Wrock

From WWR

Last Saturday (March 18), I attended the Women Rock! festival near Quincy, Florida. Wow.

I needed sleep so I missed the earlier acts. Got there in time to catch Holly Near's set and I wasn't disappointed. She is a bona fide folk legend and activist, and she was trying out some new songs, assisted by John, her accompanist of 21 years, on piano. As the sun was setting, a few strands of golden light fell on Holly's face, giving her a sort of aura. She closed her set with the song she wrote in memory of Mimi Farina (Joan Baez's sister). I briefly got to meet her after her hour-and-a-half set.

Dar Williams was the one I came to see and I was entranced. She was battling a cold, and a couple of songs were interrupted by random coughs, but she still sounded wonderful. Her set included "The Babysitter's Here" (of course), "When I Was a Boy," "Teen for God," "Empire,"and a few others. Her encore was a scorching rendition of "Are You Out There?" Just Dar and her guitar, an hour and change of magic. (She didn't get to sing "In Love, but Not at Peace" or "This Was Pompeii," though...)

Inbetween numbers, she treated us to little autobiographical anecdotes, stories behind the songs, etc. She said she was straight, in a semi-apologetic way (acknowledging her many lesbian fans); despite that, she said, she was inspired to compose "Iowa" when that state's rolling hills reminded her of feminine curves.

When Dar performed that song, she asked the audience to hold up their lighters to "create a FarmAid moment." I think I counted only three lighters - everyone else held up their cellphones with their lighted screens.

Afterward, I joined the long line at the merch table to meet Dar. Excited was an understatement. I told her that I hadn't heard her music till I encountered it on Whole Wheat Radio - which is perfectly true - and thanked her for sending her music there. (Jimbob, you can look forward to more Dar Williams CDs in future.) I then had my picture taken with her! It was taken by the woman behind me in line, wearing a handmade medieval-style cloak, who told me she had been a member of the SCA shire in Tallahassee.

Then came Alix Olson. Poet, performer, force unto herself. Some of you are familiar with her but this was my first encounter (almost typed that "encunter" - I'm so sorry) with her powerful spoken word performances. It's as if she opened a tap and her soul poured forth, shifting from trickle to torrent in a heartbeat.

I have limited experience with poetry slams, but Alix is the best I've seen in that genre. In a couple of instances she was accompanied by Chris Pureka (I missed her set earlier, dammit). Passion and truth in your face, and it amazed me that she did all that without antagonizing the audience. I now see why her fans admire her. The line at the merch table for Alix was quite long!

The concert was held outdoors at a privately-owned farm - the temperature was in the 70s that afternoon but dropped after nightfall - there were six young women in front of me huddling together on the ground under a blanket and upon another; many brought lawn chairs, and some, having forgotten jackets, used blankets to keep warm. Earlier, the crowd (about an 80/20 woman-to-man ratio) was older; those that stuck around for Dar and Alix were predominantly under 30.

My friend John Clark ran the sound; I sat next to the sound tent. During Alix Olson's performance John went up to the stage and signaled that she had about five minutes left. Some in the crowd booed him!

A trailer was onsite for restroom facilities. Someone objected to the "Ladies" sign on that particular door, and it was covered with a handprinted "Women" sign. (Alix Olson remarked onstage: "Why does that stick figure look like a stork? ... Hmm. Pants, skirt, pants, skirt...I"m wearing pants, I'll go in here!")

Though there were a few more acts forthcoming, I left shortly after Olson's set. It was getting chilly - though there were many who camped out overnight.

I hope they have another concert next year.