Down to the Nightclub -- NOT

First off, a shout-out for my friend Kennan Shaw, one of the great bass players of America (the other one, of course, is Very Naughty Scotty Riggs, of the Very Bad Boys, but that's another column). Kennan teaches my son Max how to play bass, and Kennan and I have made some serious noise in various situations, including Blue Monday Jam at Armando's. Kennan is a master of the groove. He is no-nonsense when it comes to grooving. He is serious. He is scary. He is groovalicious.

That being said, check him and his band Wingnut Adams tonight at Armando's. They play blues and such, and are just a great heap of fun. And they have Kennan Shaw on bass. That's all you need to know. Now get down there. 707 Marina Vista in Martinez. 8 p.m. $5 at the door.

Speaking of clubs, I went to one a couple of weeks ago. It's called the Boom Boom Room, and it's in San Francisco. The club used to be partly owned by my old boss, John Lee Hooker, who's biggest hit was "Boom Boom." He invested in a little ratty club on Geary and Fillmore, and it was reinvented as a blues room. It's ok, as small bar/nightclubs go. We were there to see one of the best bands around these days -- Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen.

Chances are you've never heard of these guys, but you've probably heard Jon Cleary and just didn't know it. He's Bonnie Raitt's piano player, and has been for the past six or seven years. He's from England, but moved 25 years ago to New Orleans and never moved back. He has absorbed the heart and soul of the funkiest city in the world, and plays the music like he was born there. In the process of his success with Bonnie, he recruited the funkiest musicians he could find in the Big Easy, and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen were born. Google Jon Cleary and get thee to his Web site, where you can purchase his amazing albums.

Jon and the AMG come around here once a year, and I have attended every show but the ones last year. Usually I went to the Sweetwater in Mill Valley, a couple of blocks from Bonnie's house, becasue Bonnie would be there, and it was just sweet to sit a few feet from one of the badest slide players in the world and watch her be astounded by someone else for a change. I also had a major crush on Ms. Raitt before I got married. Now, of course, I have a major crush on my wife. But I still admire the heck out of Bonnie.

Anyway, the Sweetwater closed, so this year Jon was at the Boom Boom Room. I took my wife, Scott and his wife, and we felt so young and hip, traipsing all the way to the city to see a show, just like the old days. Scott and I, however, had just spent four hours playing in Healdsburg, which means four hours of driving in addition to that, so by the time we hit the club, we were exhausted. And the club was surprisingly full. That means nowhere to sit down. That means trouble for two old guys and their hecka young and vivacious wives. So we stood, resigned to the fact that the show would take a half hour to start.

And then the kids in front of us began to be annoying. They were smoking massive amounts of dope, which is fine and familiar to old hands in the music business, but they were also emanating some kind of hyper-vibe. When the music finally started, we thought they would settle down, but theyd didn't. One guy was describing something to his friend, waving his hands around, and smacked my wife very smartly in the nose. He was appropriately apologetic, so we let it go, but the urgency of their joy was suspicious. I couldn't see the band, because the moron in front of me kept leaning over to talk to his friend, and then returned to standing position, then leaned to talk again, then returned, over and over for nearly 30 minutes. Women kept squeezing through us, even though there was no room. It really seemed as though no one was there to hear the music but us, the old people and their wives.

But then I recalled being in a similar space when I was much younger. I've never liked to stand in crowds. It's just creepy for me. And those who are comfortable with it are far too comfortable with it, and move around as though there was no crowd at all.

If I have to be around a large crowd, please put me on a stage with a guitar. Then I'll be fine.

But the whole experience just made me appreciate Armando's all the more. Plenty of chairs, couches, and places to just listen.

Thanks again, Roy, for giving us that special gift.