I got to the island early on what promised to be a very hot day. After picking up my chair from lockup I walked over to Stage 1 passing by the front gate and patrons waiting there. I queried the first people in line, and they’d only been there a half hour. I was used to seeing people camped out at the gate before the previous evening’s show had even ended. Maybe the festival implemented some kind of entry lottery to stagger arrivals.
Stage 1 is a free stage, located outside the fences. I secured a shady spot next to the speaker stack for “Phrase Turners”. This session included a solo Jeffrey Martin and three out of four Tenderloins. Billie Marten was a no show. The Tenderloins performed on piano, pedal steel and guitar with some interludes on a stand up, cocktail drum kit. Paul’s deep voice tackled “My Sweet Woman,” “Sandpaper One Side, Rubber On The Other” and “In a Combine You Gotta Have a Fan Blow on Your Head.” Jeffrey’s strong vocals presented “Red Station Wagon,” “Everybody Has A Broken Dream” and “Just Like You, Just Like Me” that starts with the line, “Joseph Stalin came from somebody’s vagina.”
Over at Stage 2, I caught the last part of Stomping Grounds with Elliot BROOD, Cat Clyde and Miko Marks. Elliot BROOD played “Hello Alberta” and “Miss You Now” with good energy. Cat sang Neil Young’s “Out On The Weekend” and Marty Robbins’ “My Love.” Miko presented “Hold It Together” and “One More Night” with very strong vocals.
I headed back to Stage 1 and caught the tail end of the soul, R&B concert by K-Riz. I found some shade well back from the stage and dozed a bit. Next up was “Trad Radically” with The McDades, Benj Rowland, Mama’s Broke and Wyatt C Lewis. The McDades presented “Oak, Ivy and Ash” and “V’la l’bon Vent” with their usual high energy and superb musicianship. All the other performers offered their take on “trad” but I was too dozy to take notes.
I headed out and then with no preamble, something went “click” in my knee and hurt like the dickens. Fortunately I had my ski pole or I might have gone down. I hobbled along, and drifted back to Stage 2. I stashed my stuff at the backstage area and patronized Curry In A Hurry again. Not wanting to move much further I settled into the shade of the FOH tent where Greg, our Canmore FOH tech was working. Upcoming was the concert by Jeffrey Martin. He repeated some songs from his earlier session as well as “William Burroughs,” “Garden” and “Daylight.” He was well received by a small crowd.
I limped over to the Main Stage where I found friends in the same spot as the night before. Billie Marten was first up, backed by drums, bass and keys and with a back-up singer. Billie’s songs and presentation were soft and melodic. Typical for the first act after a long, hot day, the crowd was subdued.
Odie Leigh, a strong singer, got the tweener spot.
Miko Marks raised the energy level with kick-ass country vocals. She covered “Hard Times Come Again No More” along with “Peace of Mind” and “Feel Like Going Home” to earn loud cheers from the crowd.
Cat Clyde performed the tweener spot, singing “Everywhere I Go” and “The River.”
Fantastic Negrito was next up. I’d seen him last year and knew what to expect. First, a flamboyant outfit, black, wide brim hat with gold band, red pants and a floor-length gold cape and jacket. Next, lots of choreography, ranging back and forth, swapping keys for guitar to just singing. Finally, loud, driving rock to whip the dancers into a frenzy. Fantastic is a powerful singer and he had a top notch band, particularly his lead guitarist who pulled out some spectacular licks. He offered some covers, “In The Pines” and “This Little Light of Mine,” along with “My Night Has Turned to Day” and “Only The Dreamers Survive” to earn a standing ovation at the back.
Margo Cilker got the final tweener spot singing “Looking For A Lowland Trail” and Ian Tyson’s “Road To Los Cruses.”
Final act at the festival was Booker T. Presents A Stax Review. Performing on keys and B3 organ, Booker T had a strong ensemble, guitar, bass, drums, horn section and three lead and back up singers, all of whom were top notch. Songs from the catalogue included “Born Under A Bad Sign,” “Respect,” “Knock On Wood,” “Soul Man,” “Green Onions,” “Try A Little Tenderness,” “Midnight Hour,” “Respect Yourself” and others. Booker T and company earned a standing ovation.
A crowd of volunteers gathered on the stage to sing a finale “Lean On Me” as I slowly made my way out.
