Charlemagne "Pink and Silver" from Detour Allure Live at Marquette Waterfront Festival Madison, WI June 11, 2006 PODCAST EXCLUSIVE!

Charlemagne is actually songwriter Carl Johns and a rotating cast of performers -- a trio on their recent tour, sometimes five or more. And sometimes over a dozen. This set at this past June's Marquette Waterfront Festival on the shore of Lake Monona opened with an invocation of political defiance, during which it became clear that the 12 or so people standing on stage -- including the kid with the guitar -- weren't going anywhere.

The lot of them launched into a rousing version of their standard opener, "Pink and Silver," which got the lakeshore crowd up and moving. Even though the Waterfront Festival feels at times more like a backyard barbeque than anything else, the audience was clearly ready to get into the music.