If we lived in a perfect world, every day we would shut down a giant street and fill it with music and food and performers of all types and drink all day. Sadly we live on Earth, and for some reason, Earthlings only do this on special occasions.
The 9th Annual Mississippi Street Fair – held Saturday, July 10 – was crowded, hot, bright and absolutely fun. For the drinker of alcoholic beverages, all the local spots along the street barricaded the section of the sidewalk in front of their businesses, so we patrons could enjoy the weather and the smoking of fine tobacco products with our drinks in hand, never having to step away from the atmosphere being provided by the collective kiosk vendor chain that ran the expanse of the street.
While walking from one end to the other, various volumes of multiple audio stimulation came pouring out of every nook and cranny. At one point, three musical gypsies were playing street-style over the beat coming from the adjacent art gallery, using the four-on-the-floor thump of electronic drum-and-bass to accompany their fiddle, banjo and upright bass playing without being drowned out. It was an advantageous thing for anyone in ear shot.
The Proust Bar and Grill patio, along with the food cart enclave proved to be my favorite spot. There was plenty of shade and the patio drinking was in full effect. The northernmost musical stage, The Parlour on the Hill, could be viewed and heard very well from that location on North Mississippi and Skidmore. That particular stage featured a lot of around-town folk acts.
Local klezmer folk band Shicky Gnarowitz & The Transparent Wings of Joy took the stage and started their three-piece violin-driven eastern European sound. If you’ve ever seen Everything is Illuminated, you might have a good idea of what that music sounds like. If not, expand your horizons and go check some out – it’s one of my favorite kinds of world music.
Next up was Fenbi International Superstars, a five-piece conglomeration of folk-y zydeco blues, accented by accordian, violin and guitar-based melody structures. They had a stompy feel, with a pseudo-pirate/polka vibe going on and a lot of shanty sing-along lyrical threads.
Finally, I checked out one of my favorite Portland songwriters, Adam Shearer – lead singer/songwriter for Weinland. What can I say? I like what he does, a lot. He has a great voice and prescence, his lyrics are awesome and he writes very well-put-together folk songs. I’ve been a fan since his band came through my hometown and stayed at my house. If you haven’t seen them play yet, I strongly suggest going to a show. They sound really amazing live and provide really good folk tunes that are catchy and thoughtful, with very attentive arrangements. They know what they’re doing; it always feels nice to be in good hands.
All in all the fair was an ultimate success, and I am definitely going again next year. Hope to see you there.
– Paul Valladon