Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Green River Festival 7/11/15 Greenfield MA

The Green River Fest is a new music destination that has been extolled in this blog before. The Saturday lineup was great.
Polaris: Pop punkers on the second stage.
Straybirds: Old timey Americana from PA
Milk Carton Kids: Dead pan humor duo sang quirky pop songs with close vocal harmony. Both kids wore suits and played acoustic guitars. Hysterical story about a sons birth, (medical emergency that took all my data!) that segueed into a song about death.
Langhorne  Slim and The Law: Smartass frenzied folk from this festival staple. LS routinely engages the audience even hopping off stage to frolic among the fans
Lydia Loveless: Sassy rocker was melting in the afternoon heat on the second stage.
J.Mascis: Local wizard and  Thurston  Moore pal guitarist from Dinosaur Jr. was a curious pick for the main stage. Skronked and feedbacked his set
Booker T. and the MGs: R&B hall of farmer had an organ instrumental hit in the 60s with Green Onions, played a good rendition of Purple Rain.
Red Baraat: Indian tinged Brooklyn collective had trombone,trumpet,keyboards, sousaphone,guitar,bass,drums,sax, and funky two sided drummer who sang and rapped his way through a high energy set.
Tune-yards: Odd time signature lo-fi quirkiness from Smith College grad Merrill Garbus's band. Two female backup singers, bass, and keys with Garbus on looped vocals and ukulele.
Wood Brothers: Chris on standup bass is the Wood in Medeski,Martin, and Wood. Oliver on guitar and vocals comprise this fascinating duo. Swampy, southern lyrics and excellent musicianship are the backdrop of the Wood Brothers sound.
Bella's Bartok: Frenzied gypsy swing from these face painted hipsters.
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra: Closer for the day was this high energy keepers of the Afrobeat flame. Off a stint as the musicians for the Broadway musical Fela!, AAO scorched their set. Highlight of the day was a fantastic version of the Talking Heads classic Cross-eyed and Painless. I highly recommend this festival to anyone looking for new music to follow.

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