Sunday At The Clearwater Festival
Sunday I actually woke up about 9, even without an alarm. I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed, and gathered my stuff together. After I checked out I stopped at the near-by gas station for a soda and then drove to the next town. My plan for the day was to avoid the crazy traffic by taking the train down to Croton. It worked beautifully. I had about a half hour wait at the station and about the same on the train.
When I got to the Croton station I ran into a friend of mine from up here in Albany. We rode into the site together, and he invited me to sit with him and his family. So I spent Sunday sitting about 10 rows back from the stage. A much better spot than Saturday.
Joanne Shenendoah was on stage when I got there. She has a beautiful voice, but I'm not familiar enough with her work to name a song that particularly grabbed me.
John Sebastian was up next. He was one of the artists I specifically came to see. He did "Do You Believe In Magic," "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind," "Nashville Cats," "Younger Generation,"Welcome Back" and told stories about touring in the south in 1965 with the Supremes and other adventures.
After him came Jorma Kaukonen. He was another artist that drew me to the festival, so I was a little disappointed to realize I'd missed the start of his set due to wandering for longer than I meant to. I didn't recognize or catch the names of any of his songs, but conveniently, he blogged about it and posted a set list.
The 4th act of the day was Suzanne Vega. I'm ashamed to admit that the only song of hers I'm familiar with is Tom's Diner, which I always forget is hers. She put on a great performance, and now I think I need to buy all of her records.
After her came the Indigo Girls. They were unbelievable. They did all of my favorite songs, including "Galileo," "Closer To Fine," "Get Out the Map," and "Power of Two."
Next came the Drive-By Truckers, who I'm pretty sure I'd never heard before. They were great. Really hard to describe, but great. The closest I can come is Johnny Cash playing the blues or Blues Traveler playing country. Another group I'm going to have to buy lots of.
Finally came version 2 of the Clearwater Generations set. Sunday night was Pete Seeger & Tao Seeger; Peter Yarrow & Bethany Yarrow; Tom Chapin & Jen Chapin; David Amram & Alana, Adira and Adam Amram. Tao led everybody in "Sailing Up, Sailing Down", Bethany Yarrow did an amazing version of "If I Had My Way." Tom Chapin sang his brother Harry's song "Cat's In The Cradle" with his niece Jen Chapin and she did a couple songs of her own, including a really lovely one for her son. And Pete Seeger ended the night by leading everybody in "Turn, Turn, Turn."
I was not as mentally fried at the end of Sunday as on Saturday, but I was still pretty tired and sunbaked. I had about an hour's wait for my train and by the time I got back to my car I realized I really shouldn't try to drive back to Albany. Luckily, I have some friends who live about a half hour from that train station, who let me crash at their place overnight.
I got up early and came straight in to work today. I even managed to be on time.
And that was my weekend. Saturday is here.
When I got to the Croton station I ran into a friend of mine from up here in Albany. We rode into the site together, and he invited me to sit with him and his family. So I spent Sunday sitting about 10 rows back from the stage. A much better spot than Saturday.
Joanne Shenendoah was on stage when I got there. She has a beautiful voice, but I'm not familiar enough with her work to name a song that particularly grabbed me.
John Sebastian was up next. He was one of the artists I specifically came to see. He did "Do You Believe In Magic," "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind," "Nashville Cats," "Younger Generation,"Welcome Back" and told stories about touring in the south in 1965 with the Supremes and other adventures.
After him came Jorma Kaukonen. He was another artist that drew me to the festival, so I was a little disappointed to realize I'd missed the start of his set due to wandering for longer than I meant to. I didn't recognize or catch the names of any of his songs, but conveniently, he blogged about it and posted a set list.
The 4th act of the day was Suzanne Vega. I'm ashamed to admit that the only song of hers I'm familiar with is Tom's Diner, which I always forget is hers. She put on a great performance, and now I think I need to buy all of her records.
After her came the Indigo Girls. They were unbelievable. They did all of my favorite songs, including "Galileo," "Closer To Fine," "Get Out the Map," and "Power of Two."
Next came the Drive-By Truckers, who I'm pretty sure I'd never heard before. They were great. Really hard to describe, but great. The closest I can come is Johnny Cash playing the blues or Blues Traveler playing country. Another group I'm going to have to buy lots of.
Finally came version 2 of the Clearwater Generations set. Sunday night was Pete Seeger & Tao Seeger; Peter Yarrow & Bethany Yarrow; Tom Chapin & Jen Chapin; David Amram & Alana, Adira and Adam Amram. Tao led everybody in "Sailing Up, Sailing Down", Bethany Yarrow did an amazing version of "If I Had My Way." Tom Chapin sang his brother Harry's song "Cat's In The Cradle" with his niece Jen Chapin and she did a couple songs of her own, including a really lovely one for her son. And Pete Seeger ended the night by leading everybody in "Turn, Turn, Turn."
I was not as mentally fried at the end of Sunday as on Saturday, but I was still pretty tired and sunbaked. I had about an hour's wait for my train and by the time I got back to my car I realized I really shouldn't try to drive back to Albany. Luckily, I have some friends who live about a half hour from that train station, who let me crash at their place overnight.
I got up early and came straight in to work today. I even managed to be on time.
And that was my weekend. Saturday is here.