festive Living entry!    Looking back on 2010, I noticed it was similar in some ways,  with its threat of a hurricane that never really materialized but was enough of a warning to cause us to miss a portion of the festivities.  Not stuff on the schedule, mind you, but in 2010 we got a late start and missed out on the Friday afternoon socializing.  This year we packed up early and left after the last act on the main stage so missed the last 12 hours in the campground.

When we arrived on Thursday afternoon there was some light rain but it stopped pretty soon amd  we were able to set up in a stress free environment, near some shade trees in the volunteer camping area. After catching up with a few other volunteers we headed down to Matunuck for a bite to eat at Tara's family pub, and then next to watch the last bit of pre-season football at the Ocean Mist while listening to the waves crash below.

The next morning we were spared the drama of trying to "claim our spot" but we did go over to help our friends with some of the set up when they arrived.  I felt so liberated becasue I had put in my volunteer time prior to the festival - creating 2 photo stand-in boards to be placed around the grounds for people to take pictures...

So I had time to ride my bike down to Charlestown town beach before heading back for happy hour at camp, listening to  Willie J  Laws on the radio broadcast from the main stage. Sounded great!

After a little nap and a shower I headed in to catch the Honeycutters on the Roots stage, the first of several brand new acts I had never seen before.  They were a good twangy country Americana band with a female lead singer /guitarist , stand up bass, and a pedal steel guitar.  One big improvement over years past was that one whole side of the tent had a wooden dance floor, so you had the freedom to stand or dance without upsetting people who like to sit.  It was good for everyone!

Got a call from a friend volunteering and camping there for the first time, so I went back to help her set up. Joe had just finished his shift backstage so we all headed back in to catch the last half of Matt Anderson. He was a festival favorite from a couple years ago when he  played there solo, but brought a band with him this time and brought down the house!

Watched some of the Knickerbocker All-stars then was going to see Dustbowl Revival but they seemed to be off to a slow start.  So we went to Donna the Buffalo in the big dance tent. They had a DTB groove, going,  before switching to  Creole mode  with Preston Frank and Ed Poullard.  Drifted back and forth between the two stages, enjoying a heaping  end-of-the night portion of spicy crawfish from Chili Brothers. then headed back to camp.  We had a little jam at camp, where some of my friends and I attempted some Lucinda Williams songs in anticipation for Saturday..(just in case Lu needed some help on stage LOL).

Saturday I started out with another new band, Guthrie Brown on the Roots stage. a talented young country singer / songwriter  and his band, from Nashville by way of Montana.  They had a nice kind of pop sound with some good harmonies.   Then it was back to the main stage for yet ANOTHER new band  - Hat Fitz and Cara.  They were my favorite discovery of the weekend, a very spirited duo, with just slide guitar and drums and sometimes tin whistle or harmonica. I am not normally a fan of tin whistle, but I like the way she played it.

 Thtey just had so much soul and a driving beat that made you want to get up and testify! which was no problem because the other great improvemnet this year was the abolition of the chairs and blankets in front of the main stage to allow plenty of room for standing/ dancing right UP FRONT as it should be. This was a long time coming, and was probably made possible by the 3rd improvemnet, the addition of some very clear screens on both sides that were on durnig the day (not just at night as in years past). So if you  were sitting further back in a chair you could still see, while those who wanted to get close were able to do so without causing a disturbance behind them, and could interact with the band.

It was great to see the "Gearls" again, Uncle Earl  Reunion with their kicked up old-timey tunes. Even though they hadn't played together in awhile, you;d never know it.  I also loved seeing my old favorite Taj Mahal, who I remember going to see at the Last Call in Providence so many years ago. Ended up with  a rocking set by Lucinda Williams.  It was one of the best closing sets at R&R ever especially because I got to share it with my friends dancing up front! All those songs we all know by heart and have probably sung along with on the CD's dozens of times , they're better together .... it's why we live for live music !  She eneded with her version of  Keep on Rockin' in the Free World.  It was one of the best Saturdays ever at Rhythm and Roots. But it wasn't over! 

