Tha Galaxy barn, Pickathon 2006. Saturday.

The main stage has finished, and the late night crowd packs into this unbelievably hot room. I feel espresso laced with whiskey sweating out my pores as I watch Martha Scanlan, in a lacy dress over jeans, tune her guitar. Her shoulders hunch slightly over the body of her instrument, and her hands shake slightly. I wonder why. The band starts going in a crooked reel- circular- and everyone is stomping. Her left foot starts its side shuffle as they pick up speed and her head bobs. I am out of my mind with good fortune at being this close to such amazing musicians who are having this much fun. Then, Betse Ellis, the crazy fiddler from the Wilders (this band is a seriously good time)comes on out with her wide legged stance and bow shredding maniacal fiddling. One by one all of the Wilders show up on stage, Ike Sheldon who sports a GIANT grey beard and bald head the last to arrive. Sweat is pouring, whiskey flowing, people are shoutin, stompin, and generally whoopin it up. No one’s got water, but everybody has a beer. Then Evie Laden pulls out an old door, throws it on the floor and begins clogging. Martha yells “Evie!!! Wowooooooo!!!”, but no one can really hear the clogging or Martha’s yelling because the instruments have taken on a life of their own, fingers, arms, hands, boots flying. Everyone is moving. And when the song ends, one of the musicians says, “I do believe we have ourselves a real old time dance party!” Around 1:00 am the Avett Brothers take over, and the relationship between punk and old time has never been clearer (they rock!).

Other highlights of the weekend include the Everybodyfields- truly heartbreaking songwriting and a male vocalist who is sort of a cross between Ryan Adams and Loudon Wainwright, an intimate workshop with Kris Delmhorst and Mark Erelli, clogging lessons with the Stairwell Sisters, sitting 10 feet away from the stage for Greg brown, and some late night shit talking with Garet. The Pickathon is a good one.