“The XPoNential Music Festival presented by Subaru features three
stages, 30+ performers, and an eclectic line-up of established and
up-and-coming artists heard on WXPN 88.5FM, the award-winning Philadelphia
public radio station. We’re proud to celebrate over 25 years of bringing the
XPN community and true music fans together for a 3-day, family-friendly
experience along the [Camden] riverfront.” (from xpnfest.org)
This ranks as one of the better XPNFests I’ve attended, especially
since it did not coincide with the record-breaking heat wave of the previous
weekend. It was hot, but not unbearably so, with no rain, moderate humidity (the
first two days, anyway), and at least the occasional breeze.
I didn’t even bother trying to drive/park on Friday, instead opting to
take the River LINE (their caps, not mine) from the Route 73/Pennsauken station
– in the middle of nowhere, but parking is both plentiful and free, and seniors
can ride for a mere 75 cents. The final Wiggins Park set (Dawes) started at
7:40, so I figured I should be able to catch the whole thing and still take the
last train back at 9:31. As it turned out, I was actually able to (barely) make
the previous train at 9:02. It was a positive enough experience that I did it
again on Saturday, since I wasn’t planning to stay late, although weekend parking near Wiggins Park has never
been much of a problem. I did drive to the riverfront and park Sunday, since
the closing set by the Amy Ray Band didn’t start until 8:00.
BEST 3 SETS (ALPHABETICAL)
Kathleen Edwards – The only
previous time I had seen Edwards was at the 2003 festival, back when it was
still on the Philadelphia side of the river. I didn’t get to the festival in
2012 when she returned, and she subsequently took a break from music to open a
coffee shop (a pursuit she strongly advised the audience against on Sunday). I’ve
always had some difficulty putting the Canadian singer-songwriter’s music into
a neat box: maybe guitar-heavy alt-country with frequent hints of Neil Young.
(On Facebook, she facetiously specifies her “genre” as “black metal meets
contemporary Christian”.) At any rate, she and her band put on a great show Sunday
afternoon and had a lot of fun doing it, especially for someone who’s not
exactly known for her light-hearted party tunes. (For an example, check the
lyrics for her first single, “Six O’Clock News”.) She even managed to change
the words of “Back To Me” on the fly, improvising in a reference to her “bad
hair day”.
Guster – Also XPNFest
veterans, Ryan Miller and friends were next up on the River Stage Sunday
afternoon, producing both the biggest surprise and the best stunt of the
festival. Part of the way through “Overexcited” (their latest single), Ryan
mentioned how much they had enjoyed touring with Barenaked Ladies some years
earlier. With that, he brought three of the BNL guys onto the stage – they happened
to be sharing the bill that evening next door at BB&T Pavilion – at which
point two of them inserted part of the rap from “One Week” into the middle of
Guster’s song. Between tunes a bit later in their set, Ryan talked briefly
about the wide selection of lawn chairs visible in the crowd. He followed that
up by going out into the crowd as he sang “Doin’ It By Myself” (no mean trick
with a non-wireless mic), borrowed a lawn chair from someone near the front of
the lawn, and took it back to the stage, where he sat during the rest of the
song. (Yes, we standees passed the chair back to its owner after the number was
over.) Showmanship aside, the band also kept the crowd happy with their music,
reaching into their back catalog for favorites such as “Barrel Of A Gun”, “Careful”,
and “Satellite”.
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty
Birds – One of the joys of XPNFest is when you discover someone you weren’t
previously familiar with. This Brooklyn-based band, led by singer-songwriter Arleigh
Kincheloe, has been around for 10 years or so; it’s possible that I might have
heard a song or two of theirs on WXPN, but nothing ever jumped out at me. That
wasn’t the case on Saturday afternoon, as they struck me as a 21st-century
version of Cold Blood, with a brassy jazz-funk sound, great material, and Kincheloe
playing the role of Lydia Pense.
A FEW OTHERS WORTH MENTIONING
Dawes – Although my concert
history with Dawes has been mixed, I was looking forward to them closing out
the Wiggins Park part of the festivities on Friday evening. For me, their set
wound up being solid but not transcendent, better than their 2017 Lincoln Theatre show, but not as good as when I saw them in 2015 (both at the Warner Theatre in June and at XPNFest a month later). The highlights this time
included “Feed The Fire” (the second song in their set), the solos during “If I
Wanted Someone” later, and especially “A Little Bit Of Everything”, which for
the first two verses was limited to Taylor Goldsmith’s poignant vocals and Lee
Pardini’s piano.
As was the case in 2017, volume was the main problem. After standing in
the “pit” in front of the stage for 45 minutes before their performance in
order to get and keep a good position, the sound level of their opening song
(especially the bass), was nothing short of painful, so I hastened to return to
my spot on the lawn, where it was still quite loud. The volume was especially
obnoxious during the normally-lovely “Time Spent In Los Angeles”, which was
truly bludgeoned into submission.
Bettye LaVette – Earlier on
Friday, veteran soul singer Bettye LaVette put on a well-received performance.
She started with two tracks from her album of Dylan covers – “Things Have
Changed” (my all-time Dylan favorite) and “It Ain’t Me, Babe”. She then
proceeded to move through a summary of her lengthy musical history, with a
cover of Lucinda Williams’s “Joy” as her penultimate song. I hadn’t realized
that she was the first to record “Let Me Down Easy”, which is one of the best
tracks on Cold Blood’s eponymous 1969 debut LP.
The Wood Brothers – This was
a shorter set than when I saw them at Wolf Trap a month ago – no “Big Boss Man”
to start or Dr. John tribute, but nevertheless a lot of overlap, including “Keep
Me Around” and “Shoofly Pie”.
Low Cut Connie – I certainly
didn’t see every act at the festival, but Low Cut Connie frontman Adam Weiner
definitely gets my award for most charismatic performer. While their musical
style (glam rock meets punk?) is not normally my cup of tea, their material and
performance were both strong. “Beverly” is surprisingly mellow but not at all
typical; their opening “All These Kids Are Way Too High” is more
representative. They also threw in a few covers, including a blistering version
of Harry Nilsson’s “Jump Into The Fire” to close their set.
Amy Ray Band – With the
Indigo Girls on temporary hiatus (they’re working on a new album, expected out
early next year), Amy Ray (the tall, dark, intense one) has been touring with
her own band, including Alison Brown on banjo. She got a rousing reception for
her festival-closing set from what was left of the Sunday afternoon crowd,
although I suspect most of them were as unfamiliar with her material as I was; “Rise
Of The Black Messiah” was the only Indigo Girls song, with almost everything
else from Amy’s own albums. (“Sure Feels Good Anyway”, from her most recent
album, did get quite a bit of well-deserved airplay on WXPN.) There was a fun
moment midway through the set when, after mentioning that her home state of
Georgia has had some problems recently, she name-checked Stacy Abrams
(applause), Jimmy Carter (loud applause), John Lewis (more applause), and Lil
Nas X – until I read the review, I hadn’t noticed that she was wearing a Lil
Nas X t-shirt. She ended the show with a rousing version of “Refugee”; Tom
Petty would have been proud.
