Summer's here and the time is right...to go see a show...

[JRL]

Spent a good part of the day at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, played a set at the blues venue, walked around digging the scene, music everywhere. My idea of a good time. Now off to play at a festival afterparty, then tomorrow back to to the fest for more sights and sounds.

[senorsalvia]

:shock: ----  and just when I was having so much fun this morning as I listened to a ten-buck transistor radio.... :cry:    Well, uh, at least it was an all blues program and they were playin' alot of mean John Lee Hooker........     Glad to see one of the peeps wading in the tall cotton.. Have a great time bro JRL......

[JRL]

Saturday at the fest was a total blast. With my pay for 2 shifts (2 all venue badges and $100 in food and drink credits) burning a hole in ny pocket, TJ and I hit the festival a couple hours before my shift. We caught some fun Dixieland stuff at one stage, then found some friends playing in a tent hawking energy bars. Then to a bigger tent where our friends cCtfish and the Crawdaddies were holding forth with their traditional blues. Then we headed to yet another venue(all within 3 blocks) and heard the Delbert Bump Trio, with my old road buddy Steve Homan on guitar, doing a set of world class organ trio jazz, somewhere between Jimmy Smith and Medeski, Martin and Wood.

Then it was time for our(Steve Foster Band) set at the comedyclub turned blues bar for the festival. After we rocked the 250 seat venue for an hour, between sets by 2 of our fellow area bands, we ventured back out, ate up some more food rickets listening to Tom Rigney's Flambue (sp) playing rippin Zydeco.

Then off to the downtown mall area to this great old movie theater9there are venues all over town for the jazz destival) to catch my teacher Todd Johnson's set with Jim Martinez, an  Oscar Petersen tribute. At that point 9:00 we reassesed our plans of stayin there for an 11:00 show and then heading to the Torch and went home to our couch like the fogeys that we are.

I couldn't have dreamed up a better day, and I still got the badges and 25 food tickets. The Festival is over Monday afternoon, might try to make it over for a litlte more fun.

[laughingwillow]

The wife read the other day that The Wailers are coming back to our neck of the woods this summer as well as George Clinton. We'll catch those acts even though the venue is less than ideal. The shows will be held at a beautiful amphitheater tucked between the river and a high rise hotel. Beautiful location, great sound and a 10:30 pm curfew.... With the main act coming on around 9 pm, that doesn't leave a lot of time for the band to work out the kinks and settle into da groove. I especially worry about the George Clinton show. That dude usually starts late and plays until the crowd goes away or the management pulls the plug. (I don't ever remember staying for the end of one of his shows and we really dig their groove.)

And to top it off, we have a friend who records the shows for the promoter, giving us access to high quality copies of some great live material..... One and a half hours at a time...

lw

[JRL]

George Clinton proves pyscotics can be high functioning. I have heard some stories from my friend Kevin who played for him. plus others on shows with him. If he can't get his dope, he goes crazy, trashing hotel rooms doesn't even begin to describe it. Having said that: I love his music, you can't fight the funk. Bootsy is a huge influence, I can feel it when I start channeling him, it's that parade groove that P Funk does so well, sounds like a mix of New Orleans and James Brown, LSD and crack.

The Wailers are a great show, Family Man keeps em real.

[cenacle]

I'm stoked to see Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, with Steve Winwood opening, this summer at the Gorge Ampitheatre near Seattle, Washington. The Gorge is a beautiful outdoors venue, great place to see a show. I haven't seen Petty in some years but he ROCKED when I saw him about ten years ago. I've never seen Winwood but his recent album *Nine Lives* is his best new music in many years, very jammy and tribal. I have read they will play together, maybe encore. Should be amazing!  :twisted:

[laughingwillow]

Tom Petty is one of the acts I've never caught but would like to. Be sure to report back, eh?

lw

[cenacle]

First time I saw him, about '89, he and the band played the hits, fun but no real fireworks. A few years later, about '95 or so, saw him and he was playing lead guitar along with Mike Campbell, not just strumming, and they blew up the crowd at Great Woods near Boston. Night and day between two shows. I'm betting they will be doing the jamband thing again, and with Winwood on stage it could be unbelievable. Winwood did some shows with Clapton recently that I heard were fantastic.

I've not seen any shows for awhile that have blown me down. But I think this show, in that venue, could be the one I've been jonesing for...stay tuned  :twisted:

[JRL]

I saw Tom Petty quite a long time ago, maybe 15 years. I'm not one for big rock shows usually, but I loved Tom. It was the last show of a long tour and he threw away the set list. he had a huge tree up there on stage and Richard Nixon chased him around it under a strobe light.

Entertainment at its best!!!

[laughingwillow]

Mrs lw just peeped the line up for an annual free music festival that takes place out on the prairie near my old stomping grounds and it turns out that Phil is headlining!

That's right folks, Uncle Phil will be in Sioux City Ioway on 7-5-08 playing a free gig in the park. And what a park. Panoramic views of Nebraska and South Dakota can be had at the top of the amphitheater and there is a beautiful formal rose garden behind the stage area. Food vendors from around the world line the rim of the natural bowl. Security is red but we've been out-smarting those goons for over 18 years. hehe

Anyway, after Jerry died, Bobby brought his band to this festival one year and finally got us back on da bus. A swell time was had by all.

Things might get a little dicey for me, though. Since I grew up in the area, uncles, aunts and cousins have all been known to make appearances at this free event. Most years, its no big deal. But this isn't most years. We have a sacramental duty, after all......  

lw

[Stonehenge]

What do concerts cost these days? Last I heard it was $30 to $60 and up.

[laughingwillow]

Thirty to sixty is about right. Or at least accurate. Sure ain't right..

lw

[Stonehenge]

And then ticketmonster puts another fee on top of that which they keep even if the event is canceled. Plus you get whacked for parking. That plus getting groped by some guy before you are allowed in have kind of blunted my enthusiasm for going to those things. It use to be a hot chick felt you up and that wasn't so bad. They just don't want you bringing in your own food or drinks so you have to pay the sky high prices inside.

JRL, you have kind of a different point of view so I would expect you to see it differently. Do you think ticket prices are too high or not high enough?

[JRL]

Well sir, since the shows I play range in price from $25 to nothing, with $5 being average, I am pretty much a consumer like you. I think that the economics of the business are a bit screwed up. But paying $30-60 for a multi act festival doesn't seem like too bad a deal, given the quality of experience possible. $100+ for a mega star spectaculer show is a ticket I will pass on.

I definitely believe in supporting grass roots talent. If you see a band you like buy a CD and a shirt. That is absolutely the best way to show your appreciation. I don't know what it's like elsewhere, but these days the talent you can see locally for $5 is quite astonishing, a lot of the cats doing these shows have played with all kinds of players, visible ones. Go out and look around, you might be surprized.

See you at The Torch Club!!!

[JRL]

I just read back a bit. Phil for phree in da park??? Who is paying for it? That sure puts our local concert series to shame. All we get pretty much is the "Sac Pop" flavor of the month bands. Fairly embaressing. I don't even know if Jackie Greene is doing one this year. The biggest name might be Sal Valentino.