Folk Fest Review: A Tribe Called Red Delivering A Feast For The Senses Saturday Night



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Canadian electronic music group A Tribe Called Red performs on the main stage of the Calgary Folk Festival on Saturday, July 28, 2018. Kerianne Sproule / Postmedia


Kerianne Sproule / Postmedia / Calgary [19659003Thegreatdiversityofartistsseemstoruleouttheideaof​​athemethatrunsthroughthefestivitiesonSaturdayattheCalgaryFolkMusicFestival

But, depending on who you took in the sunny park of Prince's Island throughout the day, one could argue that things were going well up to the climatic aggregate of At Tribe Called Red, where Tim (2oolman) Hill and Ehren (Bear Witness) Thomas, the Ottawa First Nations duo, paid tribute to their culture and history by showing that Respect for the Past never It does not have to be a big deal.

But they were only an act that inclined their hat to the voices that preceded them. You could also see it in the quiet afternoon of Jeremy Dutcher, where the artist born in New Brunswick paid tribute to his Wolastoq ancestors. It could be seen when Amy Helm played a first issue of her father's band, Levon and the Hawks. One could see it when Kobe Town, opener of the main stage, paid tribute to Lord Kitchener, pioneer of calypso. One could see it when Lee Ann Womack faithfully sang one of George Jones's pioneers

But few acts mingle a reverence for the past with as much avant-garde enthusiasm as A Tribe Called Red, who offered an energetic showcase that seemed both fierce and cheerful. It was also an explosion for the senses, with the duo bringing in six supercharged dancers who mixed pow-wow, intricate hoop dancing and hip-hop styles. From images of indigenous peoples in popular culture, cartoons to fight, to the wild escape of the leader of the asylum in One Flew on the cuckoo's nest.


Reuben Bullock, leader of the Canadian independent folk band Reuben and the Dark, plays with his group on the main stage of the Calgary Folk Festival on Saturday, July 28, 2018. Kerianne Sproule / Postmedia

Kerianne Sproule / Postmedia

Did the political messages reach the hordes bouncing Saturday? ? Who knows. But no matter how hypnotic and dancing he was, it would be difficult to miss the anguish of the Virus or the joyful challenge of the Sisters who shine through hip-hop rhythms and songs

. The Dark received a rock-star welcome from their local people. Unlike the Toronto Stars the day before, Reuben and the Dark made good use of the place with a set ready for the stadium. It did not seem as funny to them as the Stars. Presumably, all this is part of the melodramatic mood. Fortunately, the strength of the songs keeps the act of appearing too valuable. Of course, most members of the group were dressed in white and the leader Reuben Bullock had the opportunity to move to Bono-Ism. But there is no doubt about the sincerity of Bullock's determination and his teammates to give the public the same kind of transcendent experience that they themselves feel on stage. Neither is there any hbadle with the driving power of songs such as Rolling Stone, Dream, All or Nothing and Hallelujah.


Neo-traditionalist country singer-songwriter Lee Ann Womack performs at the Calgary Folk Festival on Saturday, July 28, 2018 Kerianne Sproule / Postmedia

Kerianne Sproule / Postmedia

Yet the dramatic reverence of the Dark has been a bit a culture shock after witnessing the modest charm of Lee Ann Womack. The lovable Texan sometimes seems a little more 'new country' than most folk revelers would be used to. But backed by a tight and insightful support group, Womack's main strength is that she seems just as at home singing traditional radio like Little Rock Little Rock and I Hope You Dance, which is the Distressing country-blues from All the Trouble. sad this country ballad from Never Again, Again. She also tastes great in the covers, not only offering the race mentioned above by George Jones You're still on my mind, but Do My Ring Buddy Miller Burn Your Finger and do not listen to the wind and Ashes by Now de […]] American singer-songwriter Damien Jurado performs at the Calgary Folk Festival on Saturday, July 28, 2018. Kerianne Sproule / Postmedia Calgary

Kerianne Sproule / Postmedia

Kobo City in Toronto began Saturday on the main stage at night, inspiring the sun-scorched mbades to groggy their way to the dance zone as the bears hibernate. Bright trombone and saxophone lines illuminate the rhythms of the calypso, all overseen by Trinidad-born leader Drew Gonsalves. He led the audience to sing songs like Mr. Monday and Lord Kitchener, a bit awkward, The Man In the Wardrobe, Vio. Meanwhile, African Head Charge, led by dub pioneer Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, offered more complex reggae rhythms that were no less danceable. But those who wanted to experience the folk festival in all its marvelous extremes could have gone on to a secondary scene during that time to attend a solitary ensemble by acclaimed American singer Damien Jurado, who quietly offered choristically and dance-resistant tunes such as The Last Great State of Washington and allocate. As a master of tone with just his voice and his guitar, Jurado has the ability to make even a line such as "Carry me over Rainbows and Rainier", a sadly sad tone

Yet those who came late would have missed stellar windows. Inspired cultural mash-ups started early Saturday. Although many artists were able to sing figuratively with their ancestors, Jeremy Dutcher did it. The New Brunswick-born artist, trained at the Opera, has steeped in his Maliseet heritage for his first Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakanawa record, directly inspiring 110-year-old audio recordings of residents of Wolastoq territory . These voices are also incorporated into the live performance, blending with Dutcher's powerful voices, piano, drum beats and cello. The results were haunting, sometimes difficult and often beautiful. It was not the kind of thing you could hear elsewhere in Calgary.

Singer Amy Helm also paid tribute to her legacy and celebrated the future with a set in the middle of the afternoon

. She launched it all with an expressive rendition of Joe Henry's awesome Odetta, before turning the good news of Sam Cooke into a sort of wake-up number. She paid tribute to her late father Levon, and also to her former cohort, Richard Manuel, with a salty pbadage through He Do not Love You, which Manuel took back in the 1960s as part of Levon and the Hawks. She also winks at current folk-rock favorites, and other festival artists, the Milk Carton Kids with a soulful version of their ballad, Michigan.

But this year's must-see candidate might well be the Reverend Sekou, the torch of Saint-Louis who connects political messages in-your-face in raw and touching R & B. The ballad of the acoustic soul, Loving You is Killing Me, was charming, but the highlights were of a more energetic nature. Pieces such as Resist and We Comin 'had the sun-baked beer tent singing surreally "We want freedom and we want it now" and, better yet, "I raised my hands, so do not pull." the gospel-blues vintage of The Devil Finds Work, which turned into a jubilant song of When the Saints Go Marching In.

The past meets the present has never been so good .

The Calgary Folk Music Festival continues Sunday at Prince's Island Park.

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