A Concert in a Kayak

One of my favorite things in life is tailgating. I'll get up at 7 AM to travel to drink at a concert or sports event, but don't even think about asking me to get up before 9 AM to do much else. Needless to say, I've done my fair share of tailagting but I had never done it in a kayak before this past weekend. Following a night with Coldplay, I headed up to Newport with the lady friend for the Newport Folk Festival. We woke up early Saturday morning, biked to the docks, hopped into a couple kayaks and rowed over to Fort Adams. I had no idea what to expect. Well apparently, I wasn't the only one with this idea. The bay was packed with people on yachts, motorboats, rafts, sailboats, canoes, kayaks, wood, tires, whatever floated. It was great because we all shared a common bond: we were the smart (or should I say smaht) ones at the Newport Folk Fest. Why spend fifty dollars on a ticket to get into the concert when you could sit on the water, drink beer, and hear the concert just as well as the suckers on land. Noon rolled by and Mr. Ray LaMontagne hit the stage. This was my third time seeing Ray and at this point you pretty much know what to expect. He played the hits off his album "Trouble" which included a phenomenal version of "Hold You in My Arms". Overall, the setlist was pretty standard and he seemed to sleepwalk through the lyrics. The crowd seemed relatively unimpressed especially those sitting in the water who hadn't hit a good buzz yet. I'm still a believer in Ray, but I have to wonder about his staying power especially with the remarks he's made about other musicians, most notably Robert Randolph who he blatantly told a reporter that he did not like his music. For a guy that's pretty quiet, he makes some pretty bold statements. The highlight of the afternoon other than the fact I was drunk in a kayak was Bela Fleck and his trio which for one song included Del McCoury. I've yet to hear a banjo player that even comes close to Bela. In fact I've yet to hear a banjo player that anyone really listens to other than Bela. Regardless, he played an enthused set and had the tailgaters in the Bay groovin' for about an hour. So, when August rolls around next year be sure to get up to Fort Adams in Newport. Just make sure you're drinkin' in the bay because even if the music sucks, you'll still be in the middle of quite a party.

If you look closely,there we are in the red kayaks,courtesy of the Newport Daily News