tapped into some excellent music that was passing through the bay area last weekend. a nice to treat to catch the legend james brown himself playing at a music festival at fort mason.
ms. bandolera was especially enthused to see the godfater of soul for her first concert. a nice way to get one's feet wet, by any standard.
dr. john was on board for this fest as well, and he worked through his ensemble with the style and flow that makes him one our favorite new orleans acts. nice to be able to catch the good doctor in our own back yard.
and we rounded the weekend out with a trip to the greek in berkeley to catch ben harper. groovy crowd, groovy scene. damian marley warmed things up with an entertaining opening set, and then ben harper did his thing and even got a little help from carlos santana who made a cameo and jammed along for a few tunes.
i've done a bit of reading about janis, and so i was not that surprised to see her sensitive and introspective side shine through. but it was totally cool to see this part of her brought to life on the stage. janis was alternatively insecure and self-confident, wildly popular and utterly alone. she charged with bravado and recoiled with despair.
the show was as much concert as it was play, and the woman who played the musical janis (cathy richardson) was fantastic, as was the house band.
the crowd was decidedly "aging hippie" and chocked full of good vibes. no doubt many in the audience had actually caught janis live during those halcyon days. i had the palpable sense that those in attentance were reliving their own youth as much as enjoying the show.
all told, a thoroughly enjoyable rendition of a tragic tale...
yes, siree, right about that time to be plotting a glorious return to the playa.
plans in full effect for yet another dashing excursion to black rock city to watch the man go up in flames.
join us on the outter playa again this year, if you're so inclined.
come for the sunrise, stay for the tikila...
