Just a few quick housekeeping notes. I have added some pictures and a couple short video segments. These are obviously unedited due to time and talent restrictions. I hope to improve their presentation through editing, cropping, zooming. etc. But I wanted to get some up before we leave town again. You can click on them for bigger size , which helps.
Almost all the photos are by my talented and lovely wife, Becky Glenn, with a couple by me braving the crowd for a better vantage point. Trust me, her photos are much better than my presentation reveals. I'll try to give her pics better editing and proper photo credits when I learn how.
Because I have added pics and vids I have restricted how many load up at once. Its now set for 3 posts per page. Let me know what you think. Also the comments thing should now allow anyone to comment without registering or anything, though I will preview them before they appear, to cut out spam and porn, etc.
And you see I took a little break in format to include the Playing for Change and Joan Baez concerts on the Santa Monica Pier. Well its my party and I'll cry if I want to!
Tonight we're off to the first house concert since I started this. John Batdorf and James Lee Stanley at the Duncan House Concert right in Ventura about 5 miles from home. They'll play both solo and together doing "All Wood and Stones" the CD they made together revisiting the songs of the early Rolling Stones done SoCal acoustic style.
We'll try to get pics and get a review up before we go to WorldFest. Its a real dilemma, having so much fun there's no time to write about how much fun we're having! It's just hectic in festival season!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
"Saint" Joan by the Sea
So, it was the source of some debate for us last week. After having seen the Internet phenomenom band "Playing for Change" at the Santa Monica Pier last Thursday night, we wondered if the rather modest size crowd of that night would be repeated or exceeded the following Thursday when we returned to see Joan Baez. I wasn't sure myself. Could the viral power of the internet, which made the "Playing for Change" video of "Stand By Me" such an inspirational success, trump almost 5 decades of musical accomplishment and social activism? Good news, fellow boomers! The crowd that showed up to see Joan last night grew so large they had to stop letting people in to the free concert and over-whelmed security finally gave up at keeping fire lanes open as they had been insisting on earlier in the night.
Well since I brought it up already, a quick review of last week's show. The Playing for Change Band was formed of some of the participants of the "Stand by Me" video, brought together from all over the world for this tour. Members of the band come from Africa, South America, Europe, the Caribbean and North America. The various musicians took turns in the spotlight doing a varied repertoire of ethnic music from their native areas, original tunes and some pop and soul standards. Despite some audio problems and a very out-of -tune guitar that apparently only I could hear, the band played a spirited set of crowd pleasing , life -affirming feel-good music and we really enjoyed it. The opening act was local reggae talent Bushman who sounded good also.
Check out video below.
Anyhow, back to last night. Joan looks great! And she sounds great still! Again there were some difficulties with the sound so the band finally said they would compensate for it on stage, which they did successfully. Her band consistedof a guitar/mandola player who sang background, a stand up bassist, a mandolin/fiddle/ pianist, and a hand percussionist. Unfortunarely the only musician's name I caught was the percussionist, who is named Gabriel Harris and, if I'm not mistaken, is Joan's son. I'll have to check that out.
I admit, over the years I've been kind of up and down on Joan's music, I generally like most of it but she tends to sound bland and boring sometimes. Well she really wowed me last night, performing some new songs as well as the gems of the past you'd expect. The emotional highlight came when she introduced a song she swore she would never do as nostalgia and dedicated it to the people of Iran. She then led the crowd in a moving singalong of "We Shall Overcome" and when she delivered the last verse in Farsi, we were shocked how many in the crowd could still sing along. Lots of Iranian emigrees in SoCal. The other highlights for me were the labor movement anthem "Joe Hill", a great version of "Don't Think Twice Its Alright" where she sang the last verse doing her best Bob Dylan impression (yes, really, I was pretty shocked too!), and ,as an encore, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". All in all a really nice time. And I love the fact that Joan is still out there daily fighting the good fight for social justice etc. I'll always admire her for that even after her voice goes away!
Well since I brought it up already, a quick review of last week's show. The Playing for Change Band was formed of some of the participants of the "Stand by Me" video, brought together from all over the world for this tour. Members of the band come from Africa, South America, Europe, the Caribbean and North America. The various musicians took turns in the spotlight doing a varied repertoire of ethnic music from their native areas, original tunes and some pop and soul standards. Despite some audio problems and a very out-of -tune guitar that apparently only I could hear, the band played a spirited set of crowd pleasing , life -affirming feel-good music and we really enjoyed it. The opening act was local reggae talent Bushman who sounded good also.
Check out video below.
Anyhow, back to last night. Joan looks great! And she sounds great still! Again there were some difficulties with the sound so the band finally said they would compensate for it on stage, which they did successfully. Her band consistedof a guitar/mandola player who sang background, a stand up bassist, a mandolin/fiddle/ pianist, and a hand percussionist. Unfortunarely the only musician's name I caught was the percussionist, who is named Gabriel Harris and, if I'm not mistaken, is Joan's son. I'll have to check that out.