Back in the camp I went to a few different jams, First with the bluegrass boys next door, then down to the Lucky Dawgs site where they  had a campfire and maybe 15 musicians and 30-40 spectators. There were 2 of us on accordion (the other guy had a digital/ electronic one that sounded different than mine)  some guitars, electric bass, fiddle, probably 5 members of  Extraordinary Rendition Band with the tuba,  some other horns and drums and various percussion people around .  After that I went to  Cajun jam, then back to the bluegrass with only a few people. They were all fun in a different way and I'm glad I stayed up late Saturday because we ended up taking down our camp Sunday morning due to the weather forecast, So Saturday night was my last chance to jam!

Sunday morning I got a text from my niece who was visiting from California.  She and my sister did not have time to attend the festival but were in the area, and I suggested we meet at the nearby Fantastic Umbrella Factory just outside the gates of Ninigret Park. We had a nice visit in the bamboo forest and the gardens, and shopped for some cool stuff. Again, I was glad for not having to work during the festival, so I had time to step out for a little while.  In all these years, that was the closest they have come to the festival. Maybe next year they'll be able to attend.

I returned in time to dance to Los Texmaniacs,  once again reveling in the open space in front of the Rhythm (main) stage under bright sunny skies.  No sign of a hurricane in sight, but we' d already taken down the pop-up camper and just had to go back and hitch it up for later. Then went back to hear  Steve Riley's new band, Orchestra Royal with Kevin Wimmer and Roddie Romero.  Kicked up some dust dancing to Dave and Phil Alvin.. Did I mention how much I liked the open area in front of the main stage???  Then wandered around while listening to  David Grisman, and back to the seats for Bruce Hornsby.   I had seen him with the Grateful Dead before but not on his own. He played some accordion in the beginning before going back to keyboards.. Then got really rootsy by playing  a few songs on dulcimer, accompanied by rubboard and mandolin. One of the last songs he did, back on keyboards,  was "That's just the way it is"  which made me accept the fact we were not staying overnight.  

In closing I can re-use some points from my 2010 blog - because they are still true:

•  There is just not enough time for everything one wants to do at these festivals! (In 2016  I regretted missing some of my old favorite bands like Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Cha's, and the Revelers  but I was happy to discover some new ones!  Also did not seem to get enough dances in with my husband, who did work during the fest) 
•  All in all it was a wonderful weekend, it was great to see and hang out with everyone...and as usual it just went by too fast!
• It used to be the Cajun festival / Rhythm and Roots on Labor day weekend was the last chance to jam for the year.. but now we have a couple of festivals next weekend - The Pawtucket Arts festival in Slater Park Sat/Sun, The Narrows Festival of the Arts on Sunday in Fall River, then Fresh Grass in North Adams the week after. 

Who says summer is over?

Festive Living Upgrade 2016

After camping in a Dodge conversion van for 12 years, Festive Living is upgrading our camping accomodations with the addition of a pop up camper that we plan to tow with our 2001 Dodge van.   The nice thing about the van is it serves as a second vehicle,  but is not really a camper.  It's a vehicle you can sleep in.  While more secure and comfortable than a tent, it can be cramped and gets hot with little air flow.  We  considered travel trailers, then found a deal on a 2007 Fleetwood Niagara at a local used car dealer in March.  This camper has all the features of a regular driving RV (including 2 king size beds, a toilet, shower, air conditioner).  When opened up it is more spacious and airy than a travel trailer, and would fit in our driveway better when closed.   It is one of the biggest pop-ups around, with high sides and a slide out dining room .  When we looked at it, was very clean inside, had no moldy smell or signs of leaks, and appeared to have been winterized as it had some pink antifreeze in the shower. There were a lot of others looking at it because it was a relatively low price and we had spring fever, so we pulled the trigger and bought it, "as is".  I figured even if we had to repair or replace some things it still would be worth it.

