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I know what you're thinking: what the hell is Nash doing playing a folk festival? Well, when the festival in mind has a reputation for eclectic bookings, Nash should be at the front of the line. The Winnipeg Folk Festival is in its 29th year and is held at Bird's Hill Provincial Park, a beautiful setting that ironically has no hills and very few birds. There are camping facilities for 5,000 people and a huge performance area that fills with over 12,000 people for the evening performances. Throughout the main area there are 4 small stages for daytime workshops and performances, plus a large selection of food stands, beer tents, portable toilets, arts and crafts booths and a big tent with CDs and t-shirts for sale. Then there's the main stage, a mammoth creation of high tech sound, lights and video screen dumped right in the middle of an open field like a modern-day Stonehenge. What a sight. Backstage, there is a path through the woods that leads to the festival headquarters. Here they have another huge encampment of tents for technical crew, transportation, hospitality, first aid and a mess tent the size of two tennis courts. There are over 1,000 volunteers and 300 stage techs, performers and media all to be fed and entertained.This is a huge undertaking that is organized like a military operation. The organization is so together, and relaxed, even the RCMP keep a low profile. Here in Manitoba, the sun doesn't set until 10:30 at night and the extreme remoteness from any large city allows the night-time sky to shimmer with the brightest of stars. All of this adds to the eeriness of the whole experience. Another connection with nature is the ever-present horde of mosquitoes. Backstage, Deep Woods OFF is sprayed on with abandon by all the performers. The bugs are particularly attracted to fish-belly white British flesh! The performers and media are put up in a five-star hotel in downtown Winnipeg. Seeing as the park is a 40 minute drive into the countryside, shuttle buses leave the hotel every hour. This year's performers include international artists such as The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Nick Lowe, Richie Havens, Horace X, Amampondo, Ellen McIlwaine and Habana Sax, plus unique Canadian artists such as Ron Sexsmith, Jane Bunnett, Colin Linden and Ian Tyson to name just a few. Nash told me weeks in advance that I couldn't go to this one (it's a plane ride away, he's staying in a five-star hotel and the sign on the park gate says 'No loogans or pets allowed'). I stay with my doggie pals Marley and Maggie while Nash and Cut-Throat Cathie head off to the great-white-north city of Winnipeg. Cathie, as manager of Cut-Throat Productions, hopes to make some new contacts in the festival world and Nash just hopes it doesn't rain. Nash arrives in Winnipeg amid a flurry of local media. The InterNASHional Enquirers about Nash being banned from Pope's Hill have created quite a buzz. Pope's Hill is the sacred stomping grounds for the drum jammers, a bunch of very stoned hippie-campers who stay up all night beating out a percussive rabble. The hill is situated as far away from the rest of the campers as possible. Nash was worried about the wrath of The Vatican when all along it was the wrath of the drummers that was being felt. Nosferatu ended up being performed in a field at the edge of the campground, but more about that later. Upon arrival Thursday afternoon, Nash heads right to the park to connect with the organizers Rick and Marni. Everyone is very excited about the unique performance of Nosferatu in the campground but there is no mention of it in the official line-up. However, Nash is showcased in the booklet. The idea is to keep the performance as much a mystery as possible. The presentation is for those in the campground only, and none of the other musicians or the daytime audience get to see it. This is exclusive entertainment for the campers and it will be interesting to see how many are curious enough to check it out. The performance is to take place Friday night at 1:30 in the morning after the main stage has shut down. Nash goes over the technical details with Russell the head stage tech and Wayne the video technician. All equipment is on hand and everything is ready for tomorrow night's event. As Nash and Cathie hang out backstage soaking up the atmosphere, along comes old friend Richard and a collection of his music biz cronies including Michael and Don who make the evening's entertainment twice as much fun. There are many grand stories told at these events, all of which are notarized with a beer and a wink. After several pints it's early to bed because Nash has to host a workshop at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon called Folktronics. What the hell is this all about? At music festivals, it is a popular thing to have small daytime workshops, where the headline musicians get together to play and explain their musical philosophies. Where else could you see and hear Nick Lowe and Richie Havens jamming together? For Nash's workshop the organizers have purposely created a weird combination, and having never met or spoken with each other until just prior to the performance, Nash and company are expected to explain to a small audience of interested patrons just what the hell it is they call Folktronics! The way musicians talk to an audience is with their music, and regardless of any language barrier amongst themselves, most musicians can rise to the occasion. This workshop was amazing. The small stage area is set in a field with the blazing mid-day sun glaring down. Backstage, Nash meets with his co-conspirators. The guitarist's name is Ford and he hails from Vancouver. Simon is the singer from the British group Horace X, and he has no idea why he's been chosen to do this workshop. As he says, 'Guys, I don't even sing all that well'. Don't worry Simon, we can't sing either!
