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Saturday, March 25, 2006
Michael Troy - I started off
the morning with Michael playing at the main stage. Really looking forward
to seeing Michael play at our house this coming fall. He's a singer-songwriter
that will remind someone of Bob Dylan. A funny bit during the set was when
I came to set up my chair for the day. I went and sat in the front row for
his set. He looked down, smiled and nodded at me. He then went back up and
completely forgot lyrically where he was during the song. Hopefully he won't
be that easy to distract when he plays at our house.
Jack Williams - It was nice
to see Jack in a set by himself. His music works much better by himself,
rather than with others like at the fingerstyle set from the previous day.
I honestly had never heard of Jack previously, but after learning more about
him, he's been in the music and festival circuit for many a year. I snagged
one of his albums, and I look forward to getting more of them.
The Biscuit Burners - I was really looking forward to seeing this band again, since they really blew people away last year at Springfest. You could tell they really made an impression from last year, because the turnout for their various sets was pretty substantial. They were pretty sharp this year with new tunes and mandolin player added to their roster. The material from where the guitar and dobro player play by themselves is also outstanding. Easily one of the better acts of the weekend.
Roy Book Binder - This was my
only chance of the weekend to see Roy since I wasn't going to his morning
hands-on lessons this year. He played standing up for a change, and he played
a good mix of his material. Peter Rowan came on the stage to play with Roy
with a mandolin, and at first it looked to be a train wreck. After a bit
though, they really fell into sync and really worked together well. Roy's
playing style reminds me an old jalopy...fun to watch but you wonder how
it doesn't fall apart. It was a great morning set, because the sun was warming
up and it was shaping up to be a nice day.
I headed over to the music hall to catch a set after being at the Amphitheater all morning. This is also where I quit taking notes for the weekend, so I'm going from memory from here on out.
Jim Lauderdale and Verlon Thompson - This was a fun set in the music hall. Verlon and Jim took their turns playing some of their newer material, but they even dug out some older material to play together. Jim knows how to work the crowd, and Verlon isn't far behind him.
After seeing that duo, we headed out and got some lunch. Also finally browsed through the vendors for the first time for the weekend. With some food in our bellies, we headed down to the amphitheater again.
Uncle Earl - The ladies of Uncle
Earl really have grown over the last year. Well, not physically, but musically
their music has really improved. I wasn't crazy about the EP they had for
sale last year, but their new material has greatly improved. They always
were entertaining in the live setting, but now they really have to goods
to back it all up. Add in the fact that one member of the band, Abigail
Washburn, put out an amazing album herself on the side, and you have a band
that really shows future promise.
Mike Marshall and
Hamilton de Holanda - I
had heard about Hamilton's performance in the earlier part of the day. I
wasn't able to see the full length of this show, but what I saw of Mike
and Hamilton was amazing. Hamilton is from Argentina, and plays a regional
form of the mandolin from Argentina. His playing style was both flamboyant
and technically mind blowing. Crazy stuff. Mike is no slouch himself in
the live setting, so it made for one heck of a show.
Guy Clark - Guy was up next, and seemed to be in a much better mood this time around. He played quite a few of the same tunes, but an improved attitude sure helped the overall impression he left on the crowd. He did play some of the new tunes that have been written for his new album coming out later this year. It looks to be a good one coming our way.
We headed back to the campsite, because everyone decided to cook something for dinner. We headed back and had some good food while visiting with everyone. My parents were at the campsite visiting with us, and Verlon even showed up for some desert. It's the cool times like this that make Springfest much more special.
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones - I have to admit that I've yet to ever really go crazy about Bela and company. Yes, I admire their musical ability, but it all becomes somewhat a blur after a while. We caught about three songs, so that was just the right helping for me. The band obviously has a huge following, and most there that night really seemed to really appreciate the band.
We decided to call it a night even though there was more music for the evening. We were tired and cold, and a warm RV seemed just the thing.