Saturday, September 13, 2008


Take Note, Martinez for September 11, 2008

A Check-In with the Goings-On At Armando's

I enjoy pontificating, as faithful readers will attest. I can digress better than a drunken politician. I can be as pointless as an off-season election. And I am absolutely dying to weigh in on the next three weeks of the presidential contest (as a former political reporter, it's absolute torture to remain silent about this one), but they don't not pay me to write about national politics around here. They don't pay me to write, instead, about musical happenings, so with iron discipline and steely resolve, I will say only that if you're of the mind that voting is not cool, is for suckers and geeks and losers, then you need to vastly rethink your position. Not voting is actually what certain major parties in America are counting on, if you're a young person. By not voting, you are making some very powerful people very happy. Don't do that. Very powerful people are far more entertaining when they're unhappy.

So. . . Armando's. Let me mention something that's been going on for a while now, and I've kind of ignored writing about it. Every other Wednesday, Armando's is featuring a band called Super Chicken. It's made up of the guitar player and drummer from Tower of Power, the bass player from Cold Blood, and the singer is the son of a founding Tower of Power member. They play funk (obviously), but also pieces from the fuzzy vault of the 1960s and 1970s, and are well worth a trip downtown on a Wednesday night.

Also worth the trip, but this time on the second Monday of each month, is the Blue Monday jam. This is becoming quite the deal 'round these parts, and I'm proud to be a part of it. I will say that this past Monday night, things got more interesting than usual. A lot of regulars show up to jam at this event, and most are very good. Last Monday was no exception – our usual suspects came and did their various things, and it was great. Then this kid took the stage, name of Dallas. He was slinging a right fancy guitar, and there was a certain confidence he displayed when he plugged it in. When the playing started, it was easy to see why. The kid was great. His playing was solid, sweet, and full of fire. Then he sang. Oh. My. God. He sounded like a 50-year-old African American man, not the 20-something he obviously was. I had to get up right after his set, and it wasn't all that comfortable. I had to hit a few high gears just to not suck after the set he turned in. It was all quite wonderful, though, and it's that kind of experience that keeps the torch of faith burning. He said he'd be back, so come down next month and check out this Dallas kid.

On Saturday, you absolutely have to go see Le Jazz Hot. This is Gypsy Jazz dressed in its finest American garments, and features the remarkable Paul Mehling on lead guitar, the equally amazing Jeff Magidson on guitar, Elizabeth Magidson on guitar and vocals, and other great players on bass and violin. It's a night not to be missed, because Gypsy Jazz is, unlike more traditional styles, one that reaches out to the average listener, tickles and teasers and taunts, and then brings home a satisfying musical coda. If rock and roll had to be jazz, it would be Gypsy Jazz. It's full of fire and passion and speed and wicked intentions. Don't miss it, because these are some of the music's finest purveyors on these shores of ours.

So there you have it. All of this, and lots more, is going on under one humble roof in downtown Martinez. If that's not revitalization, I don't know what is. . .