 Well lesson 1 is don't buy a camping trailer from a used car dealer who didn't actually use the camper, and cannot  guarantee the condition of anything.   (Even though he sells a lot of them!)  Once we started going through it, we discovered that almost everything had to be fixed or repaired in some way.   The hot water heater had a lot of sediment and did not work at first because it had never been cleaned or maintained There were some leaky pipes and the water pump didn't work. The fridge didn't run on gas because the gas line was clogged.    The outdoor shower wouldn't shut off and had to have a valve replaced. The inside sink needed new faucets.  All the fuses were blown and on and on.  My husband Joe went through everything and most of those things were not expensive to repair, but time consuming to troubleshoot.  Thank God for Youtube!

Besides showing how to fix a lot of components,  Youtube was a great resource for learning how to drive and handle the trailer.  We watched a lot of videos on how to tow and back up the trailer, and how to communicate with each other with one of us spotting from behind.   Backing up is the most challenging part and we don't have a huge yard/driveway so we spent a few Sundays practicing that.   One of the videos showed a couple using walkie talkies to communicate and that seemed like a good idea so we ordered some online. The walkie talkies are pretty good if you remember to hold the button down far enough before you start talking! Otherwise it just causes more aggravation. Hand signals are good too but you have to learn and use them.

Meanwhile between practicing, the good deal just kept getting better.  We had to buy new tires because it still had the original ones on.  Because of the weight of the trailer (3500 pounds) we had to get electric brakes installed and learn how to use them.  Then because we are using a van with low ground clearance, we decided to improve the rear suspension which cost $600.  Then there were all the accessories that we'd have to buy even if we had bought a new rig - hoses, cables, battery, gas tank covers, king size sheets, etc.  After spending about $1700  on repairs and accessories, finally we took the trailer out for a longer test run that included highways and hills and Joe felt the trailer swaying and bouncing a lot  - it seemed too risky.  We did some more research and found out about a weight distribution/ stabilizer hitch.  That cost another $600 and took about 4 hours for us newbies to install and adjust, with a few calls to the manufacturer's support line in Utah.

So now we are finally ready to take it out to a couple of festivals... Starting with Green River fest in Greenfield, Ma.  where we'll be camping in a nearby campground for 2-3 nights with hookups, then off to Grey Fox bluegrass festival in the Catskills, where we'll be roughing it in a farmer's field for 5 days and nights.  For what it's cost so far we could have spent 10 nights in the Ritz Carlton!  Or gone on another music cruise...But we hope to get the hang of it and have a few more years of Festive Living in style! We are also planning on  Podunk,  Rhythm and Roots and Fresh Grass and possibly a few others.  Maybe we can get the per night cost more in line with a Holiday Inn.

PVDFest 2016

PVD Fest 2016

Saturday was a hot day and I had some stuff to do around the house, so I only went to the PVD Fest for a few hours in the evening, opting to take a RIPTA bus from East Providence rather than deal with altered traffic and parking. When I stepped off the bus  and saw the crowds , and people selling beer and cocktails in go- cups , it felt like being on Bourbon street!  Giant black and silver dinosaurs bobbing their heads high above the crowds, and all sorts of colorful characters including Big  Nazo puppets and members of the Extraordinary  Rendition  band made for a carnival atmosphere .  Kids were playing in a mountain of suds where someone  had set up a bubble machine on one of the side streets.  For the moment it  like I was in a whole different city, except running into a few local friends.  I had also met a kindred spirit on the bus and we had similar interest in what bands to see so we ended up hanging out together for most of the evening.

