I guess we all had visions of a languid afternoon spent stretched out in the sunshine somewhere in the winery district when we bought tickets for this, pleasant folk and alt-country music drifting in the air around us; for sure, the picture didn't include heavy rain and mud everywhere, but that's what we got. Still, it was quite fun and the music was good if low-key, split across the 'Johnny Cash' (a big indoor barn) and 'Gene Clark' (a temporary, smaller marquee) stages:
The first act I saw was the Sand Pebbles, who do a kind of psychedelic pop-rock thing - kinda reminded me of Died Pretty - and seemed quite good. Then, a bit of the Rich Family set - another outfit that I hadn't heard of, but they were a winning bluegrassy three-piece who did their thing with a tightness and a warmth which made me feel good. After them, (sometime?) Bad Seed Conway Savage played a set of mournful, theatrical piano ballads - much like Cave himself - which again seemed pretty good, but it was really pouring at that point which put a distinct, if not entirely inapt, complexion on the music. And then a duo called the Darling Downs, who worked a kind of raw rock and roll, bluesy in a way which reminded of the styles' common origins - the crowd got really into it and so did some of the people I was with, though I didn't work up a lot of enthusiasm for it myself.
Then, from that point on - this brought us up to about 3:15 - began the acts that I'd really wanted to see (with a certain amount of overlap in their playing times, necessitating some strategic stage swapping on my part). First, Lisa Miller: I didn't enjoy her set as much as the last time I saw her properly, in part because of the different circumstances, and she didn't play any of my especial favourites (though "The Boy That Radiates That Charm" always goes down well, and likewise "You Make Everybody Love You"), but still, she's wonderful and I was glad to see her.
I didn't stay for the end, though, because I didn't want to miss of Laura Veirs' set. Again, it wasn't as good as the last time I saw her, and again the venue was considerably less conducive (it was just her and drummer Tucker Martine, and the subtleties of her gentle meanderings were a bit lost in the large space), but she did enough to remind me why she's not just one of my favourite of the current crop of alt-country chanteuses but one of my fave artists full stop. Music at its best is magical, and Veirs' has that indefinable something, some of which translated even under those less than ideal circumstances.
Next, Mary Gauthier, whose music I'd not listened to before but who I was keen to check out, and she didn't disappoint, winning a standing ovation at the end of her heartfelt, passionate set (most of the punters were there for the long haul, set up on portable chairs or picnic rugs, especially in the 'Johnny Cash' stage area where Gauthier was). To be honest, I was only partly paying attention, and ducked out midway for a while (braving the needle-like drizzle to feel temporarily cleansed and purified, and also to buy an icecream - that latter being an instance of whimsy getting the better of good sense, obviously), but I was pretty impressed by what I heard and I could see why she has such a great reputation.
Then, Ed Kuepper & Jeffrey Wegener - unexpectedly great. Well, not unexpected exactly because I've always liked the Ed Kuepper that I've heard, and of course he's basically Oz rock royalty so you'd expect him to have at least a bit going for him, but still and all I was a bit surprised by how excellent his set was - churning, vivid, guitar-and-grooves rock, of that kind which is particularly satisfying to listen to.
And for the show-closer, I picked Jen Cloher & the Endless Sea over the Church, back outside in the tent, and it was totally the right decision. (Before that, saw the final two songs done by Danny George Wilson, a troubador in the impassioned-with-acoustic-guitar vein who seemed to have impressed the crowd.) She/they kicked off with a sweet rendition of "The Longing Song" and quickly took it up a notch in intensity, highlights including a rampaging cover of "Folsom Prison Blues", "Peaks and Valleys" (which they tore up in the way that the studio version suggests), "Fingersmith", and a couple of other songs, not from Dead Wood Falls, that I didn't recognise (no "Better Off Dancing", to my disappointment). Live, Cloher's voice is richer and more immediately compelling than on record (not that it isn't great on the album, but there it generally has more of a rasp and a smokiness), and she makes a striking frontwoman, tall and skinny and right into the music - this set was easily the highlight of the festival for me.
So as I said, it was all pretty alright despite the thoroughly inclement weather, which put a serious dampener on things. The 40-minute sets didn't feel satisfying for the acts that I'd been anticipating, but that's in the nature of these things, and all things told it was a good day for the music.
(w/ Wei, Julian F, Michelle, Darren and James O'D - but I've written of myself only above because I spent a fair bit of time wandering around alone, as usual at these things)
