Anyone entering the Memorial Union this past Saturday may have thought it was just a typical animated Saturday night in the Union. There was a concert going on in Der Rathskeller, and the main floor of the building seemed to have its usual Saturday night festivities. But despite this deceptive façade, there was something going on in the Union that was far from typical.
If anyone were to venture to the second or third floors of the Memorial Union, he would have seen hundreds of people clogging up the hallways waiting for entry to the Great Hall. But what could this fire hazard of a crowd possibly been waiting for?
While Joanna Newsom is not a name that is immediately recognizable to most, after releasing her second album, Ys, earlier this November, the harp-playing folk musician has seen nothing but critical acclaim and increasing recognition. Newsom's performance style, which pairs classically influenced folk music with quirky vocals, typically polarizes listeners into two categories: those who scoff and those who praise. On this past Saturday night, it was "those who praise" who showed up in extraordinary numbers to see Joanna Newsom in the Memorial Union's Great Hall as the last performer of the weekend-long "Madison Pop Festival."
The Madison Pop Festival coordinators attempted to enforce a "no line-forming" policy for the show because Joanna Newsom was tuning her harp for hours prior to the show and did not want the distraction of a crowd waiting outside while she was completing this laborious and tedious task (as the concert harp that Newsom plays has 47 strings). But these attempts to disband any semblance of a line proved futile, as Joanna Newsom fanatics piled in, crowding and obstructing the hallways and stairways of the Union in anticipation of the free concert.
During the extended pre-performance wait, Newsom's diverse fan base showed itself. While the hundreds waiting around the hallways for the show were mostly of the college-age demographic, an older crowd was surprisingly well-represented in number at the show, proving that Newsom's appeal is not limited to any age.
It was also in this "not supposed to be a line, but pretty much was a line" line outside the Great Hall, that the crowd first witnessed the amateur planning of this event. While the organizers of the Madison Pop Festival (mostly comprised of members of the Wisconsin Union Directorate Music Committee) should be commended for putting on a free weekend-long festival with an excellent lineup, their organization of the headlining event of the festival was lacking.
The "no-line forming" policy made it possible for people who had been waiting for a short period of time to get better spots once the doors opened than those who had been waiting in the hallways for hours. Also, because of the lack of control and regulation, people (some coming from as far away as Chicago) were turned away when the Great Hall quickly became over capacity as the crowd rushed in, in a mob-like fashion. Even after the crowd had finally poured into the Great Hall after hours of waiting around in the hallways, the concert started later than planned, making the tensions in the crowd run higher than they already were.
A festival representative reassured the crowd that the opening act would "arrive in 15 minutes," but after 45 minutes had passed and the concert had not begun, the host began to look around anxiously and nervously — perhaps aware that if a riot were to ensue, he would be the first target. Thankfully though, the frustrations of the crowd were quickly calmed and mitigated as the opening act, Smog, took the stage, unapologetic and casual considering his tardiness.
Smog is the pseudonym of Bill Callahan, a lo-fi singer-songwriter known for his repetitious guitar patterns and his low, almost baritone voice. He played a 45-minute long set solo, with just an acoustic guitar as accompaniment, playing old songs as well as introducing new ones. At times Smog's music was a bit lethargic and lacking dynamic, but despite this, he received a good reaction after each song from Smog enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
After a brief intermission, Newsom came out in a striking red dress. After making a few introductory comments, she began her set with 2004's The Milk-Eyed Mender opening track, "Bridges and Balloons." Her singing sounded a bit delayed and tired in this first song as she sung most of the lyrics slightly behind the beat. Following the song, she aptly began "The Book of Right On," recognizable to the audience just from the first three notes played on the bass register of the harp. But after starting with two songs from her seminal album The Milk-Eyed Mender, she decidedly switched gears and performed an old Scottish folk ballad — playing it with a grace that made this traditional folk song as palatable to the audience as her familiar songs.
Following this song, Newsom brought out her five-piece band to accompany her for the performance of her most recent album, Ys. While the album incorporates string arrangements by composer and producer Van Dyke Parks (perhaps most famous for his collaboration with Brian Wilson on "Smile"), Newsom left it up to five other musicians to transcribe, condense and recreate the orchestral string arrangements from the album. The unique live instrumentation gave the material less of a symphonic feel and more of a nuanced folk tone. Among the many instruments played were the Bulgarian Tambura (a long-necked lute-type instrument), accordion, banjo, musical saw, glockenspiel, various percussion, guitars and, of course, the harp.
Newsom and company played through each of the five songs on her album in order, starting with "Emily" and ending with the closest thing to a pop song on the album, "Cosmia." The band stepped off the stage to give Newsom the spotlight during the album's third track, "Sawdust and Diamonds," as her fluid harp parts on the song do not require any additional accompaniment. This display proved to be one of the highlights of the show, displaying Newsom's remarkable harp playing as well as the unique and incredible range of her idiosyncratic voice.
However, each song she played with the back-up band was also performed with an indomitable precision and aesthetic, resulting in a mesmerized crowd who remained completely silent and lulled until in between songs, when they would give ecstatic and enthusiastic applause in astonishment at the talent of this young musician and the beauty of her music.
By the end of the concert, Newsom had completely alleviated any dissatisfaction the crowd had with the organizers of this event. No, it was not just a typical Saturday night at the Memorial Union — those who were there witnessed something truly special at the performance of perhaps one of the world's most talented harp-playing folk musicians. OK, so the competition may be slightly lacking, but Joanna Newsom's performance was the pinnacle of the weekend's Madison Pop Festival and was a genuine exposure of one of today's brightest and most inspiring musicians.
