Friday, July 18, 2008


Take Note, Martinez for July 17, 2008

Since You're Staying Home, Why Not Go Out?

The unfortunate term "Staycation" was coined this year, in the face of extraordinary economic woes, humonguous gas prices, and the airline industry's seeming need to implode itself into extinction. So people are staying home this year in droves, forgoing those trips to exotic faraway lands where the odds are fairly good that the residents don't like Americans anyway.

It's good to stay home. Travel is certainly a fine thing, broadening one's outlook and endowing a sense of unity with the world at large. But it is possible to get a renewed sense of your own place in the world by looking at it through new eyes, new experiences. For instance, this year I plan to take my family to Alcatraz, because I've never been there, though it's just a few miles and a ferry ride away. And so is the bike excursion I also have planned for Angel Island. Having these experiences will give me a renewed sense of why I live in the Bay Area, and bestow, for a tiny price, lifetime memories every bit as valuable as a trip to France. Though make no mistake -- if and when I get the wherewithal to hit Paris, I'm there.

That said, since this is a musical space, I would like to suggest some good old fashioned summertime excursions for you and yours this weekend. These suggestions will require some travel time, and some cash, since dinner and a door charge is involved in all instances. But then, if you can't spend some extravagent money on yourself and your beloved, why work?

So, here are some suggestions for a Bluesical weekend:

Friday
Steve Freund at Cafe Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland
I can't say enough about Steve Freund. As a blues guitarist myself, I'm not inclined to be kind to other blues guitarists, because we're a catty lot, us guitar players. But no one who knows anything about Chicago blues can deny the fact that Vallejo resident Steve Freund is the real deal, and if you love blues, he's a must-see. He played with Chicago blues legend Sunnyland Slim and a wealth of other blues masters, so he has first-hand experience with this genre. When I first went to see Steve at a tiny little Albany club, I sat for the first hour thinking to myself "this guy is nothing. I can do this." But slowly, as I continued to watch and listen, I realized that it wasn't the ferocity or the speed with which he played and sang, but the subtle way he strung his notes together, the vast library of blues riffs he knows, and his unerring instinct for what comes next. Steve burns down the house when he plays, but you don't know it until the end. He doesn't stomp and scream and make funny faces -- he just plays elegant guitar straight out of Chicago road houses, and you can't go wrong at a Steve Freund show. As to the venue, I can't attest to it, because I haven't been there. But Oakland is still regenerating itself, and the place is located next to City Hall, in Oaksterdam, which is a pretty hip part of town. So take a chance this Friday and go see Steve Freund. You won't be sorry.

Saturday
Birdlegg at Dotha's Juke Joint, 2nd Street, Oakland
Dotha's Juke Joint is actually in the basement of Everett and Jones' barbeque joint at the corner of Broadway and 2nd Street, at the entrance to Jack London Square. If you like ribs authentically cooked and presented, then you can't do better than E&J's. The restaurant upstairs actually has tableclothes and cloth napkins, which makes it kind of unusual for a rib joint, but the meat is exquisite and the sauce is amazing. But go downstairs, pay the cover and sit down. They'll serve you dinner down there, but the atmosphere is one of a juke joint in the south, or the south side of Chicago. And then the music starts, and the amazing Birdlegg will take you on a unique musical journey. Birdlegg is a force of nature. He plays harmonica and sings, backed up by an always-great band (including, many Saturdays, Steve Freund, but not this Saturday). When Birdlegg first arrived in town, back in the tail end of the 1970s, he was part of my musical outfit, and we played a variety of styles, from raunchy blues to country and western to Reggae, and he always had a unique approach to all of it. But in the 1980s and ever since, he's been devoted to blues. But not the kind you're used to. Birdlegg is an old-school blues man, taking the stage and taking no prisoners. His is an upbeat, unrelenting show of force. He never stops moving, and never stops smiling, and at the end, you realize that you haven't, either. It's a show well worth attending, and if my band wasn't playing a block party this Saturday, I'd be there myself, chomping on a plate of ribs and watching my old musical compadre burning up the stage.

So there you have it. A couple of suggestions for excellent music this weekend, if you've a mind to get out of Martinez for a bit. If not, Armando's is always an excellent alternative.

Tonight:
Jerry Hannan Duo, featuring a singer/songwriter accompanied by a slide guitarist. A couple of his songs were featured in the film "Into the Wild." Sounds intriguing...

Friday: Post-bop jazz with Peter Anastos and Iter.

Saturday: Joint, old-school rhythm and blues, with horns.

Whichever you choose, have a fabulous time. You deserve it. It's been a long week.