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Sunday :: 08.02.08
 Jake Shimabukuro :: Newport Folk 2008 |
Sunday provided sunny skies, warm weather and attracted a very different demographic than Saturday, and the reason for that was the headlining performance by Jimmy Buffett. The godfather of tailgating sold out two nights in a row at the Comcast Center (Great Woods) just an hour north, so for those who couldn't get their hands on tickets, this was their only chance of the summer to hear "Cheeseburger In Paradise."
Although Sunday had fewer scheduling conflicts, it was still filled with quality talent from across the board. Following an introduction by WERS' John Parsons, Calexico performed a stellar set on the Fort Stage that was highlighted by a cover of Dylan's "Goin' To Acapulco." The band performed the tune in I'm Not There, the abstract, pseudo-biopic based on Bob Dylan, with Jim James on lead vocals. Fortunately, James chose to stick around for the last day of the festival, and took the stage alongside Calexico for the cover. James later commented to JamBase, "[We] did it because it was in the movie. It was a relatively last minute thing."
While Gillian Welch followed Calexico on the Fort Stage before a crowd of Buffet fans decked out with lawn chairs and an apparent lack of sun tan lotion, Jake Shimabukuro drove people wild on the Waterside Stage with a set of tunes that redefined the ukulele for anyone who was there. Shimabukuro's technically proficient style sounds more like high register flamenco guitar than a ukulele, but you'd better believe the man does what he does with four strings and a tiny, hollow piece of wood. He performed a percussion piece that utilized string scratching in various forms, while he simultaneously slapped his palm on the body of the instrument to get a bit of a bass drum effect. Shimabukuro later played a handful of original pieces, but the highlight of his set was an instrumental take on The Beatles' "My Life" with a teaser of Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water." Following his set, Shimabukuro told JamBase that he had a great time. "The audience was very supportive and it was an all around great time. What I loved about it was that the audience really played a big part in the performance," he said. "It's really about the energy, and the performance was only going to be as good as they wanted it to be. If you've never been here, you should make a point to experience it, because it's a very historic festival. Lots of amazing artists have played here, and if you're a fan of music, it is something that you just have to experience."
 Levon Helm :: Newport Folk 2008 |
As topnotch as the sets by Calexico and Shimabukuro were, the highlight of the day was the Fort Stage performance by Levon Helm. As the drummer and singer in The Band his legendary status in rock & roll history has led to a generation of artists, many of whom were on the bill, who make a point of covering his songs on a regular basis. For a festival struggling to find the balance of old-school folk and artists that have a stronger draw, Helm's booking was a bull's-eye. With a large band consisting of an organist, Larry Campbell on guitar and a full horn section, Helm played a set that placed a heavy emphasis on his solo material, especially his 2007 release, Dirt Farmer, alongside a handful of crowd pleasing tunes by The Band. Helm suffered a bout with throat cancer during the '90s, and as a result, his voice has a softer touch now. But, Helm still manages to hit all the notes he could back in the day, putting to shame a good handful of his contemporaries. The highlight of his set was indisputably his set-closing rendition of "The Weight," featuring Shimabukuro on ukulele and Gillian Welch on vocals. Choruses were exchanged while the instrumentalists took turns soloing, and for everyone in attendance, the onstage collaboration couldn't help but bring to mind The Band's sit-in-heavy farewell performance documented in The Last Waltz.
 Newport Folk Festival 2008 |
Last, but not least, Jimmy Buffett performed the longest set of the weekend before a crowd of amped-up Parrot Heads, many of whom spent all day in Newport just to see Buffett. Although it was anticipated that he would perform a more acoustic-heavy set that strayed from his electric Coral Reefer Band, he wound up walking through a generic set of hits that was as predictable as a John McCain stump speech. Buffett fans seemed stoked to hear the tunes he's been playing for years, but for first timers with the gift of objectivity, the set felt stale and overdone. Buffett played Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" and, yes, "Cheeseburger In Paradise." Buffett's complete lack of taste for the sake of stage banter shone brightest when he introduced "Volcano," saying, "Now, I heard about that big quake out in L.A. and it got me thinking; how crazy would it be if we had a volcano right out here in Newport Rhode Island?" His fans went wild as he tore into the tune, but for those not already drinking the Kool-Aid it didn't go over so well.
Although the festival was met with some rough weather and a good deal of artists who strayed far from the event's traditional values, to say the 2008 Newport Folk Festival was anything short of a success would be a gross understatement. Since the debut of Bonnaroo, the festival market has gradually become over-saturated, and older events like Newport Folk have been put in the tight spot of staying true to their roots while keeping their heads above water. Many artists on the bill would have disgusted the ticket holders who once booed Bob Dylan for playing an electric guitar, but in 2008 the bill was masterfully formulated to mix in ticket-selling headliners and folk-friendly singer-songwriters, as well as a couple of acts that could be considered either/or. The event itself is held at Fort Adams State Park, and with an 1800's era naval fort behind the stage and the Newport Harbor behind the audience, this event has one of the most beautiful locations of any music festival in the United States. Shimabukuro said it: "If you've never been here, you should make a point to experience it."
JamBase | Rhode Island
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