Friday, July 3, 2009
We started the day with an unfortunate task: boarding Nicky. Since pets are not allowed at the festival, Carol found the nearby Royal Pet Hotel to house the Nickster while we enjoyed the music. It's never easy to put the dog up for even a few days, as our little Pomeranian has made herself an integral member of the pack. However, knowing she would be in good hands made the process easier.
Finally, some music. Although there were only five-ten thousand people attending at any given time, there were lots of bands, workshops and mini stages to fill ones entire day. Not being familiar with many of the names of the various performers, as they were all Canadian, we stayed pretty close to the Main Stage to see and listen to the featured acts. Vince and Christie got to the festival several hours before Carol and I arrived and they had our lawn chairs placed in a great spot not too far from the main stage.
Having attended the Mariposa several times previously, Vince and Christie were old vets here and knew to arrive much earlier and catch the acts playing in the smaller venues which were more intimate and nearly interactive. Carol and I would have to wait until Sunday to experience that for ourselves. Meanwhile, the groups we did see on the Main Stage were very good. The Skydiggers were excellent. Apparently they are a well known and respected band that has several successful albums. Basia Bulat came on at sundown and was very impressive. She might very well turn out to be the next Joni Mitchell. With startling good looks, great musicianship and lyrics, she has the complete package. It will be interesting to follow her career and see if she emerges from the provincial to the international stage. The closing act, Luke Doucet, was another great live performer. Great guitarist with a sort of rockabilly look and feel, he also could find fame and fortune south of this border.
Back at the campground that night, we sat around and reflected on the days events. One of my first impressions was that there was little traditional folk music on display. So far, everyone we heard and watched played with a full “plugged in” band rather than anything like an acoustic set. Once Dylan went electric at Newport, I suppose the folk scene was changed forever.
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