Review: Life is good, Sunday
[Ray LaMontage performs with Levon Helm Band] credit: Fred Harrington
Life is good 2011 wrapped up on Sunday evening in Canton, Mass. with the raspy, aching voice of Ray LaMontagne cutting through the night air and absolutely enrapturing the crowd of 10,000. His signature voice, sometimes haunting, sometimes reassuring, was pitch-perfect and filled the expansive grounds leaving festival goers with certainly one of the strongest acts of the weekend.
Coming directly from the Raphael Saadiq that nearly set Prowse Farm on fire, LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs were a stark dichotomy. Cooling down the crowd, the band played an hour and a half set including Repo Man and a great cover of Merle Haggard’s Mama Tried with Larry Campbell from Levon’s band on fiddle. His quietly pensive voice, while sometimes perhaps too quiet, still had the crowd completely engaged. New York City is Killing Me & Trouble were certainly two of the highlights of the set. Let It Be Me, LaMontagne’s brilliant song from Gossip in the Grain, concluded his set and the festival. His wispy voice seemingly still floating in the air, the crowds departed with another spectacular day of music under their belts.
[Ray LaMontagne] Credit: Fred Harrington
- Previously on HT: Life is Good Festival – Saturday
READ ON for more on Sunday at Life is good…
Singer-songwriter, Zee Avi opened the Main Stage and was followed by funk and jazz saxophone legend Maceo Parker. Although well known for his work with James Brown and Parliment-Funkadelic, Maceo Parker can clearly lead a band on his own. Extraordinary chops and stage presence, Parker’s band had the concert fields bouncing and dancing early in the day.
[Maceo Parker]
Brandi Carlile followed and her acoustic guitar and beautiful voice was a stark contrast to the wide open funk jams that preceded her on the Main Stage. The set included Carlile staples in What Can I Say & Dreams, a new song penned while the singer was in Boston this summer on her 30th birthday during an epic lightning storm, and a terrific version of Leonard Cohen’s spine tingling Hallelujah popularized by the late, great Jeff Buckley. Joining Carlile and her band for several songs and to wonderful effect was a couple dozen members of the Boston Pops. Mixing strings, brass & woodwinds from the Pops with Carlile’s own guitar and lush voice was a treat.
[Levon Helm] credit: Fred Harrington
Preceding Sunday’s headliner, was The Levon Helm Band. Making sporadic appearances apart from his legendary Midnight Rambles, the band always leaves the crowd happy with classic tracks such as Ophelia, the Grateful Dead’s Attics of My Life, and the omnipresent closer in a rambunctious performance of The Weight. Like the prior set, The Boston Pops sat it with Levon’s band and added depth & texture to these classic tunes that have graced setlists since the Last Waltz. As if the stage wasn’t crowded enough, with Levon’s own large band and the Boston Pops, Ray LaMontagne joined the mix for a wonderful take on Dylan’s Tears of Rage. Hearing LaMontagne’s vocals on stage with Helm, one could close their eyes and imagine a young Levon Helm, with a similar timeless and unique sound, guesting with another legend before him. It was magical.
[Levon Helm]
The Good Vibes stage, again for the second day, hosted a set of acts that very well could have performed on the Main Stage. Rafael Saadiq blew out of the gates with an absolutely ripping version of Buddy Miles’ Them Changes. The set, like The Hold Steady yesterday, was certainly the highest energy act of the day tearing the stage up with an electric mix of R&B, Rock, and Soul. Smoking versions of Heart Attack, Radio and scat-infused I Never Felt This Way Before had fans sweating during the blistering set. Robert Randolph came out and guested on You Should be Here with the pedal steel adding to the already full sound of the band. Day Dreams from Saadiq’s new Stone Rollin’ album offered up another chance for a collaboration mixing Hendrix riffs, funked out soul, and incendiary guitar work. Again, perhaps one the biggest unexpected treats of the day for many in attendance.
[Rafael Saadiq]
Pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph and his Family Band also brought heat to this stage and proved his inclusion on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time worthy. Ryan Montbleau Band, performing on his home turf of Massachusetts, had many fans singing along throughout his set including the apt selection in 75 and Sunny. Jenny Dee rounded out the Good Vibes stage.
[Robert Randolph]
As was the case on Saturday, and last year, the wildly popular Kids Tent, the only enclosed space at the Festival played to a packed house every set. A gigantic tent easily accommodating at least a couple thousand people, had Keller Williams, often a headliner at large events himself, entertaining fans of all ages.
Fantastic food offerings, including a never ending line for the Samosa Man, reasonable pricing, a staff eagerly willing to please with a cheerful, helpful spirit, a myriad of entertainment, sports, art, and product offerings pushed this event over the top from merely a fantastic music festival to a fantastic experience as a whole.
Cherry on the cake: Over $1Million was raised for Children’s Charities.
[Brandi Carlile]
[Ryan Montbleau]
[Raphael Saadiq]
[75 and Sunny. Ryan Montbleau Band]
[Raphael Saadiq Electrified Canton]
I thought Robert Randolph was the best performance of the day, even though it seemed like he was phoning it in a bit. It was great seeing Keller play with his two young children in the crowd during Levon Helm. Life Is Good is the template all family friendly festivals should be organized around.
What a great couple days of music, some standout performances by Levon Helm, Randolph, Avetts, Saadiq & others. Fun festival, thanks for the recaps.
hi…………………….
We came over from Britain specially for the festival, and to see Levon Helm in particular – fantastic! But the great discovery of the day was RYAN MONTBLEAU, we were knocked out!..and so were the crowd, they just loved him and his music was so infectious. We’ll be coming back to the US again if ‘Life is Good’ is THIS GOOD!