Review of 2009 Clearwater Festival
Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Taj Mahal and Others Shine Through Rain
Jun 25, 2009
The Clearwater Festival took place June 20 and 21 at Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson. Despite it raining throughout the weekend (and the previous two weeks), large crowds of folk fans and devotees to the environment gathered for the festival. Headlined by Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Taj Mahal, Susan Tedeschi, Richie Havens, and Old Crow Medicine Show, the Clearwater Festival proved stronger than any amount of rain.
Clearwater Marries Music to Environmental Awareness
Setting the Clearwater Festival apart from its festival counterparts is its focus on the environment. According to its website, it began in the mid sixties as a small fundraiser for Pete Seeger’s plan to build an “environmental flagship,” The Great Hudson River Revival is still essentially to raise money for Hudson Sloop Clearwater.
Since its launch 40 years ago, the Sloop Clearwater has led the way in the drive to clean up the Hudson River. Clearwater is most famous for its educational programs, one of which actually takes schoolchildren aboard the sloop for a day, where they learn about the Hudson River and work together to run the ship.
In keeping with Clearwater’s goals of environmental sustainability, the entire Clearwater Festival was powered by a combination of solar power, soy bean, and biodiesel sources.
Notable Performances By Susan Tedeschi, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, and Old Crow Medicine Show
Despite the clouds, the performers on stage blazed brightly. Tao Rodriguez-Seeger did two sets during the festival, as well as appearing with his grandfather Pete and with his former bandmates Michael Merenda and Ruthy Ungar-Merenda. Tao electrified the crowds with his overdriven, distorted, and anarchic versions of traditional folk songs. A lover of distortion, Tao even managed to pull feedback from his banjo-- a sound that resembled a whale song.
The “Newgrass” Movement was well represented at the Clearwater Festival. Old Crow Medicine Show led the charge with a spirited performance. With an energetic live show including back and forth banter that vaguely resembled the crows from Dumbo, Old Crow Medicine Show performed crowd favorites like “Tell it to Me” (a variation on Cocaine Blues) and a few surprises, like a cover of Woody Guthrie’s “Union Maid.”
Cornmeal, a bluegrass jamband from Chicago, also played a strong set at Clearwater, sure to win them many a fan on the East Coast. While not exactly bluegrass, the familiar tones of noted fiddler/ guitar duo Jay Ungar and Molly Mason performed a few sets, as well as appearing with Mike and Ruthy and with Pete Seeger. Ungar and Mason are well known in the Hudson Valley, and are perennials at Clearwater.
The first night of the Clearwater Festival ended with a performance by Susan Tedeschi. The blues guitarist-- styled along the lines of the Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule-- extended her chops and fierce vocals as dusk descended on Croton Point Park.
Arlo Guthrie, Taj Mahal, and Pete Seeger Bring Show to a Heartwarming Ending
The highlight of the show for many is the sing alongs with festival founder Pete Seeger. This year had special meaning, as Seeger had turned 90 the month before. Despite his age and the stormy weather, Pete performed on three different occasions. He opened the festival playing with the Kids From Room 12, a chorus of children that uses the Clearwater’s Power of Song curriculum to learn about the environment.
Pete Seeger’s main set at the Clearwater Festival took place Sunday afternoon, fittingly the one time during the weekend that the Sun came out. Joined by his grandson Tao, Mike and Ruthy Merenda, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, and Arlo Guthrie, Pete led the crowd in traditional songs. Of note was Pete’s rendition of Josh White Jr’s “English is Cuh-Ray-Zee,” which evoked giggles from adults and children alike.
Sunday’s twin headliners of Taj Mahal and Arlo Guthrie carried the show into the night. Taj Mahal-- one of the last great purveyors of acoustic blues-- carried the crowd with his guitar work and engaged the audience with some call and response. The crowd asked for an encore, and he obliged with a cover of Gerry Goffin and Carole King’s “Take a Giant Step,” made famous by the Monkees.
However, the night belonged to Arlo Guthrie. Arlo is one of music’s great entertainers, with his humorous stories, mellow singing voice, and strong folk-blues chops. He performed favorites such as “City of New Orleans” and “the Motorcycle Song” (prefaced by a story of how embarrassed he was when he first gained inspiration for it).
Guthrie also performed several traditional American songs, such as “Alabama Bound,” Jesse Fuller’s “San Francisco Bay Blues,” and “St. James Infirmary Blues.” Guthrie commented on the down pour, “I think I remember this rain from 40 years ago” (referring to his performance at 1969’s Woodstock Festival, held 2 hours to the Northwest in Bethel, NY).
The Clearwater Festival closed with Pete Seeger and extended family (including the Ungars and Merendas, besides Tao) and Taj Mahal, joined Arlo on stage. Together, and in true Clearwater fashion, they led the crowd in rousing renditions of “Midnight Special,” “If I Had a Hammer,” and a incredible, uplifting version of “This Little Light of Mine.”
Did the rain dampen the spirits of concerts goers? Probably not. As one veteran of many festivals said “its fitting that it rains here. There’s no clearer water than rain.” Clearly, no amount of rain can defeat the power of song.
 |
