Opening night party with Vieux Farke Toure, Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub
Vieux Farka Toure (son of the legendary Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure) had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, fronting a power trio with some major live chops that got everyone in the lobby up and moving, with a little help from Luther Dickinson. Black Dub — despite the presence of the ungodly talented Brian Blade on drums and Trixie Whitley adding jaw-dropping vocals in between doubling up on drums — failed to win over the crowd, in no small part due to the punishingly loud mix, which was even a bit much for my grizzled ears. A large chunk of the crowd seemed content to hang back during this set, attempting to discern the thunderstorm coming from onstage. Personally, I wasn’t having any of that (especially since the beer stocks were down to the unenviable choice of Miller Lite versus Bud Light), and wound up bailing on the show. I’m told it improved, though.
-Ben Valocchi
Opening night — Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely
Discussing Ellnora’s opening night without mentioning Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely would be a crime. This band opened the festival, and I don’t think any of us — the organizers of Ellnora included — could have hoped for a better start to the weekend. Reagon sings a type of rock/blues/gospel fusion. If Lenny Kravitz and Ani DiFranco had a love child, it would be Toshi Reagon.
Reagon’s enormous, gorgeous, soaring vocals filled the entire building. Whether she was sitting or standing, whether she was humming a quiet melody or belting rock and roll, whether she was singing a tune or imploring us to love our neighbors, the woman owned the room. And she’s no slouch on the guitar either. She can do anything.
And her band, well I can’t imagine a better collection of musicians to back up the giant that is Toshi Reagon. Judith Casselberry and Catherine Russell were a delight for both the eyes and ears. They really looked like they were having fun and their clear love of the music they were singing was infectious. Robert Burke (drums), Fred Cash (bass), and especially Adam Widoff (guitar) had most of us on our feet cheering.
This band was incredible. Simply a joy to experience. I was sitting toward the front, and was thrilled to turn around and see such a large crowd standing and dancing and clapping. Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely’s energy was electric and I swear, I left that show feeling like a better person.
~~Tracy Nectoux
Luther Dickinson and Alvin Youngblood Hart
I wouldn’t have missed Luther Dickinson’s free performance. The man is a guitar legend in his own right. I don’t have to tell you how effortlessly good he is. You all already know how good he is and you can put it into words a hell of a lot better than I can.
A surprise for me was Alvin Youngblook Hart. I was unfamiliar with him, and absolutely loved his blues. The ghosts of Howlin’ Wolf and Leadbelly were in the room that day.
Hart and Dickinson are a great match, and their mutual respect for each other is obvious. I also had the pleasure of hearing Dickinson’s book reading on Saturday, and Hart helped Luther bring his father’s book to life by providing a soundtrack while Luther read. It was magic.
And now, a brief rant:
Whose enormously short-sighted idea was it to place the kids’ table next to Stage 5? For the entire show, we could hear children’s laughter, talking, and shouting. Even Dickinson himself was distracted by it and remarked on it after a particularly disrespectful moment. Throughout an incredibly beautiful, acoustic instrumental by Dickinson, someone repeatedly pulled long strips of packing tape. Try to picture it:
::gorgeous guitar melody:: RRIIIIIP ::exquisite chords blending into a perfect…:: RRRRIIIIIP
Person doing that? Whoever you are, I wish for you, your own personal circle of hell, in which the second you fall asleep, someone scares you awake by ripping packing tape right next to your ear. Forever.
~~Tracy Nectoux
Lee Ranaldo (scoring Buster Keaton’s Cops)
Ranaldo’s trademark jazzmaster was there, but not exactly in his usual setup. Strung from a high ceiling beam, and spaced between two amps and a super-sized pedal board, it was clear to me that we were in for a loud one. After starting the film via iPhone, he promptly held that same device up to his pickups, coaxing squalls of feedback out of the guitar. Sculpted into a jarringly modern accompaniment for Keaton’s classic, Ranaldo’s score worked where it should not have, bringing out the darker side of his visual gags, and illustrating that Cops was in fact a response to the Fatty Arbuckle scandal, and holds far deeper levels of meaning than simple slapstick. Granted, some of the Krannert illuminati weren’t exactly digging it (at least one shout of “Turn it down!” could be heard as the curtain fell), but a good soundtrack can recontextualize and challenge our perceptions of a work in a way that demands our confidence in the performance, not patronization.
-Ben Valocchi
Marc Ribot (scoring Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid)
Unfortunately, Marc Ribot fell into the trap that Ranaldo managed to avoid. While there’s no denying that he’s a brilliant technical guitarist (many would call him a genius), opting for acoustic guitar and no effects, combined with the extended run time of The Kid — it’s more than three times as long as Cops — led to a disappointingly monotonous performance. While nobody can deny that The Kid is a masterwork, Ribot’s score did nothing to add or comment on the film, self-relegating to elevator muzak.
-Ben Valocchi
Calexico
The amount of talent on display when Calexico played should not have come as a surprise. After all, Ellnora is a festival devoted to great guitar work. But the amount of talent on display transcended one instrument and was truly world class.