Peter is the sax player from Horace X and he goes along with anything. Just as Nash is wondering how do you make interesting music without a rhythm section, along comes Stathis, a Greek musician who has with him a Roland Sampler/Sequencer and an electric bouzouki. In broken English, Stathis says that most of his rhythm patterns he has programmed into the Roland are in 5/4 time or 7/8 time, very traditional for Greek folk music but not that common to the other musicians. Nash says 'Just start it up, we'll play in 4/4 and it will make sense every 20 bars or so!' Nash pumps the other four musicians into believing this will all work out and then informs them that he is about to transform into the invisible man. Nash pours a cool bottle of the finest Manitoba spring water over his bandaged head and takes the stage to start the workshop. After a brief solo performance of Crab Waltz, Nash introduces the other musicians. Stathis begins with a solid sequencer bass pattern and Ford and Nash join in with polyphonic melodies, keeping it simple and allowing Simon and Peter to wind out. Simon does a kind of reggae mumbo-jumbo that fits perfectly with the ambient groove. The jam is going so well that a large segment of the crowd is actually dancing, swaying in the sun, enjoying the vibe. Unlike a lot of jamming situations, these musicians know intuitively when to stop, and the whole hour of spontaneous music is made up of five distinctive pieces of music. Every tune sounds different and is received with rousing applause from the attentive audience. Nash in bandages in the blazing sun is an odd sight to most people, but to play music with him is an altogether bizarre experience. There is no eye contact, no mouthing of words to the other players. It is ethereal, you either get it or you don't. There was no confusion from the other musicians. The music spoke for itself and after the jamming was over, they all relaxed backstage. It was a magical hour of music. As the evening approaches, Nash and some stage techs go over to the campground to set up the stage and screen. The chosen site is a large field of grass at the entrance to the camping area. The grass has been mowed and the location for the power generator, PA, stage and 10-foot screen has been well thought out. This site is quite far away from the main concert area, so a lot of work has gone into setting up a completely isolated stage area. Everything is up and running in short order. The many people wandering by on their way to the main concert area ask what's going on. Every one of the crew says they don't know nothin'. Later that night, the main stage is buzzing with high energy music and even higher energy mosquitoes. Under the bright stage lights there is a white cloud of bugs over the musicians heads, waiting for the repellent to wear off so they can swarm in like a biblical plague. Amampondo, an exhilarating combo from South Africa, seem unaffected by the mosquitoes, but when Horace X takes the stage, their white English meat is no match for the hungry little monsters. Dancing around the stage like day-glow dervishes, the group is either very energetic or trying to avoid the inevitable bug bites. Horace X are not exactly a folk act(purists and Folk Nazis need not attend) but they get the younger crowd into a dancing frenzy and their performance ends the Friday night concert with a bang. Horace X sounds like a rave band with a violinist. Hazel, the beautiful and talented fiddle player,was inspired to play electric violin when she first heard Nash the Slash on the radio in England when she was just 14 years old. Nash is flattered with the connection. After the main stage closes at midnight, the many campers of all ages slowly make their way back to the campground, exhausted from the long hot day and exciting performances. It's time for a chill-out and Nosferatu is just the right tonic.
When the vampire first appears on the screen, the music kicks in with power chords and the crowd erupted with spontaneous cheers and whoops. This is the only time the crowd made its presence known and they settle back into the hypnotic spell of the film until the final scene. Everyone who was present knows they experienced a unique event, something they will be talking about for weeks to come. Nash says that this performance was even better than playing Nosferatu in Russia. The festival director is so blown away that he wants Nash to return next year and make it an annual event. In a review of the festival a few days later, the Winnipeg Free Press said 'Nash's live accompaniment to Nosferatu, the classic silent vampire flick from 1922 was the most brilliant programming move of the festival. The vibe was amazing.'
With a record-setting attendance of over 38,000 people, the whole weekend was a unique experience, made even better by the camaraderie of the musicians and the friendliness of the festival staff and volunteers. Nash met so many wonderful people that he can't remember all their names, but he would like to thank everyone in Winnipeg who made this possible. He can't wait until next year. By the way, Maggie Marley and I had our own little folk festival on the back porch called Howlin at the Neighbours . No one showed up, but judging by the boots and sneakers we got hurled our way we made quite an impression. And it was Maggie s bright idea to book a flea circus. Digger |
Nash gets prepared at the technician's tent and is then driven to the
campground in a golf cart by Rick the festival director. Imagine if you
will, a pitch black summer night, the crescent moon, Venus and all the
stars the only light except for a single beam from the Nash Mobile as it
winds its way through the woods, carrying the bandaged one in white tux
and top hat to match. No wonder the Pope was jealous!
As Nash arrives there is applause from the 500 or so people who have
sprawled onto the large field of grass. Nash thanks the crowd for being
up so late and performs two short pieces before starting 
Nash remained at the festival for the next two days, and all anyone
could talk about was 
