Bluesfest Day 2: Frank Turner, Flogging Molly, She & Him, Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters, Zac Brown Band
Two years ago my friends from Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Marianne and Russel, drove down for Bluesfest. That night we got poured on for Rise Against and then the Black Keys got rained out. Here we were two years later and as we made our way from the parking lot to the festival, it was raining sideways. Jinxed? Who knows, but the acts we saw certainly made it all worth while.
Frank Turner took the stage with his band the Sleeping Souls and quickly apologized for bringing British weather with them. I could care less about the rain as soon as he spoke the first word the opening song ”Four Simple Words.” Turner and his boys played a mostly high energy set, but did slow down to do an awesome cover. He explained that one of his favourite bands out there is Winnipeg’s The Weakerthans, and that ”if you don’t know them you should go buy everything they ever released.” He then played their song ”A Plea From a Cat Named Virtute,” I was impressed with how many people in the crowd knew the words sang along.
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You cannot go to a Frank Turner show and not get caught up in all the crowd participation opportunities. From the clapping, to singing with him, to being back up vocals, to counting down songs, they are a band that refuse to let you sit around bored. They closed out with ”Photosynthesis” and ”Still Believe.” ”Photosynthesis” had the whole crowd singing a long to ”I won’t sit down, I won’t shut up and most of all I will not grow up!” Mr. Turner your rock n roll can save our soul!
With the rain finally slowing it was time for a shot of Ireland thanks to Flogging Molly. The Guinness never stopped flowing and the Celtic punk rockers delivered a great performance. This was probably one of the only chances for people to get rowdy and mosh, and close to a hundred people took full advantage. Lead singer, Dave King, asked at one point, ”I know this is Bluesfest, but you have no problem with some green right?” They dedicated their song ”Selfish,” to their ”ol’ pal Frank Turner,” and played a great mix of newer and older tracks. Digging deep to play the songs that brought me to love the band over 10 years ago, such as ”Drunken Lullabies” and ”Rebel of the Sacred Heart.” They even played one of my all time favourites, ”If I Ever Leave This World Alive.” You have to love a punk rock band that integrates banjo, accordion, violin and mandolin into their act. Flogging Molly never disappoint.
Now the rest of my night involved stage hopping as I was not attached to any of the headliners. I first made my way to the River Stage for She & Him. Not even the ultra cute Zooey Deschanel and the talented M. Ward could keep me there for more than a few songs. They aren’t bad, but after a high octane Flogging Molly set, the light indie sounds could not capture me. The go-go dancers/back up singers was a nice touch though.
Then off to the Black Sheep stage we went, to do something crazy. Yes that is right, we headed to see some actual blues at Bluesfest. Let that sink in for a second. Ok you still with me? Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters were playing there. As we crested the hill to look down upon the stage we arrived just in time for a sweet sax solo followed by Ronnie shredding on his guitar. We were grooving along and enjoying it, when all of a sudden we could hear Metallica from a far. This is when we decided it might be time to go check out Zac Brown Band, as they were covering “Enter Sandman.”
On our way there we stopped for a little beer refill, only to find Nathen Maxwell, the bass player for Flogging Molly trying to get himself a drinking bracelet. I was next in line when he finally convinced them that he was in the band and of age. I got a chance to talk with him for a bit and as I thanked him for the great set, he reached over and grabbed a bug off my sleeve. “What is this thing?” he said as he placed a thing that resembled a dragon-fly maggot on the table while it shook from side to side. He then poured some of his beer on it and said “If it is going to die, it might as well die drunk!” We all had a laugh, kind of dark though. And then continued on our way.
Zac Brown Band was exactly what I expected musically, country music about drinking and heartbreaks with a bunch of twang. But appearance wise, he looks more like he should be part of a metal band than a huge country star. The crowd was huge (country music sells, man) and singing every word. Just when I thought we would have a decent little end of the night with some fun country, even if it is not my bag, a fight broke out beside us. Yup, country music sometimes brings out the best in people. Stuck around for a couple more songs and then called it a night as we were soaked.
Day two in the books. What do you have waiting for me, day three?