ARTS&zENTERTAINMENT I arrived in a bad mood. To make things worse, I had never been to Jericho Beach before, much less the Folk Fest, so I didn’t know where the entrance was. In my infinite wisdom, I decided the main entrance must be somewhere amongst the hippie-bazaar that snaked its way along the beach. After passing by the third massage tent, I began to suspect I had made a wrong turn. After walking for half an hour, I began asking myself why I hadn’t simply hopped the fence, when suddenly the entrance came into view...more or less where I had started from. Folk Fest 2006 Comes to Jericho Beach - Saturday ae iem rel When I sat down at stage right to party! number two at 2pm, I was a intrigued by the sight that greeted me. I was witnessing an unlikely hodge-podge of folk and hip-hop personalities that somehow melded their talents to form a set of excit- ing, dynamic, and very, very crunchy (like granola) musical numbers. Check this out. All on stage were: Curtis Clearsky, a radical leftwing MC; Cris Derksen, a classically trained yet “humbly punk” cellist; Neal Dhillon, an Indian Tabla master; Rup Sidhu, a hip-hop multi-instrumentalist; and Mario Vaira, a guitar-slinging singer/songwriter. It was something to see. Somehow all the urban and folk influences came together to create a very organic type of hip-hop, with plenty of surprises. Next up was a showcase called Meet The New Folk, which featured Ridley Bent, Bethany and Rufus, Ndidi Onukwulu with Madagascar Slim and Indie-folk sensation, Leslie Feist. I was really excited to hear Feist perform especially since I was only fifteen feet from the stage. The musicians all took the stage at once and each duo (in addition to Feist) took turns doing songs. The duos were good, if not a little gimmicky. They all seemed to inhabit a pre-existing By Brady Ehler, Features Editor style more than exuding their own. This was not the case with Feist, however. She has a voice that cuts through the soul like a diamond saw though Styrofoam. The other musicians had my head bobbing, but Feist made my jaw drop. I just feel sorry for Ndidi Onukwulu for having to follow her. Unfortunately, the “New Folk” were only on stage for one song each. Fortunately, the Rascals, Reprobates & Redemption line up that went on next was a worthy fol- low-up. “All right”, I thought to myself as the musicians took stage — “this is the true spirit of the festival”. Four slightly disheveled looking men with acoustic gui- tars took the stage. This is what I had hoped to see: Some down and dirty singer-songwriter folk-action. First in line was Ray Wylie Hubbard, a southern fellow with a drawl, who had been chaps with the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughn. He charmed and delighted with playful banter and amused us all with numbers like “Snake Farm.” Here is an excerpt from the chorus: “Snake farm, sounds real nasty / Snake farm pretty much is / Snake farm, it’s a reptile house. / Snake farm...ew.’ Next was Kelly Joe Phelps, who played more earnest, heartfelt numbers. Phelps’ delivery was impeccable, his voice sounded great, and his finger-picking would evoke nods from Paul Simon or James Taylor. Dan Bern was next in line. His delivery wasn’t as good as Phelps’, but the songs were the best written of the bunch. He was very Dylanesque. Last in line was Ridley Bent, who captivated the audience with his literate narratives of drink- ing, motorcycle riding and adventure. I have to admit, by the time I had to leave, I had a goonish grin plastered on my face, and warm fuzzies in my belly. The Folk Fest had cured my blues! Folk Fest 2006 Comes to Jericho Beach - Sunday By Nick Pannu, OP Contributor Tanya Tagaq gets physical Despite the temptations that a hot, sunny day presents in the Lower Mainland, none could possibly be stronger than the lure of the 2006 Vancouver Folk Festival. Managing to get tickets for the very last night I was definitely stoked in anticipation of catching the best acts of the festival. Maybe the wrong assumption to make considering that Feist was not performing the last night of the Fest. Actually, it was a reason to expect artists with unpretentious genuine talent, not superficially hyped artists (like Feist), becoming overnight prima donnas refusing to meet with any press. Only mere steps past the main entrance I abruptly stopped to listen to New Zealand artist Mirirangi. Her vocals immediately caught my attention. They were good, versatile. She could sing a high prolonged pitch and effortlessly incorporate a beat box. Although her stage presence and voice were captivating, her means towards self-expression seemed a little unorthodox. Still, she was innovative, creating music right in front of the audience by incorporating tribal rhythms and rhymes, and producing spiritual chants that the audi- ence was able to connect with. Her political rants, however, seemed prolonged and self-indulgent. Her feminist convictions seemed a little militant for my tastes. As I proceeded further I noticed one particular band that possessed a diverse repertoire named Afrodizz, made up of seven band members, each play- ing distinct instruments including trumpet, guitar, drums and saxophone. Often the saxophone and trumpet performed exclusively in unison. Walking further into the grounds of the festival I started to notice how the diversity of different artists was being consolidated. There were classic folk artists with a style that bordered country music; musicians that utilized non-contempory instruments that were hard to define and artists such as Vishwa & Salil that seemed totally outside the realm of folk. More impressive was the adaptability of different artists as they performed together. When not performing vocals, country/folk musi- cian James Keelaghan played a chorus for Bethany and Rufus. It was interesting how artists accentuated their unique style while playing within a group of different artists. Bethany almost made it a point to belt out her high pitched vocals each time before it was Keelaghan’s turn to retake the mic. The climax defining the 2006 Vancouver Folk Festival was demonstrated on the main stage towards the end of the event. Spanish band Corquieu warmed up the subdued audience. Appropriately expressing their perception of the tradition of folk music were the 40 year folk veterans New Lost City Ramblers. Tanya Tagaq presented a traditional Inuit style of singing that was very physical. After some political ranting, Mighty Popo & the Urunana rw’abadatana showcased a soul reggae style that seemed to quench and pique audience members’ appetite. Jane Siberry belted out some classic folk tunes. She delved into the pure context of folk as she cued her acoustics, and did not succumb to naive cheesy political rhetoric to please the crowd. She just sang and played music.