I ended part one of my Newport Folk Festival review discussing Jim James’ sublime sit-in with She & Him during the mother of all rainstorms. That wasn’t James only cameo of the weekend, as he also sang Dylan’s Goin’ To Acapulco with Calexico on Sunday afternoon. I love that JJ fully embraced the Newport Folk Festival and stuck around for all three days, unlike Trey Anastasio who took off mere minutes after his set ended.

[Photo by Drew Granchelli]

While Jim James’ sit-ins were outstanding, the highlight of the whole festival was his solo set on Saturday afternoon. Just as the rain was dying down My Morning Jacket’s lead singer treated the soaked crowd to an fan-fucking-tastic performance that mixed old favorites with a couple’a gems from Evil Urges. Jimmy also busted out a scintillating cover of Gil-Scott Heron’s When You Are Who You Are that had many in the audience scratching their noggins trying to figure out what tune they were hearing.

JJ paced the set fantastically moving from new tune to old tune and back again. M. Ward added backup vocals and a second guitar to Wonderful (The Way I Feel), Golden and Look at You, which gave each tune some nice depth. James’ voice was in fine form throughout the set and the crowd cooperated by remaining extremely quiet in awe of what they were witnessing. My favorite part of the set was the final tune: Z’s Anytime. I didn’t imagine that a solo version of that tune would sound so good. JJ eschewed use of his guitar in favor of an Omnichord, which he worked to perfection on Anytime. Once he finished singing Anytime Jim pressed a few buttons on the Omnichord which increased the tempo of the beat and ran off stage. It was a weird ending to a marvelous set. READ ON for more…

After heading to a tent to dry off I partook in some of Rhode Island’s finest frozen lemonade and seafood while waiting for Cat Power’s equipment to be setup. While I’ve heard plenty of Cat Power’s music, I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Chan Marshall and her band in person. I planned to catch a little of their set before enjoying the Black Crowes’ headlining performance. But I enjoyed Cat Power’s set so much that I never made it over to see the Robinson Brothers. Chan’s breathy voice sucked me in and her guitarist’s slick skills kept me entranced. By the middle of her set the sun came back out in full force providing a stunning backdrop. Marshall kept it together throughout the 75-minute performance that featured originals mixed with an eclectic batch of covers by the likes of Hank Williams, Lil’ Wayne and James Brown.

As I mentioned I missed the Crowes set at Newport, but according to Crowes Base the Robinson brothers opened up with Girl From The North Country and He Was A Friend Of Mine (accompanied by Luther Dickinson on mandolin) before the whole band came out for a batch of tunes from Warpaint as well as fan favorites Wiser Time, Jealous Again and Thorn In My Pride.

Once Cat Power’s mind blowing set ended, and I realized the Crowes were almost finished, I headed back to my car via a ferry into downtown Newport. Checking out the scene at the fest from a boat was a pretty cool capper to an incredible day.

When I returned to Fort Adams the next afternoon it felt as if the entire crowd had been replaced. Gone were the Phish t-shirts, horn-rimmed glasses and pretty much anyone under 40. The weather was clear and there was much more of a party atmosphere in the air. I didn’t expect to like the second day more than the first, but that’s exactly what happened.

Why did Scotty enjoy day 2 more than day 1? Tune in tomorrow to find out…