PLAIN FOLK

by Les Pearson
Big Names Aren’t Always Festival Bests!

When does artistic expression cross the friendly border into self-indulgence? Daniel Lanois needs to know. Emmylou Harris knows, but doesn’t stop at customs.

Winnipeg’s 2005 Folk Festival held remarkable promise. There was an amazing array of talented performers like Dr. John and Ricky Skaggs. And there were edgy newcomers like Australia’s The Beautiful Girls— an upstart all-male ska band. The line-up had power to pop pea pods.

This was a festival to be remembered—unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons! First, there was the weather. Rain descended like a Biblical plague on opening night and for nearly every night thereafter.

The result? Ankle-deep mud. Colloidal. It blackened shoes and toes and car interiors. The kids frolicked in it. They launched twenty -foot belly slides down the mucky fields. Mothers just shrugged. Everyone was filthy!

Lightning chased Ricky Skaggs from the first evening’s grand finale after only three songs. Gusting winds and threatening showers nearly put the run on Emmylou Harris before the last night’s show closer. (It should have made her run from an earlier stage appearance!)

Let me set the stage. After Thursday’s downpour and disappointments, Friday’s main stage show was the best blues extravaganza one could imagine. Jackie Greene lit the fire. Bo Dollis stoked it. But it was Dr. John who built the blues bonfire at Birds Hill Park. He had Friday’s crowd beating their feet on the Manitoba mud!

Saturday’s show was more of the same. There were great Canadian acts like Connie Kaldor and Madrigaia. The evening’s crescendo built. Hard driving acts kept sideline dancers pulsating. Then Oliver Mtukudzi & Black Spirits ended the show with rousing African beats and harmonies!

Sunday’s main stage closer was jinxed from the start. Odetta fractured a hip and had to cancel. Still, Xavier Rudd’s guitar and didgeridoos—played three at a time—had the crowd swaying. Just as the fever was spreading, Daniel Lanois loomed like an easterly storm cloud.

Lanois is recording producer for U2, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan…and Emmylou Harris. He is not a renowned showman. Instead of playing upbeat songs from earlier albums like Acadie, Lanois took the crowd on a musical “trip.” Selections all came from his latest CD, the moody Belladonna.

Audience involvement slid in the descending darkness. Many took Lanois’ invitation to travel and left the concert. Worse was to come. Midway through his set, Lanois invited Emmylou Harris to join him on stage.

Harris was the show closer and should have known better. She was the show’s climax! But producers have their sway, I guess. Emmylou sang a Lanois’ song, lyrics in hand, and made mistakes. Talk about stealing your own thunder!

The best folk artists read a crowd. Billy Jones says Stompin’ Tom often asked to have house lights raised so he could do just that. When performers put personal artistic expression ahead of crowd pleasing, they belong in a studio. Just, please, keep them off festival stages!