The first band I saw was Red Baraat, a Brooklyn  based band that fuses funk and northern Indian music together and is really high energy.  They got everyone up dancing right at the beginning by encouraging people to get up out of their seats and move closer.   After a few songs they called for a few dancers to come up on stage for a sort of contest.   I recognized one as a Zumba instructor who also teaches  Indian  dancing.   Two of the others were costumed members of extraordinary Rendition Band, so they almost looked like part of the show.   The music was so infectious we could not stop dancing but I had to use the bathroom, and found to my dismay they only had 3 port-a-potties near the main stage,,  so it was a long wait.

After Red Baraat we went to get something to eat at one of the food trucks, but some of them were out of food, and most had very long lines that were moving very slowly.  I ended up going to Haven Brothers.    They've been in business for about 100 years and are reputed to be the first diner in America.  The hot dog I had was nothing special, but they seemed to be the most efficient at catering to the large crowds.

After eating I went to catch what I thought was the Afro Cuban All Stars ( due to bad info from the volunteer staff) m but learned later it was a Puerto  Rican ensemble called Plena Libre. Many in the audience were salsa dancing.  I recognized some of the songs from Zumba so danced in my own style, then  headed home a little after 11:00.

Jorge Elorza, mayor of Providence, was quoted  in the local media as saying: “It  is my vision that this festival becomes something akin to South by Southwest in Austin or New Orleans’ Jazz Festival.”   Only in it's second year, PVD  Fest has potential to become a destination festival but I have a few suggestions to help make that happen:

1) IF YOU ARE GOING TO SELL BEER HAVE A LOT OF. PUBLIC  BATHROOMS,  This seems to be the case with most of the outdoor events I've attended in Providence.  How much can it cost to add more bathrooms?

2)  Have better info.  The printed brochure was confusing and hard to read, and the website was not much better.   The volunteers were not well versed in the performance locations or the schedule.   When I had asked where  the 2 bands I wanted to see were going to be playing they directed me to the wrong stages.  Luckily everything was running a little behind schedule (another flaw that worked to my advantage) .

3) If you are going to  encourage public transportation,  have extra buses!  The RIPTA  buses stop running shortly after 10 pm on Saturday and are not very frequent.  And Sunday is worse.  Luckily I was able to get a ride home with a friend but it would be better if the city could provide better transportation options so people could enjoy more of the Fest.   New Orleans and Austin do a pretty good job of this with the Jazz Fest and Austin City  Limits festival.

Despite these minor inconveniences, the PVD Fest was a really fun time.  Hopefully they will learn a little more each year so it will continue to grow and attract more visitors to our unique city, like the Lowell  Folk  festival.

Bluegrass on the Bogs 2016

Bluegrass on the Bogs takes place  in May and for many of us, it is the first outdoor camping / music festival of the season in New England.   Now in its 11th year, 2016 was my 3rd time attending this regional festival  that features bluegrass and other acoustic/ string bands from  all over New England and New York.   Because so many of us know each other from going to other festivals and jams in the area, it feels a lot like a family reunion, especially since it is early in the season and some people may not have seen each other in a while.   For the past few years it has been held at Camp Kiwanee, originally a summer home for a wealthy Boston lawyer, then a camp used by the Campfire Girls, and is currently owned by the town of Hanson MA.   The piney wooded setting is peaceful and rustic, with very simple cabins to sleep in (no heat or electricity , just cots)  and some space for tents and RV's.  There are also actual bathrooms  and free hot showers, which is a bonus for anyone who is used to camping at other festivals that only have port-a-potties and makeshift showers.

Needles Lodge, photo by John Phelan, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Needles_Lodge,_Camp_Kiwanee,_Hanson_MA.jpg 

On the grounds is big lodge with a wrap-around veranda and gazebo in the back.  The back porch has steps that lead down to the pristine Lake Maquan.  The building used to be the summer home, and is now often rented out for weddings and other functions but is not open for the festival, although we can sit on the porch and enjoy the view.  There are some trails through the woods, where some people set up tents to camp in more secluded areas, unlike our camp neighbors who had set up  tents all over the place in between the cabins in order to be close to the music, vendors, bathrooms, etc.  They sacrificed privacy for convenience.

