09-03-22 Peak Music Fest Day 2
I was up and met my guest this morning. She was very nice and appreciated her stay. Once I had confirmed the income from the day before and readied the float and myself, I headed to pick up ice at Arbys and made my way to the park. It turned out to be a very hot and heavy day. The crowds were smaller than usual even with the Saturday market but there were many families and a generally great atmosphere.
The first performer of the day was Matt Blais. I really enjoyed him as I love singer songwriters. The guys were whining that he should have talked less and sung more but I do disagree. He was a fabulous kickoff to the day.
Next was Brass Roots, a collection of 12 Professional Musicians from the East Kootenays conducted by Evan Bueckert. They drew their own following and were well received. Several of them, including Randy Marchi, took the time to tell me how well I was doing as emcee and they really appreciated my enthusiasm. It was a nice thread running through the day as I was told I have a real presence doing this. I’m glad. I hope I get more opportunity.
The next performer was one I was really looking forward to, Tennyson King. He is a Chinese Canadian bass player who had a keyboard player with him. I was not disappointed. He had a voice like butter and although I didn’t always love the heaviness of the bass beating against my chest on two songs, overall I was impressed and even bought one of his tank tops with his picture on it.
Next was Jon Burden and the Bleedin’ Hearts. They were a whole lot of fun and just as they were nearing the end of their set I saw the bass player trying to get my attention. His little girl was with him and he was motioning to see if I could take her to the loo. She was very sweet and I was happy to help the poor child. I shall always remember little Hazel and her sweet spirit.
Next up was Split/Shift. Although they got people up dancing, I was not entirely impressed with their attitudes and they brought beer out of the beer garden. One of the guys was highly unimpressed that he couldn’t drink his draft on stage… argh.
Black Diamond played next and it was a bit of a cluster as they insisted on using their own drum kit, had hired a film crew and well, just took up too much time so they started late and we are not too sure they were pleased that their time had to end as scheduled. We only allow 30 minutes between acts to allow for change overs and sound checks. It would have been more professional to stick with the contract we had and that is all I can say about that.
The final act of the night was Punch Drunk Cabaret. I loved them and had been looking forward to this group. They came down from Edmonton today and were road worn but gave us an amazing performance with a whole lot of style. I highly suggest checking them out online. They were also just really nice guys and I hope to see them again.
In between all the acts I talked up all things fest and sponsors, urged people to eat from our food trucks, introduced the demos from Rocky Mountain Martial Arts again and loved seeing people come donate to Josh and take pictures with him. I hope he does well in Wales next month.
I was glad I wore my favourite music patterned dress and wedge sandals. I felt pretty and confident and had my performer tank filled. As the ‘face’ I also got a lot of positive feedback for all we had accomplished there, a few complaints, found items and the occasional report of trouble. I couldn’t believe I was seeing three women walking into the middle of it all drinking Bud Lights. I do think they’d already had a few too many by that point. It was great to work with my fellow Board members and out volunteers to make something like this come together. Although the crowd was smaller for most of the day, as evening approached more and more came and I figure there were 5-600 at the peak of it. I was intrigued by how many older people also stayed to the end.
The music ended around 10:30 much to the chagrine of those still there and by that point I had changed into my flats, shorts and a tee to help with tear down. Jesse came to help and he was a great assist on the stage while I helped with other things. I had to wait so he and I could deliver the tents back to the GroundFloor. I was glad we had those sturdy tents as the wind had kicked up fierce at one point causing a bit of chaos for the other tents set up round the park. By the time we dropped off and I got home it was 12:30, a very full day indeed. It was worth it and I discovered artists I want to hear more of but it will be nice to rest tomorrow and NOT talk.
triumphgal 