After-Festival Open Thread
View down French St
The streets were rivers!
Wander the streets, find dancing!
Dr. Michael White and the Orginal Liberty Street Jazz Band - sans amplification!It never. Ever. Fails. We end the Folk Fest with a huge storm! But I had a blast and I hope you did too. When I get my hands on the segment I put together for LTC I will post it. Meanwhile, you can enjoy some of the snapshots I took from my cell. 
When the storm hit, I was on French St waiting for the New Orleans traditional jazz band to start. After the rain let up, they went on as planned - a little bit late, and without any electronics, because the Park had to pull the plug as some parts of Boardinghouse were under water. However, though it was a smaller crowd than would have appeared had there been no rainstorm, Dr. Michael White and the Original Liberty Street Jazz Band took the stage and was amazing. The audience, perhaps because we had all just come through the same ordeal, or were just diehards left, were intensely attentive. We danced and a request for Saints from a Louisiana native (which drew laughs when the girl challenged them with a facetious, “Do you know it?”) became a reason for an impromptu New Orleans-style parade. I think the music was better without the amplification, and many people I talked to agreed. We huddled up near the stage and clapped along.
So what was your favorite part of this year’s festival?
July 27th, 2009 at 9:06 am
I love the Folk Fest and this year was no exception! I fell in love with Alash, the Tuvan throat singers, was thrilled to see so many tubas, accordions and fiddles (three of my favorite instruments!), and I had a great time contra dancing. I also had a lot of fun at the FoWAS Funk Brunch - the Glen David Andrews Band rocked the house and I was treated to a tuba & trombone duet!
July 27th, 2009 at 11:47 am
I thought Capoeira Luanda was really exciting, but I am biased. Both of my daughters study capoeira, here in Lowell with Mestre Calango. http://capoeirarosarubra.com/
The performance put on by Capoeira Luanda was breathtaking. The speed and agility displayed, as they “played” to the rythm, was something to behold.
July 27th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I just love seeing so many people of all stripes enjoying themselves in my city. Music, food, people-watching: all incomparable.
July 27th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
While I love the music of the festival - I am not happy with bands outside my window playing until 2:30 in the morning Sat…Old Court…..and I saw the police at The Old Court at least 5 or 6 times from Fri to Sun telling them to stop playing while the John Street stage was in operation. This goes on every year.
July 27th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
My favorite part every year is the workshop segment where different musicians or dancers or performers come together to compare and contrast styles. This year I enjoyed the combination of New Orleans jazz and New York Klezmer music, two forms that one would not necessarily think would go together. But they did, and the discussion about improvisation and how the various band members know how to stay together and come in at the right time was educational. If only politicians could figure out the system so they all play together while keeping their individual voices, we would make a lot more progress.
July 27th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Downtowner aka Debbie Downer, it’s one day per year, suck it up…
July 27th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Downtowner, why would people not be able to play at Old Court while John St (Lee St?) was going?
July 27th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
obviously you need need permission to play music outside. during the festival, private businesses arent supposed to be putting on conflicting shows while the festival music acts are going on.
July 27th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
My sense of things is that over the last few years I’ve been going to the festivals the diversity of the performers has changed a lot and the kinds of music too and that the result is this really feels like a quite diverse block party - this is great.
July 27th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
I don’t see how that one’s conflicting. The two stages in question are pretty far apart. There were a couple of other unofficial performance areas much closer on Merrimack St.
July 28th, 2009 at 8:58 am
I would like to see more street performers in Lowell. Would it be a good idea to mimic what they do at Harvard Square?
July 28th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Here’s an idea. Every weekend, Lowell shuts down the cobblestone streets; Middle, Palmer and Shattuck to car traffic. From 11am to 4 pm, the city allows permitted performers to play in several designated spots within those boundries. The permit fee should be low, $10-$20.
Local restaurants could put out tables for food and drink. Plus they would be allowed to have live performers from 5-10pm. Strict adherence to a noise level would be required.
Maybe we even throw in some spots for visual art.
Rough idea. Please chime in.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I do know some sort of street fair has been tried in the past…but I wonder if one could put some real muscle into it somehow. Maybe not weekly, maybe biweekly or monthly in the summer?
July 30th, 2009 at 10:28 am
I like the idea. Handle the noise/band conflict issue by requiring them to perform without amplification.