I can’t believe another Harvest is here already . . . just seems like yesterday . . .
Anyway, first off . . . a couple of housekeeping items . . . I’m disappointed in myself for not taking in the Blind Boys of Alabama and Ross Neilsen at the Playhouse Tuesday evening . . . don’t know what I was thinking . . . great venue for good sound. Secondly, I had decided I wasn’t going to do this this year . . . I guess it didn’t take.
It was a Blues Tent evening all round tonight. Anders Osborne opened with a four piece band from N’orlins. They had all the right tools . . . and loads of talent . . . but maybe were a bit heavy with the dalliances in experimental sounds. It seemed that every time they got a hard driving rhythm going they would segue into a slow, dreamlike collage of sound. Many enjoy this, and I’m happy that they do, but it really pokes hard at my annoy button. I tend to favour music that makes my feet tap and my head bop. Dis aint dat. Note to Anders: Go see The Record Company.
Next up was The Record Company for the fourth visit to Harvest since
2011(?). They are a three piece band with no soy in the hamburg. I’ve
seen all four sets . . . I’ve watched them grow . . . got all of their
music . . . and I like! Frontman Chris Vos spoke a thousand words during
their first song when he blasted “We’re happy to be home. We’re The
Record Company and we play rock and roll”. There isn’t much I can add
to that. Mr. Vos took a moment later in the set to acknowledge that way
back when they were a young band out of Wisconsin; Harvest Jazz &
Blues was the first major festival to sign them. It gave them cred with
other festivals, and the rest is history. They are now one of the top
festival draws in North America, and to paraphrase Duane Allman, they’re
fartin’ through silk! Harvest is so fortunate to be a part of their
success story, and Vos said the band would never forget what Harvest has
done for them.
The Magpie Salute closed the evening. Their style (and bad sound management) made it hard for me to follow the rhythms . . . all I got was a mash of sound. We bolted just over halfway through their set. Oddly enough, the sound was cleaner at the back by the exits, and sounded not half bad outside. I think it may be another case where the sound man didn’t listen when staff told him to set up for a long narrow tent.
During The Record Company’s set in particular, the crowd noise was overpowering. It is the inherent evil of the large tent, and it shows disrespect for the artists. It is incumbent on Harvest to take an in-your-face approach to lowering the ambient noise level.
Lots of fun tonight and a big week ahead . . . off to bed.
The Magpie Salute closed the evening. Their style (and bad sound management) made it hard for me to follow the rhythms . . . all I got was a mash of sound. We bolted just over halfway through their set. Oddly enough, the sound was cleaner at the back by the exits, and sounded not half bad outside. I think it may be another case where the sound man didn’t listen when staff told him to set up for a long narrow tent.
During The Record Company’s set in particular, the crowd noise was overpowering. It is the inherent evil of the large tent, and it shows disrespect for the artists. It is incumbent on Harvest to take an in-your-face approach to lowering the ambient noise level.
Lots of fun tonight and a big week ahead . . . off to bed.
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| Anders Osborne |
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