Winnipeg Folk Fest » Absurd Intellectual

Winnipeg Folk Festival lineup looks astounding

Posted by Grant Hamilton on 13 March 2010 Modern Life, Music

Mar 132010

(Photo by Amy of the bubble fun that always takes place among the audience at the Winnipeg Folk Fest main stage, from 2008)

Today was the day that the Winnipeg Folk Fest announced its lineup. This always gets Amy excited, Last year, I read her some of the highlights from a newspaper article while we coffee’d in a Starbucks, and she slapped her palm down on the table and shouted “shut UP!” she was so thrilled. That was for Iron and Wine, who fulfilled her excitement with a great performance last year.

This year’s performer list looks, if anything, better and more exciting than last year. Some of the names that made Amy go “squeeeee!” on her Facebook are, Andrew Bird, The Avett Brothers, Emmylou Harris, The Swell Season and Sarah Harmer, but there’s too many to list here.

But I’ve always appreciated Winnipeg Folk Festival for the opportunity to explore new-to-me artists as well, and it’s some of the names I don’t yet recognize that intrigue me the most.

I’m considering a 100-day blogging project, wherein I (and perhaps Amy) explore each of the artists coming to Folk Fest, and post about each of them individually. With 65 artists currently on the list (and they often tweak the list, adding a few as they get contracts signed) that’s more than one every other day. That’s ambitious, I know, since it would include listening to albums and trying to be fairly good about giving them the consideration they’re due.

Are readers interested in that scope of a project? Or is it too far outside what Absurd Intellectual is to you? I’d also consider dropping a few emails/phone calls in the right direction to see if I could score interviews with some of the performers. (Shout-out here to Curtis at Endless Spin, who has done an excellent job on the political front with his candidate interviews during the provincial NDP leadership race and the recent byelection in his home riding.)

One year I covered the Winnipeg Folk Festival in a moderate way for the Brandon Sun, and while a press pass had its advantages, lugging a laptop and camera gear from stage to stage wasn’t exactly the best way to spend the weekend. So Amy’s kiboshed any live-blogging of the festival this year, but I could probably get behind some tweeting, if I can ever get my phone set up.

Thoughts?

Countdown to Folk Fest: Josh Ritter

Posted by Grant Hamilton on 9 July 2009 Modern Life, Music

Jul 092009

Josh Ritter is like my exact age. Okay, he’s three days younger than me, but still. That’s special, right?

He’s also one of the best songwriters in the past decade, and I’m probably being generous — to any other songwriters. Honestly, his stuff blows me away. Now, he’s coming to Winnipeg Folk Festival, and I can’t wait.

The Folk Fest, which starts today (Thursday) and runs until Sunday, is bound to have some great new discoveries for me. But I’m more excited about Josh Ritter than about anyone else.

I would love to tell you all about his music, but I’m not as good a wordsmith as, say, Stephen King, so I’ll let ol’ Stevie do the talking, from his Top 10 of 2006 list:

1. The Animal Years, Josh Ritter

The best album of the year in a walk, and maybe the best album I’ve heard in the last five. Mysterious, melancholy, melodic…and those are only the M’s. Songs like ”Girl in the War” simply do not leave the consciousness once they’re heard, but the album’s real gem is the strange and gorgeous ”Thin Blue Flame.” This is the most exuberant outburst of imagery since Bob Dylan’s ”A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” in 1963. The Animal Years is an amazing accomplishment.

Since then, Ritter has released another album, 2007′s “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter” and I would say that he’s due for another, but he just got married in May, so I’m going to cut him some slack.

Here’s the video for “Girl in the War,” if you’re feeling like you want some beauty in your life:

And if you can’t stand to see the beauty, and you just want to hear it, try on a few mp3s for size, too. Frankly, I adore “Thin Blue Flame,” but I also love the rockier edge that “To The Dogs Or Whoever” and “Mind’s Eye.” Enjoy!

Josh Ritter – Thin Blue Flame

Josh Ritter – To The Dogs Or Whoever

Josh Ritter – Mind’s Eye

Countdown to Folk Fest: Neko Case

Posted by Amy Breen on 23 May 2009 Music

May 232009

Some of you may initially be unfamiliar with the name Neko Case. You’d probably know her better as the red-headed chick from super group the New Pornographers. Or even as the chick who sang that song that was in that mockumentary FUBAR:

Which is great. But she also has fantastic solo albums.

Neko Case was born in Virginia, and moved to Vancouver where she met the other members of the New Pornographers. She then moved on to Seattle and Chicago, recording albums in both cities.

Case makes beautiful alt-country music, anchored by her truly powerful vocals and honest, confessional lyrics. My absolute favourite song of hers is from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood:

Neko Case – Hold On, Hold On

Neko Case – Vengeance is Sleeping

Countdown to Folk Fest: Okkervil River

Posted by Amy Breen on 22 May 2009 Music

May 222009

Okkervil River by flickr user _FXR

Okkervil River, hailing from Austin, is one of those bands that has been around for a decade, only gaining mainstream popularity in the last few years (a la Modest Mouse).

Their specific brand of indie (I’ve read it described as “intricate” several times) hasn’t fully won me over, and it’s really hard to describe why. At times I love their songs, at others, not even a little bit. It may have something to do with the delivery of the lead singer/songwriter Will Sheff. It may have to do with the fact that the music is very unconventional. Either way, this song, from their 2005 album Black Sheep Boy, is a real gem:

Okkervil River – For Real

I know Grant enjoys the next song, but it’s one of the tunes that just hasn’t quite grabbed me:

Okkervil River – Our Life is Not a Movie or a Maybe

Regardless, I’m excited to see them perform at the Folk Fest this year. I find that some band’s live performances can be radically different from their albums, and maybe it’ll turn out that I like Okkervil River much more in a live setting.

The Winnipeg Folk Fest takes place July 8-12.

Countdown to Folk Fest

Posted by Amy Breen on 23 March 2009 Music

Mar 232009

Main Stage and Moon at Winnipeg Folk Fest

Last year, I attended my first Winnipeg Folk Fest, and although the weather couldn’t have been worse (Grant said it was the most awful weather he’s camped in) I ended up having a good time and look forward to going this year. But maybe no camping.

Since we’re both pretty excited, Grant and I thought we would do a countdown series in anticipation of the fest, posting about the artists who will appear.

I thought I would kick off the series with the artist I am most excited for. When Grant read me the lineup, I got increasingly excited, until the final act. With a hint of self-satisfaction in his eyes and voice, he said, “and lastly, Iron & Wine.” I literally smacked my hand as hard as I could on the table and yelled “Shut UP!”

Sam Beam from flickr user Oslo In The Summertime

I have been a huge fan for a few years now, so it was no surprise that when Grant said “that was pretty loud considering we’re in Starbucks,” I yelled “Shut up!” again, to which he said, “that was also pretty loud.”

Our Endless Numbered Days, released in 2004, is an acoustic-driven folk album carried by Beam’s signature soft voice and southern sound.

Iron & Wine – Sunset Soon Forgotten

In 2007, he released The Shepherd’s Dog, a bit of a departure from his previous work, and features a fuller sound including percussion, strings, the organ, and — most importantly — hand-claps.

Iron & Wine – Boy With A Coin

I’m so excited to see him! I just hope he doesn’t disappoint me like Elvis Perkins did last year.