Loreena alone would not have been enough to get me to take a week off work and fly to Edmonton. There was also the added attraction of Barenaked Ladies, Elvis Costello, and Rickie Lee Jones, and the knowledge that I would discover plenty of new musicians.
Yet, on that last day of the four-day festival, at two in the afternoon, I was overcome with emotion. As soon as Loreena started singing, my eyes filled with tears. I think it was a result both of hearing her magical voice and of knowing that I'd spent much time and effort (not to mention money) to travel thousands of kilometers, all, in reality, for that very moment.
And yes, it was too short. But we knew it would be. In the back of my mind, I imagined that the next round of workshops would all be cancelled so that Loreena could continue. The person who introduced Loreena informed the audience that they were "in for a special treat", and indeed we were.
The next day I was in Old Strathcona and walked in to a coffee house for a snack and Loreena was being played. The high ceiling gave it reverb a bit reminiscent of a large concert venue and I was once again mesmerized by her sounds.
Rob Richards
True, we met with each other and I want to express my gratitude for his
hospitality. I only wish more of us had found each other. I think all
it needed was for one of us to say "Let's all meet by the Korean food
stand right after the LM Main Stage event". But no one ever did this
(myself included; I'm as guilty as the rest).
I wish she at least had been given the full hour. Instead, they wasted
her first ten minutes with announcements. She played from 14:10 to
14:55 or so.
bjb@esca.com (Charismatically Challenged) writes:
I don't know about that. Sitting outside on a grassy hill seemed to
fit her music just fine.
Yes, Ron Kavana said, "I'll just play one song and get out of the
way...". I suspect that this made Loreena feel badly and is probably
why she didn't take up much time at the workshop. But it did seem she
got short-changed. They would go around in a circle and each group
would play. But while Loreena played one song each time, Ron Kavana
would play two or three. And then he ended the workshop 15 minutes
early, though to be fair, he did this after Loreena walked up to him
and said something, so she may have told him she didn't want to play
any more so he ended it there.
I think they call them that, because it is an opportunity for several
musicians to just "jam" together. For example, during one of LM's
pieces, the violinist with Alias Ron Kavana started playing along. I
like that kind of impromptu performance.
Linda Slater
Thanks. I think I will.
I should mention that this was only one of two or three times during
the festival (the other time I remember being after Barenaked Ladies)
where the audience was obviously a bit angry at not getting to hear
more.
I wasn't a big Ron Kavana fan, but I really liked that song.
I believe this was quite unnecessary. I had no problem showing up
right at 2:00, straight from one of the other stages and grabbing an
unused corner of some stranger's tarp just a few rows from the front.
bjb@esca.com (Charismatically Challenged) writes again:
I witnessed (eavesdropped) the following conversation:
Funny. I had exactly the same thought.
In conclusion...
I had a wonderful time. There were, of course, some groups playing
that I wasn't crazy about, and during the main stage performances
there's no one else to listen to, but the overall experience was
wonderful and I would do it again. Funny, but I've never even been to
the folk festival here in San Diego.
As I knew I would, I spent a small fortune on music, picking up 11 CDs
and one cassette during my stay. This includes one by Susan Aglukark,
a local (Canadian) singer who did not perform at the festival but whom
I saw on Canada's NCN (New Country Network) during my stay.
My new faves at the fest were Ani DiFranco, Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies,
Brad Bayley, Luann Kowalek, and Mark Koenig. I also liked Cindy
Church. She was really cool. I kept running into her during my stay,
either at the hotel or on the shuttle bus. Although they had special
vans for shuttling performers back to the hotel after the festival, I
was impressed by the fact that she instead waited in the long line for
the bus.
Maybe next time we'll all cram into an old beat-up VW van and drive
together to Loreena's concert. I could surely spend a lot of money on
this Loreena habit :-).
> I went to HMV for her signing session.
I went to that too. Thanks, Rob, for telling me about it. I'm not an
autograph hound, and felt a bit silly going to a signing, but I'm glad
I went. They were selling all of her albums for CDN$12.99, so I bought
the two I didn't own and had her sign one. I have to say, she was just
wonderful. She made me feel totally at ease, and it was like talking to
an old friend. I was the one to end the conversation because I felt
guilty at holding up the long line of people waiting with our little
chit-chat. Those few minutes left me with a smile on my face for the
rest of the day.
> Jim from San Diego came up, and
> we visited shortly a couple of times.
> Unfortunately we didn't meet others
> from Edmonton. :(
> I had hoped her performance would be
> a bit longer on the main stage.
> I don't think this kind of crowded,
> summertime open air venue really suits
> LM's music.
> said something like "Well I suspect
> you're all here to see Loreena, so
> a pretty good "workshop" (not
> sure why they called it that).
> (Of course, I would encourage any of
> you other Old Way-sers who were at
> the Fest to comment as well. :-) )
> There was, of course, a standing ovation
> for Loreena and the band, but alas no
> time for an encore.
> was the perfect lead-in for the song
> that Alias Ron Kavana would perform
> right after it which was called
> "Maria de la Rosa" based on Ron's impressions
> of a red-haired Spanish woman whom he
> heard singing the Spanish version of
> "She Moved through the Fair" in a bar in Spain.
> lined up at the gates to the Folk Fest
> site at 4:00 am so that they could get
> tarp space right in front of the
> stage for Loreena's performance at 2:00 pm.
> It was interesting seeing teens at the
> festival with various pierced body
> parts and multi-colored hair, dancing
> to celtic jigs and reels, or other
> forms of traditional folk music. I
> guess they figured out there are many
> ways to rock.
Teen A: (dancing)
Teen B: How can you _dance_ to this stuff?
Teen A: Just _pretend_ there's good music!
> During the workshop that Loreena
> participated in, the wind picked up.
> The flimsy-looking canvas shelter
> over the stage started to sway.
> As I was sitting near the stage, I
> was wondering if I was going to
> have to save Loreena. :-)