Folk tales

Highs and lows at the Newport Fest

by Bob Gulla

Nanci Griffith

Folk Festival weekend began Friday night at the Hotel Viking with Victoria Williams, which is odd for several reasons, not the least of which is she has little to do with folk music per se or its audience which inundates Newport annually. But there she was in all her idiosyncratic splendor, opening a night of three husband-and-wife teams, called "Three By Two." But then, Victoria didn't come out with just her husband, former Jayhawk Mark Olsen. She had been on tour with her band over the last few weeks and, damn it, she wanted her whole band on the stage. So right there the whole concept got tossed out the window. Anyway, as good as Victoria is, and was at moments that night, a 40-minute set will never do her justice, especially when she tries to work her magic in front of a traditional folk music crowd. Some I'm sure were reviled by her warble, others stunned at how she so suddenly veered off-key and into some never-neverland of gorgeous lyrics and bizarre vocal expression. The sets that followed were effective but equally short, with Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison trading off songs and accompanying each other. Powered by the recent success of O Brother, Where Art Thou, Gillian Welch and Rhody native David Rawlings received the best reception of the night. But they still sounded like the Hollywood-bred offspring of the Carter Family.

Saturday had in store a promising lineup amid not-so-promising weather. But, like the weather, the lineup was unpredictable and inappropriate in spots. Both Senegal singer Baaba Maal and the Flatlanders -- which consist of Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock -- were miscast on the schedule, playing way too early in the day. The beneficiaries of that error, Sam Bush and Catie Curtis, both fine talents, took nice advantage of the later time slot and a more alert audience. Michelle Shocked, who came onstage with members of several of the day's other bands including Vance Gilbert and the Waifs, disproved those who have written her off as a has-been. Living in New Orleans, Shocked boogied Big Easy-style through an upbeat and humorous set. Emmylou Harris, looking ravishing as usual in a burgundy dress and her trademark silvery hair, came through in a big way as headliner, buttressed not insignificantly by her longtime guitarist Buddy Miller, who brandished an impressive array of licks and guitars. He accompanied her on a lovely version of "Love Hurts," a song she sang with former beau Gram Parsons. A light sprinkle came down during that performance and added a slight but rending irony to the moment.

Sunday boasted the beefier crowd, largely because of the more cooperative weather, but also because of, yeah, the Indigo Girls, who seem to bring with them caravans of likeminded souls wherever they go. Yet they performed with verve and the crowd never tires of the singalongs the Girls kick into early and often. Nanci Griffith, who played the set prior to the IGs, let on that she'd come a long way from her Shrinking Violet folk roots by playing slick pop material that relied less on her acoustic guitar and more on her accomplished band. And though she seemed glad to be playing Newport, she didn't tailor her set to Newport's normally stripped-down vibe. A little less boasting would have been OK, too. We didn't need to know that she sings the schmaltzy wedding ditty "From a Distance" in a jillion different languages, or that she'd been palling around with George W. and Trent Lott, of all pols. To her credit, Griffith's work with land mines and the banning thereof is excellent and very grassroots. It's just all that other stuff, all that glamour, kinda gets in the way. Is she the Courtney Love of the folk world or what?

But, you know, big props for the weekend should also go to our own, indefatigable John Fuzek, who for some 10 years now has been producing the Hear In Rhode Island Songwriter Showcase at the main gate of the festival. Every year the event, which runs mighty early, from 8 to 10 a.m.-ish, lines up quality acoustic talent from around the area to play for the folks waiting to get in. On Saturday, Joel Cage, Lisa Martin, Kristin Sweetland, and Chuck Smith and Jeffrey Moffitt serenaded the crowd. On Sunday, early risers got an nearful of Eleni Kelakos, Big Blue Sky, Laura Moran, Kendra Flowers, and a special appearance by Jack Hardy. This year, John tells us the turnout and the success rate was the best ever. In fact, what John does with his songwriter showcase is truer to the very premise of the original folk festivals of the late '50s and early '60s than the rather corporate affair that it has become today. Don't get me wrong: what George Wein and Bob Jones and Festival Productions do to put this thing on every year is admirable, and they do have great taste in music. It's just that folk music is folk music is folk music. And John seems to know a good song when he hears one. Keep it up. Those interested in joining Hear in RI should e-mail Fuzek at hearinri@ids.net.

MEDICINE BALL. Medicine Ball is entering a rather busy space, capped off by an album release in October on the New York-based Rubric Records. If you want to hear long, healthy snatches of the band's new material, check them out this Saturday at the Met Café. Two other bands on the Rubric label will share the bill: The Alchemists hail from the UK and bring a pretty potent sound along with them in a post-psychedelic, neo-Stooges vein. The third band, Aytobach Kreisor, doesn't possess one of those names that sticks with ya, but they're also engaging in their own right. Medicine Ball has been on a short swing together, and will wind up on the 12th at the Knitting Factory in lovely NYC.

STEVE DUBOIS. Monday night at the Green Room there will be a celebration of the life and music of Steve Dubois, a man long vital to the Providence music scene right up until his (sudden) death a few weeks back at the age of 45. The night will be called "Six Degrees of Steve Dubois," and it will benefit the Dubois family. Due to the overwhelming response of local musicians willing to play, the concert will start at 6 p.m. and run till closing. The suggested donation is $20, and tickets will be available at door.

The evening boasts a lineup of more than a dozen of the area's best local bands, including Big Nazo, the Hatfield-McCoy Trio, the Providence Wholebellies, and the Smoking Jackets, many of whom Steve played with at one time or another in his long musical career. Sharing the MC duties for the evening will be the Phoenix's own Rudy Cheeks and folk maiden Stephanie Turner.

WANDERING EYE. Dead Star Productions bursts on the scene with a few shows, the first of which is this Saturday at the Trinity Brewhouse. Sharing the stage beginning around 10 p.m. will be the Irresponsibles and Mistle Thrush, both from Boston. DJ Madame Bovary will spin 'tween sets and it's all free, for all ages . . . Kevin Sullivan continues his push to prominence this Friday (the 10th) at Billy Goode's on Marlborough St. in Newport (9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.). Also on the cheap, like, free.

E-mail with music news at b_gulla@yahoo.com.