It’s 10am, time to leave and it is pouring. Seems outdoor festivals and rain go hand in hand. Funny but between the time we leave the room and the time we get downstairs to the door the rain stops. Could turn out OK after all.
Our first impression is how many people there are on site yet it does not seem crowded. There is a relaxed atmosphere and we are not elbow to elbow. We were a bit put off when at two different benches built for three with only two occupants, Debbie asks if she could sit and the answer was a very sharp NO. Didn’t seem too friendly to us. But we soon found people willing to share and we shared a sitting cube with another couple and had a great time asking questions and getting the ins and outs of the festival workings.
One of the more chi chi things at this festival is the portapotties. No outhouse style can here. These are temporary single stall flush toilets. They are set in banks of eight and moved to the next event on a flatbed truck. Pretty damn fancy. We are both very impressed with these!!
Open Air Stage
Celtic music seems to be what we are taking in the most but the first band we see today is on the main stage. FolkBaltica Ensemble is a youth orchestra comprised of young people from the surrounding area both Danish and German. The local school kids had the morning off school so they could attend this particular concert and boy did that up the numbers. The main stage audience tripled and there was little room left to move.
Skipinnish
At Tent 2 Skipinnish is playing. They are from Scotland and have two sets of the ubiquitous Scottish pipes as part of their group. The music they play is a modern take of the traditional Scottish repertoire. They were talented and well practiced. We quite enjoyed their show.
On to Tent 1 and Sam Kelly and the Lost Boys. A group of young guys from Britain. Really liked the part of the set we sat in on. They had kind of rockish bent on folk music. Did an excellent rendition of Bob Dylan’s little known ‘Crash on the Levee’. It is their last gig here but I will try to remember their name in case we come across them in the future. Might be tempted to buy their CD even after listening to just one song.
One of the stars on our list of bands to see is Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle. These three are now the old guys of the British folk scene. They are masters of their instruments. The concert was letter prefect and just what you might expect. I personally found it a bit uninspiring but could not help but marvel at the mastery of their craft.
Each time we pass through the entry gate our bag is checked. They are not just looking for glass bottles and/or alcohol but any liquid what so ever. This was outlined in the program so we are aware and only bring along empty bike water bottles. On about our 4th time through the gate the young lady informs us we can have one bottle of water with us. This will be handy as we are not able to find a water station anywhere on site.
The on site ATM’s are quite a bit different then the ones we see at home. Think of an Atco trailer with two wicket windows, a very nice helpful person sitting at each window that hands you a portable point of sale machine, you insert your card, type out your pin and when it is approve the person behind the wicket window hands you the cash. Some things in Europe are way ahead of NA but I don’t think they have the portable ATM thing down yet.
The food situation is very good here. There is a good selection of different types of food and all of it is relatively inexpensive. AND I have yet to see a line up of any length at any of the vendors.
This evening we seemed to focus on women’s groups. The first band is a duo from the US, Dusty Heart. Very good harmonies and interesting kibitzing between songs. Their songs could have used a bit of variation in volume and/or tempo but I enjoyed the show immensely.
The last group of the evening for us was All Our Exes Live In Texas from Australia. Didn’t really get the name except they explained they had been to Texas a few times and were looking without much success for would be exes. Again their songs were all quite similar. Their between song banter was quite topical and funny. They had obviously done their homework on Denmark. Another show worth seeing.
It did rain a few more times throughout the day but we managed to be inside each time it decided to pour and we stayed dry. See what tomorrow brings.
