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Posted on Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 2:32 a.m.

Lots to love about Ann Arbor Folk Festival's Friday night performances

By Roger LeLievre

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What did you think of the show? Vote in the poll and/or leave a comment at the end of this post.

You’ve gotta love the Ann Arbor Folk Festival. Where else can you hear a theremin and a sousaphone in the same song? Or find it funny when the headline artist promises to try his best to send the audience home depressed? And where else can you hear the M.C. sing about Ohio's infamous landmark “Big Butter Jesus” and bring down the house with laughter?

The first night of the Folk Festival—the annual, two-night event presented in Hill Auditorium as a fundraiser for The Ark—is usually reserved for artists more on the cutting edge of what’s considered folk music, and Friday night’s lineup clearly fit the bill. I don’t think anyone can complain about not getting their money’s worth—all told the show ran five hours—although I am sure there will be some who feel headliner Ryan Adams could have squeezed in at least a short encore.

Although Adams was billed as the top act, there was so much talent on the program that honor could just as easily fallen to Devotchka, Dawes or even Carbon Leaf. The crowd also seemed excited about some of the lesser acts, such as Elephant Revival and David Wax Museum, as well as opener Sunny War, an introspective blues singer with a wicked talent for the guitar.

The Gypsy-folk-and-more band Devotchka, whose singer Nick Urata’s croon reminded me of Roy Orbison, provided an outstanding, high-energy set. Urata was the one responsible for playing the theremin, while Jeanie Schroder delivered on sousaphone and bass —just two of the nearly 20 instruments the group used to create its sound. One of the highlights of their set was “How It Ends” (from the movie “Little Miss Sunshine”).

Dawes, an up-and-coming indie rock band, clearly had a lot of supporters in the house, and fans seemed to appreciate songs such as “A Little Bit of Everything,” “Fire Away” and “Time Spent in Los Angeles.” I’m willing to bet if they return to town again it will be to a larger venue than The Ark.

Carbon Leaf did not play its hit “Life Less Ordinary,” but did offer several other excellent tunes, among them “One Prairie Outpost” and “Nothing Rhymes With Woman.” Rather than line up on stage, they all gathered in a semi-circle, like guys around a campfire. Their harmonies were spot on, especially during their first song, which was performed a cappella.

Elephant Revival’s lead singer Bonnie Paine has an amazing voice reminiscent of Bjork, and she plays a mean washboard as well. They got off to a good start with the song “Remembering a Beginning,” their sound bright an energetic, a perfect early act to get the crowd going.

Boston’s David Wax Museum was next, a foursome known for blending traditional Mexican folk with American roots / indie rock and whose musical instrumentation included the jawbone of an ass (which prompted a Newt Gingrich joke from host Heywood Banks). They had an intriguing, upbeat and jazzy sound, with founder David Wax playing an instrument I later discovered was a jarana, a Mexican instrument similar to a guitar.

And speaking of the M.C., Banks—known for his Thanksgiving shows at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase—was absolutely perfect. Even his corniest jokes were funny. His ode to toast, appropriately called “Toast,” never gets old, and he surely must deserve some kind of award for filling the gap for nearly 15 minutes while roadies set up the stage for Ryan Adams. Banks is some kind of crazy, but in a good way.

Adams’ music is the ultimate in intimate and, as expected, his set was steeped in melancholy. The prolific alt-country artist—accompanying himself on guitar, piano and harmonica—offered a satisfying solo set that included “Lucky Now,” “Firecracker,” “Dirty Rain,” “Two,” “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” “Come Pick Me Up” and “Ashes and Fire.” His 9/11-themed “New York New York,” the song that really brought Adams to a wider audience, was especially poignant.

Unfortunately, as good as it was, sound issues plagued Friday night’s show. Some microphones weren’t on when the artists went to use them, and one whole band (David Wax Museum) seemed to have only their stage monitors for amplification. I would have liked to have heard more of Dvotchka’s amplified sousaphone, but it was buried in the mix (and for one song wasn’t even plugged in). Elephant Revival’s bass was way over-amplified and the vocals were drowned out. I am aware it is a challenge getting the sound right for so many performers, but Friday night the problems seemed greater than normal.

Ark Executive Director Marianne James also took the stage to tell the crowd that Friday night’s show was sold out (four the fourth year in a row), with the same happy circumstance applying to Saturday night’s event, headlining Nanci Griffith, Emmy Lou Harris and Glen Campbell. Since The Ark makes about a fifth of its annual operating revenue from the Folk Festival, that’s news worth singing about.