Friday night's lineup was solid, starting out with a couple of  traditional sounding bluegrass bands,  then ending up with 3 Berklee based string bands that play a combination of bluegrass and other roots style music.

6:30 PM	Local Freight
7:30 PM	Bill Thibodeau Band
8:30 PM	Damn Tall Buildings
9:30 PM	Chasing Blue
10:30 PM	Lonely Heartstring Band

We really are lucky to have so many  talented,  up-and-coming bands in the area. Most of them were familiar to me, but Damn Tall Buildings was a new one, lots of energy. Can't wait to see them again at Podunk!

After the show it was a little cold, so we went to sit by the fire with our neighbors Mike and Natalee, under the full moon.  Just because it's called a bluegrass festival doesn't mean that is the only kind of music you hear.  There are usually a few good real bluegrass jams then a mix of other styles.  The people camping on the other side of us  were in a band called Wheelhouse Rodeo with a ukelele, some drums, electric bass, banjo, guitar and were doing  a lot of the same fun original songs over and over, obviously practicing their set for the next day so I didn't want to jump in with them.   I brought my accordion out to some other jams. When I have my accordion with me I seek out the less traditional jams. There was one with a few guitars, where they were playing some blues and jazzy instrumentals, then later on I went down the hill for a sing along type jam of classic rock and other stuff.   At those kind of jams there's always some inebriated folks who think the musicians are a karaoke machine and can play whatever pops into their head. So you might end up trying to play some songs you never tried before, and had no idea you could play! But it's still fun.

Saturday morning,  they offered  2-hour classes for a fee, with musicians from some of the bands that would be playing that day.  I decided to take the fiddle class with Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, from the band Mile Twelve.  She is only in her early twenties, but has been playing fiddle since she was about 3 and teaches professionally through Berklee college, from which she graduated in 2013 with a degree in violin performance.   There were five of us in the class, which was held on the porch overlooking the pond - a beautiful setting for learning!  We worked through a bluegrass song called On and On, learning the melody, fills, chords, etc. and half-way through she went around to each of the  5 students and gave us some individual tips on technique.  Then we went back to the song, trying out the different parts. It was a good class, but after that I was kind of tired so went to rest and listen to Sinner's Pie on the main stage.

Now here was the best part (for me).  The other 2  times I've been to this festival, most of my friends have been  in bands that are playing there.  I am not in a band but love to jam with people after hours.  This year, I had the honor and privilege of playing in a group assembled for the occasion by my friend Ellen,  a vocalist who had played the festival the previous two years with Acousticana ( no longer together).  So "Ellen Breen and Friends" included Matt on guitar, Joe on fiddle/ guitar, Sal from Bill Thibodeau band on mandolin, Carol and Nelson from Sinner's Pie on vocal and bass, and myself on accordion.  We played a 30 minute set on the Pavilion stage.  It was fun because we have all played together in jam settings,  some have played together in bands, and the audience was mostly people we knew so it was a relaxed and uplifting experience.

After the show I went to watch Cold Chocolate, a trio of  guitar, upright bass, percussion - with a kind of jazzy / funky sound,  not  bluegrass, just really good acoustic music.  They describe themselves as "Bluegrass Funk",  Kirsten Lamb, the bass player is as much of a vocalist as bass player.  She is front and center not in the background like some bass players.

Highlight of the evening for me was seeing  Mile Twelve, the fiddle teacher's band. They are a young, hard-driving bluegrass band, another product of the thriving Berklee acoustic music scene.  I found it kind of funny the fiddle player is from Virginia but came to Boston to learn bluegrass.  The banjo player is also female and is from New Zealand and the two guys (guitar and bass) are from MA and NY.  They played some traditional as well as some originals, all done very well.  Watch for them at Grey Fox!

