I’m a huge fan of Northwest Folklife. Playing, attending, busking, and hearing but missing, are all things I enjoy about it. Never in one place have I seen so many different people making different kinds of music using different instruments (think “isn’t that a kitchen utensil? sure sounds good”).

Last weekend, Tully’s Coffee, lead sponsor of the festival, put on two preview showcases to get warmed up for Folklife. Sam Russell and the Harborrats were chosen to perform. Stripping things down and keeping it loose, it ended up just Sam, Allison Noel-Tullos, and myself. No practice, showed up with two instruments requiring restringing, and no expectations, nothing could keep us down. We knew all the songs very intimately and we played them as they wanted to be played that evening.

Jerin Falkner helped put on the show and it was great to catch up with her again. We had a similar experience of leaving Seattle, thinking we weren’t coming back, and ending up right back where we started. Olivia De La Cruz opened up. Her songs were almost all relationship based, and her ‘stories behind the songs’ showed that clearly she hasn’t found a ‘keeper’ yet. She made a comment about how relationships are an endless cycle of new love, get together, break up, start over. At one point I may have felt that way, but I’m definitely not there anymore… Nice guitar work and real keen voice.

After the show we went down to May Thai to check out Mark Livingston’s new project The SummersetMom Bakery: Lounge versions of all your favorite classic rock tunes.

0 Comments | Posted by Michael Spaly in Shows