Joni Mitchell from Saskatchewan and Gilles Vigneault from Quebec made a thunder in Toronto last weekend. The two singers brought down the open sky at Centre Island when they performed Friday night at the Mariposa Folk Festival.

Among those who went to Toronto to attend the annual concert was George Mousseau, 57 Blake Street.

“The Cape Breton Fiddlers started the show and were good, but the girl playing piano with them – she made it. She was bouncing all over the place, from one end of the piano to the other.”

John Allan Cameron, also of Cape Breton, followed. “He was pretty good on guitar but he had no voice and he was corny.”

Then Bonnie Dobson. “She really surprised me. I’ve heard her here and on television but she has become so professional. It was almost like watching some one like Joni Mitchell for the first time, making her first advancement to success.

“She was nervous when she came on and started tuning up but that was part of her charm.”

Gilles Vigneault, the French-Canadian singer who wrote Mon Pays, followed Miss Dobson.

“He came on like a storm. He and Joni Mitchell were the only people who got standing ovations.

“He spoke in an English which was atrocious. He’d get half way through his introduction and go “bah” then start the song.

“The last song he did was really fast and the audience started to clap along. Gilles had to stop them because they were going too fast and the band couldn’t keep up. But he started the clap later too and the song ended in a thunder of applause.”

Bruce Cockburn of Ottawa sang next. “His voice was all tone; he did wonderful things,” even though he looked “rather bummy”.

Alanis Obomsawin sang entirely in Indian, “except for one”.

The official program says of Miss Obomsawin, “She has appeared in a previous Mariposa Festival as well as the Newport and Algoma Folk Festivals, while also working in concerts and TV across Canada, U.S. and Europe.

And she told stories of her people on the Odanak Reserve near Montreal. George explained, “When the Indians get bothered they take a crude form of LSD and then everything is beautiful again and they have a ceremony of corn to the God.

“She played a song for the white-man who is always being led astray – maybe someday he will learn.”

Joni Mitchell started her performance with Chelsea Morning and ended with Both Sides Now. “She was as good as Joni Mitchell ever is,” George said.

“She sang a song about a cat, which she hasn’t finished yet. The crowd just loved it and gave her a standing ovation. But when she was finished she wouldn’t come on again.

“A CBC cameraman loused it up for the rest of us. He stood right by the stage and talked out loud through her performance. She looked over at him and shook her head – a no-word put down.”

Ian and Sylvia were the last performers Friday evening. “It was a shame. Everybody had to get back to the ferry so it looked like a mass migration from the grounds after their first song. Only a third of the crowd stayed.”

With George at Mariposa were Debbi Ingabrand and Blane Harvey.

Jay Hamilton, Mike LeBlanc and Linda Strom attended the Saturday night performance. Linda commented, “It was rather boring for most of the people. We expected more folk music; instead it was country and western with people like Doc Watson and Mac Wiseman.

“Taj Mahal was good and the Georgia Sea Island Singers had everybody hopping but I wouldn’t call them all that good.

“Mike Seeger was good but I didn’t care for the thing as a whole.”

Linda found the audience interesting. “There were all sorts of people from everywhere.

“We brought food and passed it out. People four rows back were eating our sandwiches.”

Linda’s group went back Sunday afternoon but it had rained and puddles of water covered everything. “We didn’t think it was worth it to stay.”

No one from Sault Ste. Marie saw the Sunday night performance which featured Joan Baez, Oscar Brand, Vera Johnson, Owen McBride, Jean Redpath, Jean Ritchie South Happiness Street Society Skiffle Band and Michael Cooney.