Went back to camp and after a while we got a jam going at our neighbor's site, where they had another nice fire. The threat of rain never really materialized except for a few sprinkles around 2:30 am, and that was my cue to pack it in for the night, but some of the others stayed up playing a bit later. I don't think it rained much at all.

Seems like most of the bluegrass festivals around here have some version of a Kids' Academy which I think was started at Grey Fox.  It's an important component to the festivals, a way to get kids involved and keep the tradition going.   Children register and spend time over the weekend learning some songs together, and on the last day they perform on the stage.  They take turns singing, soloing, and playing rhythm.    The Kids Academy at BOTB is run by the RI Bluegrass association.  They had a bigger turn out this year than last (as more people find out about it and plan for it).  Hats off to the Bog Squad and the RIBA teachers who coached them!

The weather Sunday turned out much nicer than expected  -  a washout was predicted but it ended up being sunny and pleasant... go figure!  Just goes to show you can't let the weather predictions rule your life.  So I was able to hang out and watch Monadnok before making the 45-mile  drive home.  I hope the rest of the festival season turns out as nicely as last weekend at Bluegrass on the Bogs!

I did not take any pictures (except for the one of the kids with my cheesy phone.) But there are lots of excellent photos on the BOTB Facebook page.

Friday at New Orleans Jazz Fest

Jazzfest  - Friday 4/29

My plan for our last day at Jazz Fest was to camp at the Fais do-do stage,  to see Feufollet, Creole String Beans, and Honey Island Swamp band, with side trips to Gentilly  for Bonerama and the Revivalists  and Congo for Shamarr Allen, closing out at Acura with Paul Simon, whom I'd never seen before.  If we couldn't find a good spot at Acura we'd go back to Fais do-do for CJ Chenier.   It was sunny and breezy,  but the grounds were sure to be muddy from the day before, so I wore my old sneakers which were ready to be thrown out anyway, so I wouldn't mind if they got wrecked in the mud.  They were much better for walking than the hot rubber rain boots from yesterday.

We got there too late for Feufollet, so went for breakfast of Soft Shell Crab Po Boy and Crawfish Pie washed down with iced Cafe au Lait.  Ran into some friends from back home so we brought them over to the Threadhead meeting spot behind Ms Lena's beer stand.  That was a good place to eat in the shade, visit with friends and check in to our Southwest flight for the next day with the smartphone.   Across from there was the Belize Pavillion,  (every year at Fest they feature a different country) so we stopped in there to check out the display.  There was a drumming group playing , and 2 men carving instruments out of cedar, smelled so good! They let me try out the harp and the fiddle but I could not hear how it sounded with all the drumming.  The makers were going to play the instruments at 2:30 so I planned to return to see them.  They also had some really beautiful costumes and head dresses on display , that I could try on!





From there we finally headed over to Fais Do Do , too late to get a spot in the shade but we found room  for our little chairs near the back, unfortunately next to the Native American display where they were drumming nonstop between bands. We secured our chairs then went over to Gentilly for Bonerama and met up with a semi- international group of Thread-heads - Kathie and Greg from Canada, Jenn and Dave from New Orleans, ( flying an Aussie flag) , Bonnie from Boston, Mel from Louisiana, Matthew from Salt  Lake/ now residing in Poland.

Bonerama sounded great as usual,they did a cover of Led Zeppelin's Misty mountain hop, among other covers and originals.  There was a young blonde  kid maybe  10 or 12 playing guitar with them, I heard it was Matt Perrine's son.  How exciting to play in front of such a crowd!  After Bonerama  we were going to try and see a little of both Shamarr and Creole String Beans,  but decided it wasn't possible to see a good amount of both, so we made made our way back to our little chair camp at Fais DoDo.  Creole String Beans play swamp pop and Rock'n'roll  ala Fats Domino.   They had one pre-announced special guest (TK Hulin) and a surprise guest Bill Kirchen who kept things rocking.

