With the night closing in on Day 3 of TD Sunfest 2011, some early champs were emerging.
The final day of the four-day free world-beat fest at Victoria Park is still to come — but some LFPress.com awards can be handed out now.
Best encore: Puerto Rico’s Plena Libre came back late Saturday for a post 11 p.m. “one more song.” That’s a Sunfest rarity because of whatever silly London bylaw stops the fun when thousands of happy fans want a little more music and dance.
Plena Libre had the biggest crowd of Saturday, with thousands jamming the area in front of the Kiwanis bandshell.
There were some other easy champs to name.
When a festival with acts from around the world has a Canadian banjo ace who hires two ace London-tied string players for his Room of Wonders band, that’s an automatic winner in its category.
That category would be:
Local heroes of 2011 — Orchestra London double bassist Joe Phillips and former Londoner and Oakridge secondary school grad, cellist Andrew Downing, are both with Juno-winning banjo player Jayme Stone’s Room of Wonders. Their last Sunfest gig this weekend is Sunday, 11:30 a.m., Galaxie stage. Get on down.
Meanwhile, when the two hippest bands at a fest both boast the same elephantine piece of brass, that’s what you call a trend.
Cult instrument award for Sunfest 2011 — the sousaphone, a tuba cousin devised to wrap around marching band players, is a big (make that huge) factor in Chicago’s Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and NYC’s Red Baraat. Both groups pulled crowds of happy dancers and ravers. HBE’s sousaphone player is nicknamed “L.T.” — presumably after NFLer Lawrence Taylor — and chose the big instrument because its players all looked burly and buff.
Where the stars eat — The food vendors were basking in the heat, but only Plaza Mexico had HBE members lining up for its South of the Border cuisine.
Where and what this LFPress.com critic drinks — The Original Tiki Bar’s mango smoothies, always a winner at $5. Quenches like no other.
Most charismatic performer — (Tie) Pacifika’s singer Silvana Kane and Red Baraat’s MC and percussionist Sunny Jain.
Best quotation (anonymous insider) “Once again Londoners have come to a public place and treated it like a toilet. God knows what their own backyards look like.” With 15 eco-stations around the park, there is no excuse for tossing garbage around Victoria Park, the historic heart of London.
Shame award — Those who treated the park with such disrespect.
Okay, let’s end Day 3 on an up note.
Class act — Cuba’s Sierra Maestra will close the fest at the bandshell on Sunday at 10 p.m. Tough to top their intimate set Saturday at the Aboutown stage where the bells of St. Peter’s like to chime in every now and then.
Best corporate sponsor ad ever:
The backpage of the fine-as-always program (a deal at $3) has a photo of great American composer Thelonious Monk. Even better, it quotes Monk: “Trying to explain music is like trying to dance architecture.”
TD, that’s classy.