Comments

Mike

Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 1:47 p.m.

A slight correction, Ryan Adams' New York, New York was not written in response to 9/11 but rather a sad moment of serendipity as the video for the song, recorded in front of the Twin Towers, was released just days before the attack. I'm not sure if it would have gotten the exposure it did without the tragic event, but MTV and VH1 put it in heavy rotation, and the song became a cornerstone of the period. Ryan's brilliant new interpretation Friday night was pure magic.

Ben Newton

Sun, Jan 29, 2012 : 7:52 a.m.

Elephant Revival was an amazing surprise. I almost pigeon holed them based on their appearance and instrumentation however they possessed the greatest control of dynamics out of all the other performers (excluding Ryan Adams, who had the audience's complete attention). Devotchka was the biggest disappointment because of their comparison in the bill to, in my opinion, the LEGENDARY band Calexico. Their songs seemed gimmicky and kitschy, they had an amazing violinist and a useless second guitarist / pianist / untalented member, and their slot should have been swapped with Dawes. Based in California and possessing some of the most genuine songwriting talent and ear for warm, natural tone, Dawes blew me away. The older and more reserved crowd seemed hesitant to grant this band any the respect that they deserved, but they ROCKED. Ryan Adams played most of his classic melancholy ballads which he has grown famous for, and didn't disappoint. I'm sorry, someone has to say it, but David Wax Museum was out of their league and should have stayed home. Got in for 10 dollars and sat 10 rows back. Shame on me for dealing with the scalpers. Overall a great showing of talent!

seekingsun

Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 5:50 p.m.

here's the Big Butter Jesus song. It's awesome. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq01UYiMyHg" rel='nofollow'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq01UYiMyHg</a>

DBH

Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 6:31 p.m.

Very funny, I agree. The captions are hilarious!

seekingsun

Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 5:47 p.m.

The MC's song &quot;Big Butter Jesus&quot; was not about Notre Dame's touchdown jesus painting. It is about the ginormous statue of jesus making the football ump's touchdown signal that was located off of I-75 in Ohio until it was struck by lightning and went up in flames. The article has now been &quot;corrected&quot; to an error. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Kings_(statue)" rel='nofollow'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Kings_(statue)</a>

Topher

Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 2:35 p.m.

There were a lot of sound issues, as the writer points out - especially at the beginning of Devotchca's set. Whomever was running sound came off as unprepared, although the sound was stunning by the time Ryan Adams came on. Dawes seemed incredibly predictable and ultimately boring. The singer has a great voice, but the songs themselves were plain and seemed so well rehearsed that there left little to make them interesting. Also - did they just keep playing and not stop their set? It seemed as if staff was trying to pull them off - I was glad that they finally told them to stop. Elephant Revival was a fantastic surprise - interesting instrumentation and a stunning voice from the lead female singer. The washboard as percussion was fascinating to watch as well as hear. Their final song (maybe called Raven?) was mesmerizing and haunting. Her voice became an instrument, subtly mimicking animal noises.

SonnyDog09

Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 1:53 p.m.

...Ohio's infamous landmark "Touchdown Jesus" ... And here I always thought that South Bend was in Indiana. I learn something new every time that I read this site.

tegel

Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 5:58 p.m.

Nope. The landmark he sang about is/was in Ohio. See the USA Today link provided above. Unlike the original poster I have seen it and know the story behind the song. Heywood Banks wrote the song a while back and sang the newly added verse at the show to commemorate the fire. The original article was correct. @SonnyDog - did you even bother to read the link I posted? I read yours and it in fact makes reference to the Touchdown Jesus in Monroe, OH. (The subject of Mr. Banks song.) Btw, you missed a good show last night.

Roger LeLievre

Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 3:45 p.m.

Thank you for catching that. The story has been updated.

SonnyDog09

Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 2:25 p.m.

<a href="http://www.examiner.com/christianity-in-south-bend/touchdown-jesus" rel='nofollow'>http://www.examiner.com/christianity-in-south-bend/touchdown-jesus</a>

tegel

Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 2 p.m.

Maybe you should do a bit of research before posting disparaging remarks about AA.com. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-06-15-touchdown-jesus-fire_N.htm" rel='nofollow'>http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-06-15-touchdown-jesus-fire_N.htm</a> The internet is a wonderful thing when used correctly.

Alan Goldsmith

Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 1:17 p.m.

Let's hope next year's Folk Festival returns to the trend of the last several years of featuring at least ONE local musician/artist on the bill.

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