On the break I went back to the Belize Pavilion to see the native instruments being played by their makers and learned they were keeping alive an  ancient Mayan musical tradition.    With all the noise from outside, it was hard to hear the string instruments until I went up by the  speakers.  The carved wooden harp and mandolin strung with nylon fishing line sounded about as primitive and basic as they looked.   But it had a soothing quality.  They play this music at all kinds of occasions on Belize, weddings, funerals, etc.

Returned to the chairs for Honey Island Swamp band.  Today was a really good day for finding friends - there were a couple of St. Louis Thread-heads  sitting in front of us.   HISB seemed to be playing a lot of new material, at least I wasn't too familiar with it (I only have their first CD) but it sounded good and rocking.  However the heat was getting to me ( even though we'd had a Mango Freeze while sitting there ) so I suggested a trip inside to the grandstand to cool off and use the real bathrooms.   As usual a very long line for the ladies room so I got to see a cooking demo waiting in line while Joe went to watch the band on the Lagniappe stage.     By the time I came out of the bathroom they were just getting ready to hand out samples of the dish - which was a vegan stir fried tofu with basmati rice, with a nice curry flavor.  Not New Orleans style but pretty good!  The chef explained she turned vegan after her mother died at  the age of 37 of heart disease  ( probably brought on by a southern meat-centric diet)

On the Lagniappe stage was a country bluesy rock band called Cary Hudson and the Piney Woods players.   This was my surprise of the day,  and so appropriate for a little something extra, or lagniappe as they say in Louisiana.  They sounded like early Rolling Stones ( eg. Hip Shake) or North Mississippi Allstars with the addition of a female singer and fiddle player.

Back outside to see the Revivalists on the big Gentilly stage. It had gotten a lot more crowded since Bonerama.  Music was good but unfamiliar, so I could not really get into it.  I can enjoy an unfamiliar band on a small stage, but to me, when it is so big it's hard to connect with if you don't  know the music.  We stayed for a while but never met up with anyone we knew there.  Returned to our chairs at Fais do-do where Los Lobos was doing an acoustic set of Mexican folk music, not their east L.A. rock sound.  This would have been good in a smaller venue but with all the background noise it was hard to hear from where we were so we packed up the chairs and headed over to Acura a little early where we found a spot in the bleachers.  I really like those bleachers, they are the sturdy wooden kind not flimsy aluminum and give a good vantage point.   It was almost the same spot we had been at the day before but way more crowded!   That's what a sunny breezy day and a big name headliner will do.

Paul Simon opened with a musical interlude of accordion and percussion  then into the opening track from Graceland (Boy  in the Bubble)  This was followed by "50 Ways to Leave your Lover" a couple of new songs then back to the tried and true like "Mother and Child Reunion" , "Me and Julio" , "Still crazy after all these Years " which really seemed to resonate with the crowd, who sang along.  A few more older songs  with the addition of pan flute ( I think ).  They sounded different but he sounded fine vocally and seemed upbeat with an acoustic guitar, wearing a white hat.  Good thing they have the big screens!  After about 45 minutes in the bleachers , I wanted to get down a little closer.  I could see the Threadhead flag flying over to the right near the inner track and we stepped our way through the muck to where my friend Neen was camped out with her Atlanta crew and other friends we know.  We were just in time  to dance to the zydeco -sounding  "That was Your Mother"   and listened to a few more familiar songs over there then said our goodbyes before heading out a little early to catch the bus, hearing a new song called "Wristband" on the way out.

All the walking  ( and restrained dancing)  over the past week had taken its toll on my knees! Instead of walking several blocks to Deanie's seafood we ate dinner at the nearby Cafe Giovanni, then went back up to hang out on the deck before packing up.  As they say,  Jazz Fest is a marathon not a sprint, and I was glad to enjoy the days I attended,   Even if it was only the half marathon.  That was plenty! And I was grateful for 3 good weather days out of 4.