Cat Came Back

Saturday afternoon at the 2010 Salmon Arm Root's & Blues Festival is a great time to either either be a kid, know one, or have been one.

A superlative family-friendly daytime line-up at this event is a given. No use picking and choosing show times from the programme; just show up, grab an ice cream, set up camp in the family circle, and leave the last forty years at the door.

Fred Penner was such a joy to watch, that watching wasn't enough. There were at least as many adults as children clapping, singling, and grinning ear-to-ear as there were children. It's a wonder to me that the songs and that voice could evoke such warm remembrances for so many of us older folk, even though much of the original experience may have been vicarious. And here we are again, ten, twenty, thirty years on, basking in the glow of those musical moments as though we had experienced them ourselves in the first person, rather than through the eyes and ears of our children. Where exactly does self end?

Mr. Penner treated us to his own extended self, bringing along a pick-up band (some pick-up band, it was actually Winnipeg's The F-Holes) who were very obviously playing with the children's icon for the very first time. But he led them with easy familiarity, even calling them back to the stage after one particularly romping effort - which they very obviously interpreted as the finish - with a pleasant but authouritative, "I didn't dismiss you!" They sheepishly but energetically jumped back on stage, then followed the parade thru to it's most proper conclusion, The Cat Came Back. But audience and band alike shared a smile when Mr. Penner deftly wove K-OS's Crabbukit into the progression of his own biggest hit. 

Later, The Kerplunks got all the little ones up dancing with a highly-interactive jam, featuring a stand-up bass and trumpet. The quartet approaches a younger audience with full measure of musical novelty. So often the sounds we hear these days are of similar substance, I can't imagine young ears wouldn't be drawn to such unfamiliar tones and rhythms. Mine certainly were.

This evening it will be back to the fair grounds, where our tardy arrival this afternoon earned us a patch of turf much removed from the action. But closer to the ice cream, mini-donut, and lemonade stands. I might have to snooze in the garden tomorrow morning as well!

When was the last time you broke out the children's albums? Or, to tell us about your own festival experiences, just click on "Comments" (below)