So. (Winnipeg) Folk Fest. My first Folk Fest experience, but defintely not the last! I loved the constant strumming of music, the stages far enough that music wasn’t running over other music, but close enough that there was always something, always drumming somewhere in the background. My nerdy overenthusiasm is probably betraying me here, but it was AWESOME.
The poor souls who’ve had to talk to me in real life since then know that Okkervil River blew my mind. Totally. I was entirely starry eyed, sitting on the ground [Why did we have to sit? I still don't really get it, I don't think the bands dig it especially not at midnight. Winnipeggers are too polite to start a riot, I suppose.] 
snapping photos like this was my moment to really experience something, and to catch the moment. The next day I got to a side-stage two hours early to grab a great seat for the Okkervil workshop with another fave, Great Lake Swimmers. I thought two hours would be enough, but EVERYBODY was there and we were still 4 rows (of tall-sitters!) back. 
Anyway, it was pretty epic. I can’t even bring myself to tone down the loser commentary right now. It’s all I’ve been listening to for the past 2 weeks (with the small addition of A.C. Newman’s new album, Get Guilty) and I love it. And, disclaimer time, my boyfriend totally had dinner with Will Sheff in Toronto in 2007, and I think that’s pretty fuckin’ cool.
Other highlights of the festival? I really dug C.R. Avery who did a crazy amazing beatbox set inspiring our group to follow him desperately around the concertgrounds for show after show after show (he opened for 
Okkervil as an inbetweener short-set). Also really enjoyed Josh Ritter, Iron & Wine, Xavier Rudd [There were glowsticks, dancing, and hippies. It's impossible to hate Xavier Rudd in that sort of environment.], and Great Lake Swimmers. 
There was also the uh, somewhat unsettling aspect of camping out in the festival campground. Winnipeg seperates the camping crowd into two groups: Quiet Campground and what I’ve decided is Mayhem Campground. Quiet Campground has quiet hours, there’s no liquor onsite, and perhaps their portapotties were cleaner. I wouldn’ know. We chose Mayhem. It was fun until about 3am each morning, when I really wanted to sleep and THOSE FRIGGING HIPPIES WOULDN’T STOP BANGING THEIR BONGOS. In retrospect perhaps I was a bit harsh on the bongo bangers, but it was impossible to sleep.
Clearly we needed more drugs at our campsite, cause everyone else was doing just fine with the UV stickman-on-stilts fighting the giant spider (this seems ridiculous even to type) and the bongos and the poi. I’m not sure if I’d put myself through that again for two reasons: 1) It went down to 3C one night and that’s too fucking cold for camping and 2) I don’t know if the crowd I went with was the best choice. I felt like old man winter with a bunch of 20 year olds. OLD. As in, they had just finished high school the year I started my masters degree. Old.
That said, I totally already conned people into volunteering next year and we’ll set up camp somewhere else (preferably distant from bongos) and we’ll stalk down amazing performers, eat amazing local foods, and drink wonderful, God-like beers in the summer sun of our prairie home. It was a beautiful thing.
If you’re curious, my favorite Okkervil album is Black Sheep Boy (+ Appendix) and I think you should buy it. I’m also totally recommending A.C. Newman’s Get Guilty and Great Lake Swimmers’ Polaris nominated Lost Channels (however, I love the track Various Stages from an earlier release).
AC Newman – The Heartbreak Rides
