The Newport Folk Festival dates back to 1959, but has always adhered to a somewhat loose definition of “folk.” Among the people who played there in the early days of the festival and early in their careers were Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash and Howlin’ Wolf. More recently people as diverse as Jakob Dylan, The Decemberists, The Low Anthem, Jimmy Buffett, Nickel Creek, the Allman Brothers Band, Agenlique Kidjo, and Emmylou Harris have played the festival that now takes place annually at Fort Adams State Park.
This year’s festival was impressive, as usual. We got there just in time to see Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. As usual they were brilliant. Sharon Jones interacts with her audience more than any other performer I have seen live, and if you get a chance to see her in a small club, do. She’ll bring folks on stage to sing to them, or even to have them sing and dance with her. She singles people in the audience out for recognition when they show affection, and she handles unruliness with particular dexterity. I wasn’t sure how that would play out in the noonday sun on the highly elevated stage in Fort Adams State Park.

Well, early in her set Jones acknowledged the stage was too high for her to pull people up on stage and that interaction with the audience would be different. “But if I point at you and sing I’m sending you my love,” she said. She worked the crowd with all the energy she had and she was amazing. She entertained at the open air venue as if she were in a small room, blowing a kiss to one of my friends, waving to me, and acknowledging other people in similar ways. You knew who she was acknowledging because she’d identify the person in some way-clothing, where they were sitting, or something of that nature. She’s an amazing performer by any measure, but if you’re there for her she’ll work harder for you and make you part of the show. You’ll feel like you’ve been at a revival!
And her band! The horns, the bass, the drums and guitars! What a crach bunch!! The set was too short, but nearly worth the price of the festival on its own!

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings @ the Newport Folk Festival 2010 from Boston Phoenix on Vimeo.
The second band that impressed me was The Avett Brothers.  As you might have gathered from the name, this is a band cantered on brothers who’ve been recording together for a while and, fittingly enough, have just released “Live, volume 3.”   Like most of the music I like, there sounds a bit difficult to categorize, and since I hate slapping labels on a sound, I’m going to take the easy way out. This is the description from the “about” page of the bands website:

Its 13 songs are delivered in a style that defies pigeonholing but might be described as a rootsy amalgam of folk, country, bluegrass, rock and pop – even a jab of punk-style dynamics here and there. Drawn by the naked honesty of their songs and the rousing intensity of their live shows, legendary producer and talent scout Rick Rubin signed the Avett Brothers – consisting of siblings Scott and Seth, plus bassist Bob Crawford – to his American Recordings label in 2008.

They also have a characteristic that marks most of my favorite musicians in that they are a great band to see live. This they share with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, though of course it is a very different kind of music and hence a very different kind of show.  It Was great to see them both on one bill, though I have to say that in terms of energy, the acts probably should have been reversed. The brothers are no slackers, but it’s really only a build up to what Sharon Jones has to offer. I suppose given that it is the Newport Folk Festival,  the order of performance was more in keeping with expectations. Mind you, this is not all a criticism of The Avett Brothers, who were simply amazing. Get the albums, you won’t regret it!  Listen to their performance from the show here.

The other discovery was The Swell Season, a band I knew, but didn’t know I knew.  Swell Season is led by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová who played the songwriting team in the movie Once.
Hansard really knows how to work a crowd.  At one point security tried to move the people gathered in front of the stage to clear passage and so that the people behind them, sitting on the grass, could see.  Hansard preferred the enthusiastic standing audience be left were they were, and told them to come back.  “If the 12 people sitting behind you can’t see they can stand.”
Their music is mellow and folksy and a genuine pleasure.  For example, “Falling Slowly is one of those near perfect songs.   I recommend their new album, the deluxe version of which has a number of great live performances. in addition to their own songs, they played songs by other artists, interpreting them to suit their sound.
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Listen to their Folk Festival set here.

The next night I found myself at the House of Blues to see The Gaslight Anthem. The last time I had seen them in concert was last summer at the Hard Rock Calling concert in London’s Hyde Park. I was much impressed, and definitely wanted to seize the opportunity to see them here. HOB provides a very different atmosphere from an outdoor festival in Hyde Park, but more on them in a minute.
I was surprised when they announced the first opening act, Tim Barry, and said he was from Richmond, Virginia. Richmond is my hometown. I never thought I’d see a local act playing at the House of Blues in Boston, let alone opening for one of the most exciting bands in rock ‘n roll today. Once he started playing, I could see why The Gaslight Anthem wanted an artist like him on this tour. Barry is a modern-day troubadour, an artist with a guitar and some songs that tell stories taste on his experience, or tales that need to be remembered but that risk being forgotten, he just does it with a rock/blues/folksy/ vibe! Barry’s anger over a slave burial ground that has been paved over in Richmond Virginia to make way for a parking lot was palpable when he told that story as a lead-in to “Prosser’s Gabriel,” of song that told the story of a failed slave uprising in Virginia with all the fury of the most fierce punk recordings. And yet Barry stands alone on stage in jeans, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap.

His performance was especially fun for me because it evoked my hometown and state, even when it did so with defiance and anger. Those are certainly not feelings that are strange to me in regard to any of those things. But the songs are not all defiant and political. Barry is an acoustic guitarist who rocks, who seeks out intense experiences in his life and who conveys them in song, and who at one moment you folks specific, heartfelt connections to place, while at others the spirit of the hobo who hops on the boxcar and travels to wherever it takes him.
Richmond Virginia is not a bad place to be, in spite of the face so often seen by other parts of the country. It was a pleasant surprise to see someone like Tim Barry representing. But don’t get me wrong, I can assure you I wasn’t impressed simply because he’s from my home state. Nor do you have to take my word for it. Barry walked on stage in front of a crowd that was there to see The Gaslight Anthem, and he was the first opening act before another guitar driven, four man rock ‘n roll band. He might well have gotten booed if he were just a guy with his guitar And yet he commanded the attention of the room and won the crowd over. If the people around me are any indication, New Englanders think he’s pretty great too.
And then there were the headliners, The Gaslight Anthem. I see the word “punk” used often when describing their sound. I don’t get it. This is a rock ‘n roll band pure and simple. Punk music was pure rebellion, and it tried to break every mold. The language was obscene, the music simple, and it had a no holds barred, nearly nihilistic attitude. The Gaslight Anthem just don’t fit that. You could take Brian Fallon home to your mother, and he probably charm her socks off. But I never really get the labels music journalists use, and if Green Day can have their album turned into a Broadway musical and still be “punk,” then who knows? That’s not to say TGA isn’t angry and rebellious in it’s own right. They are a rock and roll band, after all.
I also see a lot of comparisons to Bruce Springsteen. I don’t get that either. They’re both from New Jersey, they’re both rock ‘n roll bands, and they’re both incredible. Those are the biggest things they have in common with Springsteen. Beyond that, and like Bruce Springsteen, Brian Fallon has a keen awareness of his musical predecessors,” in that includes Bruce Springsteen. Some of Gaslight’s first hits were about classic rock and jazz. But too many people assume that this admiration means imitation, and that’s simply not true. In fact, American Slang, the newest album from TGA is essentially an extended warning about nostalgia and living in the past.

The Gaslight Anthem are not imitators. It’s just that some lazy music journalists can’t recognize her originality and evolution unless it comes dressed in preposterous costumes and elaborate stage shows. Do yourself a favor. Check out the music, and if you can see them live. I promise you won’t regret.