|
| This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen magazine #98 (February / March 2002). The magazine is available on newsstands and by subscription. |
Indian Summer Festival
The Indian Summer Festival is an annual event in Milwaukee celebrating many aspects of Native American life and culture. In addition to three concert stages, the festival also featured a lacrosse tournament, craft vendors, food, fine arts, and a pow wow dance competition. The theme of this year's festival was "Honoring the American Indian Woman," and special events and remembrances focused on the importance of women in Native culture and society.
Of the abbreviated schedule of performances on Friday evening's roster, the most highly anticipated appeared to be that of Robert Mirabal and the Rare Tribal Mob. Clad in a colorful assortment of rain gear, ponchos, make-shift tarps, and lawn / leaf bags, Mirabal's audience huddled beneath umbrellas in a steadily increasing downpour. Just as the band was ready to begin, the stage manager announced to the waiting fans that there would be no show. The stage was to be closed immediately because of the heavy rain and an approaching electrical storm.
Defying the order, Mirabal bounded onto the stage wielding a didgeridoo as the group launched into "Hope" from his self-titled album. The audience, while small in number, responded gratefully. Halfway through the song's second verse, as thunder and lightning cracked in the distance, Mirabal screamed into the microphone "Let it raaaaain," as the P.A. system was turned off. Not to be denied, and without missing a beat, he dashed to the back of the stage and dragged one of the huge pow wow drums front and center as several other band members joined him in a traditional "49 Song." When all electrical power was eventually turned off, leaving the stage in total darkness, the group had no choice but to relent. Disappointed and wet, the audience dispersed, determined to try again the following day.
Saturday's weather proved to be the driest and most cooperative of the weekend, with only occasional storms to worry about. Under clear, blue skies, Native flutist Mary Youngblood performed a captivating set of music, featuring songs from her latest release, Heart of the World [Silverwave Records]. Youngblood (of Aleut and Seminole heritage) is a classically trained musician but prefers the tone and texture of the wooden instrument. The Native American flute, traditionally played by men, is easily manipulated by her capable hands. While playing the instrument may not be a traditionally accepted practice for women in her culture, she pointed out, "I also wear pants, and I vote."
Folk singer Annie Humphrey (Ojibwe from Northern Minnesota), accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, concentrated on original material from her debut album The Heron Smiled. Her powerful rendition of "DNA," a song written for and about her friend John Trudell, was especially moving. Humphrey also surprised the audience with a beautiful cover of Concrete Blonde's "Lullabye," displaying not only a considerable comfort level on stage but her versatility as a performer as well.
Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee, WI
September 7- 9, 2001
Making a triumphant return to the Indian Summer stage on Saturday night, Robert Mirabal and the Rare Tribal Mob performed their entire show to a packed, appreciative, and dry audience. In addition to a standard rock set-up of bass, drums, and guitar, Mirabal's band boasted a tribal drummer, cellist, an MC/scratch artist, and several dancers, including traditional fancy dancer Fabian Fontinelle (familiar to many from the "Spirit" tour of 2000).
From ancient tribal rhythms, to the most modern and experimental sounds, Mirabal and his Mob spanned the centuries during their two-hour set. The high-energy show included familiar songs from his three latest releases, as well as a stunning cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower."
Sunday provided the festival with the most rain, but also with rare opportunities as performers from closed stages joined other artists for impromptu collaborations. Star Nayea, a former back-up singer with Mirabal's band who is now touring as a solo artist, was one of the festival's most delightful surprises. At one point during her set, Nayea coaxed Mirabal out of the audience to join her and her band on stage, along with cellist Michael Kott (Rare Tribal Mob) and guitarist Wade Fernandez. Unintimidated by the considerable talent surrounding her, a confident Nayea took command of the stage with a voice much larger than her five-foot frame would suggest. Other musical highlights included Rita Coolidge and her daughter Laura Satterfield performing as Walela, and Joanne Shenandoah, whose set was signed for the hearing impaired.
September 7-8, 2001
Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA
The workshops, led by John Doyle for guitarists and Liz Carroll for fiddlers, ran a full hour and a half, plenty of time for intermediate players to pick up plenty of tips. The Friday concert was held in one of the many rooms of the rambling Irish Center with about 50-70 people present. Fiddling sensation Dezi Donnelly from Manchester was as technically brilliant a fiddler as I have ever seen. Eamon McElholm accompanied Donnelly on guitar and sang a few original songs. Following them was another fiddle and guitar duo, Cathal Hayden and Kevin Doherty, two men from Four Men and a Dog (the whole festival ran heavily toward fiddle and guitar this year). A final set brought all four musicians together for a blistering set of reels with Hayden on banjo and Donnelly on fiddle, the two of them calling tune changes back and forth to one another and stumping the guitarists.
The Saturday performances featured a blend of Philadelphia-area musicians and headliners from all around America and Ireland. One of the best sets by local talent featured Brendan Callahan on fiddle, Seamus McConaonaigh on flute, John Brennan on guitar, and John McGillian on accordion. Callahan learned primarily from Brendan Mulvihill and is a real rising star. Brennan's solid guitar work was an ubiquitous part of quite a few performances throughout the day, the rhythmic pulse of Irish music in Philadelphia. A large ensemble of kids did a great job on some tunes, showing that Irish music in Philadelphia is in good hands for the future.
Donnelly and McElholm played another set during the afternoon, as did Hayden and Doherty. The real highlight was the 40 minutes of music by Tommy Peoples and Seán Tyrrell. Peoples is simply the best there is, and Tyrrell stepped away from the usual fiddling accompaniment by using a tenor guitar. Another great moment that afternoon was a virtual reunion of the Irish Tradition: a set by Brendan Mulvihill and Billy McComiskey, along with Zan McLeod, that ended in a 15-minute extravaganza of reels, closing with a rendition of "The Bucks of Oranmore" that raised the roof. The set by Liz Carroll and John Doyle was perhaps the most powerful of the day, and McComiskey joined for a near-reunion of the group Trian. The evening concert on the main stage reprised most of the headline acts of the afternoon and wound up with a stage-filling ceili of about a score of musicians.
Most of the mechanics of the festival went quite well, and Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park makes a pleasant setting. The location near the center of the city is much better than some of its earlier locations in various suburbs. One significant problem that remains to be solved, however, is getting good sound engineering in the huge Memorial Hall. Despite the best efforts of the sound engineers that day, none of the indoor stages sounded good at all, to the point that many of the musicians complained both on and off the stage.
— Bruce Baker (Chapel Hill, NC)
© 2002 dirty linen ltd.