I admit, over the years I've been kind of up and down on Joan's music, I generally like most of it but she tends to sound bland and boring sometimes. Well she really wowed me last night, performing some new songs as well as the gems of the past you'd expect. The emotional highlight came when she introduced a song she swore she would never do as nostalgia and dedicated it to the people of Iran. She then led the crowd in a moving singalong of "We Shall Overcome" and when she delivered the last verse in Farsi, we were shocked how many in the crowd could still sing along. Lots of Iranian emigrees in SoCal. The other highlights for me were the labor movement anthem "Joe Hill", a great version of "Don't Think Twice Its Alright" where she sang the last verse doing her best Bob Dylan impression (yes, really, I was pretty shocked too!), and ,as an encore, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". All in all a really nice time. And I love the fact that Joan is still out there daily fighting the good fight for social justice etc. I'll always admire her for that even after her voice goes away!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
LIVE OAK FESTIVAL - THE MUSIC - FRIDAY
Well, now that some preliminaries are taken care of, I can get to this blog's real mission - a discussion of the music. But one other thing you should note - It is nearly impossible to go to one of these music festivals and hear ALL the music. First off there are schedule conflicts where acts are on at the same time in different locations and choices must be made. Then of course there is the need to eat, sleep a bit, grab an occasional shower and take care of other bodily functions. And then, as a musician, there is the opportunity to jam with other players, sometimes at the expense of catching a live act. The saving factor in this, at Live Oak and most other festivals, is the fact that almost all acts are broadcast live on a low powered FM station that serves the festival grounds. So some acts may not be seen but are still heard. In doing these reviews I will let you know if I didn't actually see the act in question and will also let you know which acts I just outright missed. My apologies to my readers ( if I really have any! ) and to those acts I missed., I will endeavor to include links to acts websites when I can, and I encourage you to check them out, whether it was an act I heard and liked, or one I didn't like, or one I just missed. All of these acts are pros doing worthwhile music whether it meets my taste or not they are worth a look.
So first of all, here's a link to the festival's website that you may want to peruse
Now on to the music, taking things chronologically
FRIDAY, JUNE 19TH
Live Oak traditionally starts off on Friday night with Joe Dickerson playing his bagpipes briefly as a sort of a Welcome Ceremony. Then the emcee, Joe Craven, comes out and starts introducing the acts. For those not aware of Joe, he is a fixture in the Central/Northern California music scene as a mandolinist/fiddler/tenor guitarist/singer/percussionist/songwriter/workshop facilitator/educator/crusader and I could probably add slashes and other roles until my fingers bleed. He is quite a guy, a real character and interestingly is the only performer to appear at all three festivals we have gone to/will go to this summer. He is a fixture at festivals all across the country so those of you in other places probably could have a chance to see him somewhere. He is also one of the most ADVENTUROUS dressers I have ever seen.
So the first act to hit the stage was Rancho Deluxe, an alternative country band. Unfortunately I started the festival by missing them completely, which was disappointing to me, because I was looking forward to hearing them, but time got away from me setting up our campsite. Here is a link for them, they really deserve more than I'm offering but oh well.
Next up was Terry Evans, a soulful singer from Central/Northern California, who did a really nice set of soul and rhythm and blues in the vein of Otis Redding or Joe Tex. Terry has played with a host of major names like Boz Scaggs and Ry Cooder to name just a couple. He had a really tight band and really put on a stirring show I really enjoyed. But I have to say, this is an act that would be even better in a bar setting rather than on the festival stage. I don't know why, but some acts are just made to heard while getting loaded and dancing in a nightclub! Here's a link for Terry
Next up was Old Bind Dogs, described as a Traditional Scottish group. Even though I have extremely eclectic taste, Scottish music is not something I'm really into so we chose this time period to eat dinner back at the campsite,. We did catch about half their set and listened to the rest on the radio. These guys are really virtuoso players playing music I'm just not that into, but I still enjoyed them a bit. They also played later that evening at the late night Hot Licks Dance but we were jamming back at the campsite and skipped that. Their photo is above on the bottom. Here's their link
The last act of the night on the Main Stage was Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, one of the acts I was most looking forward to. For those unfamiliar with Dave, he used to front the group "The Blasters" and has been a fixture of California music for decades. His work these days is in that gray area where folk meets blues meets rock meets bluegrass often classified these days as Americana or American Roots music. We've been fans for a while, I just love his song "The King of California" a song that grabbed me immediately and I haven't tired of in a dozen or so years. His band for this tour, The Guilty Women, are a male musician's dream, 7 attractive women who all happen to be world-class kick-ass musicians. Of particular note are the wonderful Cindy Cashdollar on lap-steel and dobro, top session player Sarah Brown on bass and California guitar legend Nina Gerber who is amazing. Add in the dual fiddles of Laurie Lewis and Amy Farris, drummer Lisa Pankratz and vocalist Christy McWilson and you have one great band playing some really delightful Alvin tunes. This band is no novelty act- they are the real deal! Upper left photo is this band, sorry such a bad pic, I've got better of them from the Kate Wolf Fest but to use them here would be dishonest I guess. Here's Dave's website
That was the close of Friday night. We were beat and retired early, anticipating the next day of fun which I will tackle next post.
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