Richie was the highlight of this year’s show. Man does that guy still have it! We had a great time meeting him at the cd tent and he was as nice and patient as always, even with 300 people in line waiting to talk to him. :flower
Can’t say the same about Chris Isaak. I was literally shoved out of the way by one of his roadies, and found his set to be almost robotic and over-rehearsed. Also, from where I was sitting I could see him and his handler run through the backstage area and into his waiting vehicle. What a weird vibe! Chris, this ain’t Hollywood, dude! Stick around awhile and you might actually enjoy yourself. :wave
Still, we had a great time and hope to come back next year. Thanks to everyone that works “behind the scenes”. I’m sure a lot of hard work goes into putting on a festival this great! :thumbsup
I completely agree about Richie Havens. Fantastic. He was the highlight of the weekend for me too.
I really enjoyed Chris Isaak too though. My expectations were pretty low for his set and I wasn’t even sure I was going to stay through the whole thing but I ended up having a great time. He was way show-business but I think that is just his schtick. They seemed tight to me. I’ve never seen a stage hand move so fast and efficiently.
His exit was ugly indeed though, the speed that they drove through the crowd to leave made me nervous. I figured they had to hurry to the airport or something but I looked on his website and they didn’t have a gig scheduled the next day. I’m glad there weren’t any kids running around to get run over.
Wow, yes, I totally agree that Richie Havens was FANTASTIC!!! He played with such passion, I was very moved and inspired by him. I really didn’t know anything about him (except his name and that he was associated with music) before the festival. I couldn’t help but go buy a CD, stand in line, shake his hand and tell him how much I appreciated his energy. He was so gracious and genuine, and he gave me a hug and took a photo with me. What a sweet man. Although I was somewhat curious about Chris Isaak, once I saw Richie Havens I didn’t feel the need to see Chris’ set at all. I did hear it while standing in line for Richie, but the show could’ve ended with Richie and I would’ve been more than elated. There’s something about him that you just can’t find in more modern musicians… like a finely aged red wine, time is a key element in his refined style – those hands have strummed strings and moved audiences for decades. Hope he keeps going strong - you can tell he’s doing something he loves.