The band started slowly, just singer Joey Burns, steel guitar player Paul Niehaus and drummer John Convertino. Their simple arrangement was simple, but powerful. When the rest of the band joined them they became an eight-piece force with a glut of instruments at their disposal, but never once sounded superfluous.
The musicians moved masterfully between instruments, handling accordion as easy as keys and trumpets as deftly as xylophone. These instruments harmonized and punctuated the band’s take on Spanish folk, blending in influences of salsa and flamenco with flair. Above it all, Burns’ voice commanded attention and provided the music with a sense of beauty that never sparkled, but remained understated.
-Chris Davies
My Brightest Diamond
I thought it odd for a guitar festival to feature a musician whose work employs guitar somewhat sparsely, but seeing her play again reminded me that her talent transcends the instrument she uses and having her at Ellnora was a benefit to everyone.
For her first three songs, however, Shara Worden did not even look at a guitar. Instead she fixed the audience in a trance with ukulele, finger piano and autoharp. She added a nice theatricality to her set, entering the stage wearing a mask and gloves with a great plume of lace and ribbon behind her. It was a fitting entrance for such a beguiling musician.
Her set was comprised entirely of new material, but was entirely too short. Performing for only 30 minutes before making way for Richard Thompson, fans hardly had time to fully experience Worden before she gracefully made her exit.
-Chris Davies
Richard Thompson
Before last Saturday, I wasn’t familiar with Richard Thompson’s music. I bought tickets to his show because I’d heard of him and my spouse wanted to see him. And I loved every second. I’m not a music writer and I don’t read music magazines, and maybe that’s the reason that it’s always difficult for me to explain why I like a certain musician or a certain type of music. But for lack of a better option, I’ll give it a try.
I’m always delighted when I walk into something blind and end up loving it. Thompson’s show was fantastic. He performed mostly folk, singer/songwriter songs, with a gorgeous Celtic song that was the highlight of my night. When I heard Thompson’s nimble, fluid guitar playing, I thought to myself, “I’ll bet he’s a fan of Lindsey Buckingham, and vice versa.” The man is a master at what he does.
And Thompson knows he’s a master. Whenever someone in the audience expressed his or her excitement or enjoyment of the show (and this happened often), Thompson tried — oh, how hard he tried — to display humility, but he failed every time, and that just made it all the more fun.
I have to admit though, that I found Thompson’s songwriting to be a bit repetitive. There were songs about losing a woman, or a cheating woman, or not having a woman. Clearly, I need to familiarize myself with more of Thompson’s oeuvre. And I can’t wait.
~~Tracy Nectoux
Adrian Belew
Oh man, whose idea was it to put this in the amphitheater? While admittedly a gorgeous and surprisingly good-sounding setting, approximately twice as many people as the space could hold showed up, relegating huge chunks of the crowd to watching from behind the stage or out the back of the amphitheater. Belew’s performance, however, was on point. Adorned in khakis and a fashion crime pair of bright red Crocs, he utilized a heavy amount of looping and blazed through renditions of King Crimson classic “Three of a Perfect Pair”, numerous new solo songs, and a jaw-dropping version of the Beatles’ “Within You Without You”, which was inarguably one of the festival’s high points. However, when he opened the floor up for an audience Q+A, Belew was subjected to a series of questions which ran from the inane (“Does the Pope know you stole his shoes?”) to the boorishly insulting (“HEY BRO REMEMBER YOU PLAYED WITH UMPHREY’S MCGEE AT THE CANOPY CLUB WHEN YOU GONNA DO THAT AGAIN BRO?”). Granted, the fact that something like two thousand gallons of white wine had been consumed by this point in the day probably didn’t help either, but it was a stark reminder of why Krannert has difficulty drawing in young people in any significant number.
-Ben Valocchi
Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Listening to a recorded Robert Randolph song will never, ever carry the same weight for me again. His is a talent that truly needs to be seen to be fully appreciated.
Randolph may be the most skilled guitarist I have ever seen play. His ability to work sounds from a ten-string pedal steel guitar had me in awe, my eyes transfixed on the spectacle before me in Tyron Hall. What was more incredible was his ability to work the crowd. Even from his seated position on stage he was able to bring energy to the room and perform with the kind of passion only great performers can impart.
Randolph had the crowd feeling the music from the first slide of his left hand and in no time a solid chunk of the crowd was in front of the stage dancing and having a good time. His performance of “The March” with Luther Dickinson accompanying him, in particular, was a sight to behold and one that I will not forget for a long time.
-Chris Davies
Noveller
It figures that the most forward-thinking and experimental performance of the festival would be the most poorly attended. I guess it also makes sense that some people simply didn’t get it, simply assuming it to be background music or an instrumental warmup to something else (perhaps if it had been Adrian Belew playing a drone set?). However, those members of the crowd that were paying attention could be observed in a deep, almost pre-natal repose, utterfly entranced by the glacial beauty Sarah Lipstate wrenched out of a guitar and a modestly-sized amp. At roughly two hours, this was by far the most uncompromising performance of the festival, testing the patience of all involved, but the rewards were great, especially when Lipstate got into some noisier material towards the end of the show.
-Ben Valocchi
Robert Randolph, My Brightest Diamond and Calexico photos by Chris Davies.