Derailers, BR5-49, Old 97's, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Iris DeMent, John Prne, Fred Eaglesmith, Good Time Charlie, Bill Booth Band a.o.Down On The Farm! The annual roots festival outside Halden, Norway. It was scheduled for the 7th and 8th of June, and so it came to pass. This years festival was the ninth in a row, and the arrangement has grown from little more than a party with a few friends from the music business, to a festival with several thousand participants. Among the headliners previous years we have Emmylou Harris, Jayhawks, Shaver, Todd Snider and Nancy Griffith. This years roster included John Prine, Derailers, BR5-49, Old 97's, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Fred Eaglesmith. And, of course, a bunch of Norwegian bands, one of which, a lame pop outfit, I would have preferred not to see, but the rest pretty good.
I saddled up my trusty motorbike in the Friday evening sunshine (yes, it's summer in Norway. Won't last long, but while it's here, it's hardly dark at all, to the visiting Americans' amusement), and hit the road. (I'm not gonna describe the driving down there, but the return on Sunday was great. Driving in the middle of the road, passing jillions of cars in bumper to bumper traffic. I'm mean!) I got to the festival before the show started on the main stage, and had time for a hickory smoked tiger rib and hangin' out with Jimmie Dale Gilmore's bass player, Brad Fordham, whom I know from before (he claims responsibility for my getting married to a Texas girl next spring, but that's a totally different story that's got Henry's Bar and Grill in it, but I digress). He's also Monte Warden's bassist, so I told him somebody on the list had mentioned a wife with a crush on him. Since I didn't even remember in what city that was, he's now always watching his back, and can never again feel safe, anywhere. Again I digress. Jimmie Dale Gilmore was busy taking pictures of everything and everybody. Something might show up on his web page.
This year, for the first time, a bluegrass stage, sort of out in the woods. A Norwegian band (Gone At Last, I think) was playing, and they sounded real great. Unfortunately, they were backing a Swedish singer who was not that great. (Not because he was Swedish. He just wasn't all that great. Brad tried to understand his Swedish. No luck.)
The first band I saw on the main stage (in a circus tent, in case of rain) was a Norwegian punkish bluegrass band. High energy versions of old bluegrass numbers, many translated to Norwegian. (Blue Moon of Kentucky = Gult lys over Halden! Go figure.) I liked them, but in the long run they will have to write their own songs. I should also mention Good Time Charlie. A Norwegian blues outfit, doing late 40's early 50's swingin' blues. Great guitarist/pianist.
Jumping ahead to Iris DeMent. A tiny girl with a guitar. No band. And she's actually able to capture the attention of a circus tent filled with drunk Norwegians. Beautiful songs and a beautiful voice. She even did a few songs playing piano instead of guitar. John Prine, on the other hand, did not quite live up to my expectations. I like a lot of his songs, but somehow it just sounded to ordinary. Didn't speak to me. (This could be partly because I was now pretty busy drinkin' beer, and my good friends from a Austin Honky Tonk band had arrived, so we were busy updating each other on all kinds of insignificant stuff.) Over in the barn BR5-49 were gettin' ready to make 'em dance. More of that later.
Of course I retreated to my tent way to late, and woke up way to early: When the sun came up, my tent was rapidly converted to a sweat lodge. A light shower around noon gave me a chance to get a few more hours sleep. Then I was ready to go! First band I care to remember was Bill Booth Band. Again a Norwegian band. (Bill Booth is an American immigrant.) Lot's of fiddle, mixing country with Cajun and Irish folk. The next band was G. Thomas, country of a more boring type, and when they even saw fit to put in a drum solo, I realized it was time to take a stroll among the different sales stands. Resulting in that I missed Fred Eaglesmith, but at least I bought a Onie Wheeler CD.
Jimmie Dale Gilmore is now playing with a full band, and a much harder sound than before. (New CD: Braver Newer World) Mary Cutrufello did not make this trip, so one of the guitar players was Norwegian Geir Sundstoel (imagine Jimmie Dale trying to pronounce that). Jimmie and Brad both expressed pleasure in getting to play with him. (I don't just say that because he's Norwegian.) When I heard them on the Farm, I was not impressed. I felt the harder sound was taking away some of Jimmie's style, making him sound more generic. When I saw them again on Monday in a club in Oslo, this view was totally changed. They were great. Especially on the more rockin' songs. They also did a few surprising (to me, maybe I'm just stupid) songs, like Lawdy Miss Clawdy and White Freightliner Blues.
Next band, Watermelon recording artists, Olympic Honky Tonk (they're gonna play in Centennial park during the Olymoics): The Derailers. They played on the Farm last year, in the barn. This time, on the main stage, they blew everything else out of the water. I felt that applauding would have been an understatement, so I just walked around with a big smile on my face. I've seen them several times, both in Texas and Norway, but this must have been one of the best shows I've seen. They made the circus tent feel like a Honky Tonk. They have been touring quite a lot lately, giving Brian Hoefelt ample chance to practice his "steel faking" chords. So the steel was not sorely missed (although, of course, all good music is even better with steel - same goes for fiddle). The new drummer, Terry Kirkendall, had a real steady and hard driving beat. It was just great. (Digression: Somebody mentioned Buck Owens being brought to tears by Brian mentioning Don Rich. That must have been on Buck Night at the Continental Club last year. When the Derailers started playing, Buck came up to the stage (the masses parting to give him room like the Red Sea when Moses waved his walking stick), watching them from a distance of only about 5 feet. After that night Tony changed the words on My Heart Skips A Beat to "My heart skips a beat, When Buck stands at our feet" or something along those lines. End of digression.)
Old 97's have got a lot of attention lately. I'll just say I really enjoyed their show. Hard, fast, loud, take no prisoners. Couldn't hear a word of their lyrics though. Imagine Brian Hoefelt with his Jimmie Stewart face looking at me, leaning close for me to hear: "Were we that loud?" "No Brian. Y'all were not."
Party time. BR5-49 in the barn. Swedes climbing on the roof beams, so drunk that falling down probably wouldn't have hurt them. On stage a bunch of sharp looking guys on the borderline between rockabilly and Honky Tonk. Classics rollin' out like peas from a sack. A few of their own songs sounding uncannily like songs I've heard before, but I'll skip that. Y'all heard the story about John Michael Montgomery requesting Hank songs? I wanted to better him, so I requested a few Ernest Tubb and Faron Young songs they didn't know. Eat your heart out JMM. The professor, holding his fiddle with his chin while playing steel, was just wild. Jazzy licks to a frantic beat. Just smile, dance, drink beer. Fall over.
I guess some of the criticism against BR5-49 has been that they are too much of a novelty act. Like they're putting on the style and trying to caricature rather than be. (Well, I know what I mean.) While I can see why some might think this, I also think, why, humor has always been an important part of many country acts. And these guys play the classics in a way that just makes me wanna jump up and down and holler. (Of course I don't do that. I'm a rockabilly poseur, and would be afraid too loose my cool. Insert smiley here.) I look forward to their studio CD. I've heard a few cuts on a demo cassette, and it sounds great. Nuff said.