http://www.thespec.com/whatson-story...arvest-picnic/
A bountiful musical crop at the Greenbelt Harvest Picnic
“The vibe” is what makes the festival stand out
Hamilton Spectator
By Graham Rockingham
It's not easy putting on a ticketed outdoor music festival in this city. We've become spoiled by long-standing free shows like the Festival of Friends, Burlington Sound of Music and, more recently, Supercrawl.
So no doubt there are a lot of people wondering why some 4,000 people would shell out about $90 each to attend the Greenbelt Harvest Picnic on Saturday at Christie Lake to see 20 acts, including the Arkells, Gordon Lightfoot, Lee Harvey Osmond, Bahamas and The Rural Alberta Advantage.
PHOTOS: Greenbelt Harvest Picnic
First of all, ticket prices for quality entertainment aren't what they used to be. People are often spending pretty much the same price, if not more, to see the artists of their choice in arena settings like First Ontario Centre or soft-seat theatres like Hamilton Place.
Of course, you don't have to worry about rain, when you're sitting in a hockey rink. Then again, you don't get quite the same ambience as you do in a picturesque setting like Christie Lake … or the swimming, the farmers' market, the specialty foods, high-end crafts, fishing and horticultural workshops.
That unquantifiable thing known as "the vibe" is what makes the Harvest Picnic stand out from other festivals. A ticketed festival draws a crowd wanting to see quality music in a relaxed setting. It's what musicians refer to as a "listening audience."
You don't get roving bands of adolescents drawn to a midway scene or too-tight-to-move crunches at the front of the stage. You can sit back in a lawn chair and enjoy the show without worrying about someone stepping on your feet.
The musicians understand that "vibe" and respond to it.
At one point in his afternoon set, Colorado folkie Gregory Alan Isakov and his banjo player decided to unplug their instruments, step in front of their monitors and perform a good chunk of their set through just one microphone. Moments like that add intimacy and warmth to an outdoor event.
"You guys are quiet, and nice, and kind," Isakov said appreciatively before leaving the stage. It sounded kind of corny, but it was true.
There were plenty of moments like that throughout the day. You know you're at a quality festival when the audience can spontaneously come to the aid of an artist as it did when singer Basia Bulat's autoharp became unplugged midway through her closing song. The crowd quickly clapped out an on-tempo rhythm for Bulat. The crowd didn't miss a beat. Neither did Bulat.
This year's fifth annual Harvest Picnic had its challenges, including the last minute cancellation of American folksinger Iron and Wine due to a contract squabble. And the day started out overcast, which may have kept some potential festival goers at home (luckily the threatened rain never came).
It was also the first Picnic that didn't have Daniel Lanois as its musical host. He's performing this year at Supercrawl, instead.
Still, "the vibe" held, allowing other local acts like the Arkells to take the spotlight, closing the festival with a dazzling 16-song set that drew heavily from the band's Juno-winning album "High Noon."
Hamilton singer-songwriter Terra Lightfoot also shone — several times during the day. She opened the main stage entertainment as part of local alt-country collective The Dinner Belles and returned a couple of hours later with her solo band to showcase her stunning new album "Every Time My Mind Runs Wild."
Lightfoot returned with The Dinner Belles to the secondary "front of house" stage for a second rollicking set of hillbilly standards that included Woody Guthrie's "Hard, Ain't It Hard" and the Flatt and Scruggs barnburner "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms."
And, at the end of the night, Lightfoot was called to the stage by Arkells' lead singer Max Kerman for a powerful duet of the Smokey Robinson classic "Tracks of My Tears."
Other moments that contributed to "the vibe:"
The standing ovation given to Canadian musical icon Gordon Lightfoot. At 76, Lightfoot's voice is a frail shadow of what it was in his glory years. But the power of his three closing songs — Sundown, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and Early Morning Rain — raised the crowd to its feet, bringing Lightfoot back for an early evening encore of "Baby Step Back."
•Kathleen Edwards, a Hamilton resident for several years before returning to her native Ottawa to open a coffee bar, jokingly asking the audience to keep an eye open in local flea markets for her recently stolen 1957 Gibson Les Paul guitar.
•Thompson Wilson, son of Lee Harvey Osmond's Tom Wilson, performing a too-brief solo set that included a song he wrote two days earlier about the break up of his band Harlan Pepper.
•Hamilton's Tomi Swick giving the audience a preview of the rootsy new album he's working on with local producer/drummer Dave King. His new song "Liberty" shows that Swick hasn't lost any of his songwriting talents.
•Dave Rave's soul-inspired rendition of Teenage Head's "Let's Shake with Oakville R&B singer Hailee Rose (not to mention her rendition of Aretha Franklin's R.E.S.P.E.C.T.).
grockingham@thespec.com
905-526-3331 | @RockatTheSpec
HAMILTON SPECTATOR PICS:Scott Gardner
PHOTOS- IVAN SORENSON
http://ivansorensenphotography.com/bands/
