July 22 - Newport Folk Festival

blondesnotbombs wrote:[align=center:27dcm1ui]#excited# :#excited#: :#excited#: [size=200:27dcm1ui][url=Folk Arrangement of Too Many Dicks][/url] :#excited#: :#excited#: :#excited#: [/align:27dcm1ui]

Even Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie of the Flight of the Conchords seemed puzzled as to why they were at the Newport Folk Festival. After all, they were famous not for mountain ballads or Delta blues but for doing spot-on parodies of David Bowie, Prince and Isaac Hayes on their HBO comedy series about two inept, wannabe rock stars from New Zealand.

But there they were at the most famous folk festival in North America. So how what did the two men offer as a gesture of accommodation to the folk world? A new arrangement of their disco number, “Too Many Dicks (On the Dance Floor),” as a two-headed Bob Dylan impersonation.

In the end, it didn’t matter if their connection to folk music was extremely tenuous, for they delivered one of the best sets of the weekend. The two men limited themselves to acoustic guitars, acoustic piano and percussion (and were joined by cellist Nigel Collins for most of the set), but they were still able to pull off such famous parodies as “Bowie” and “It’s Business Time,” even without the elaborate studio production of the original TV versions. And, of course, the between-songs banter was as entertaining as the songs themselves.

Better yet, Clement and McKenzie didn’t merely recycle bits from the TV show. They introduced several new songs that were as good as anything they’ve ever done. “Father &
Son” was a vicious satire of every sentimental MOR song you’ve ever heard. Clement played a single father visiting his son, played by McKenzie. “Dad,” Just when things seemed unbearable maudlin, McKenzie sang, “You know very well that Mom didn’t die;
she hooked up with a guy named Trevor.” Still the highlight of the set was the old favorite, “I’ve Got Hurt Feelings,” perhaps the funniest hip-hop song ever.

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Amily wrote:[align=center:19b6cqpm][/align:19b6cqpm]