Lightning and Thunder
REVIEW – Solid Grounds Coffee House – Saturday, April 25
So last night was supposed to be a nice little low key show at my favorite musical stompin’ grounds, Solid Grounds. Well, there was stompin’ alright…
Rochelle Clark and Dave Brandt came out to do a short set before me and they were great! Rochelle’s stage presence and vocal ability are amazing and Dave is a fantastic multi-instrumentalist. His banjo work and electric chickin’ pickin’ were great! They had a bunch of friends there and did not disappoint. We all called out for an encore and they obliged.
As much as I was NOT looking forward to following those two, I felt great once I picked up my guitar and had Jim come up to start us off with some Lucinda Williams. A little over an hour later we were done. Even though my family was tending to sick loved ones (thinking about Grandma Renda) and rocking out at band camp I was happy to have a great crowd to play to. Jim really outdid himself this time by bringing a ton of folks to listen in addition to the crowd Rochelle and Dave brought. Thanks to everyone for coming out. Not sure if it was his crowd or what, but Jimmy was on his A game last night! I seriously do not know how his lips don’t fall off after he plays like that. Great harp work once again, myman.
As a special treat, Ro and I reprised our Tuesday night performance of Angel from Montgomery. Then I walked her down the plank and had her try a couple additional tunes that went amazingly well, considering we had never played them! Thanks for being brave, Ro and dealing with my “experiment in terror”! Look for us to put together a few more songs in the near future…
It had been raining and storming most of the day, but we got lucky when we unloaded the sound equipment prior to setting up. Most of the show we were able to keep the door open to get a breeze. Once Ro and I sang the last notes of Goodnight Irene, though, a huge bolt of lightning lit up the outside and came shining through the window behind us. Fortunately, it did not pour too heavily while we loaded up and headed out for a post show celebratory pizza.
So what started out as a pretty low key show ended up with a bunch of great music bringing the lightning and calling down the thunder…. BAM!
John
April 26, 2009
NEXT SHOW – Zou Zou’s Cafe & Coffee Bar – Friday, May 15, 7pm
UPCOMING SHOW – Mama’s Coffee House – Saturday, May 16, 7pm
UPCOMING SHOW – Gardenviews Anniversary Celebration (Outdoor Patio Show wp) – Saturday, May 23, 12noon
Unplanned Magic
Much has been going on since the last post. Some of which was largely unplanned or had very little planning behind it!
REVIEW – Baseline Folk Society Open Mic – Saturday, April 18
Alex, John and Jim at Baseline
Got an idea a couple weeks ago and decided to put it in motion. Last year about this time Alex Zakem and I talked about the possibility of playing together sometime. Well, as is often the case, we ended up talking about it more than actually playing. I gave him a call the other day to see if he’d be willing to accompany me at the Baseline show this month. He was gracious to accept.
Then it occurred to me that Jim would be a great addition to this set as well. So on we went. The three of us took the stage Saturday night and did three tunes that seemed to make the crowd both sway, sing and think. First up was Drew Nelson’s Stranger. We finished up with two originals, Home and Nothin’ All Day. Alex is a true pro on banjo. He added such a cool vibe to all three songs. Jim had his usual powerful hooks working. Thanks to both of these great musicians for a very memorable evening of music!
REVIEW – Zou Zou’s Cafe & Coffee Bar, Friday, April 17
Usually there’s not much to report about this gig, but this one was an exception… for all the wrong reasons. I was on my way out to Chelsea on the expressway and blew out my front right tire at about 75 mph. That’s bad enough, but then I realized that I did not have a key to get into the toolbox… where my JACK was. Uh oh… Fortunately I have some great friends and I was able to call up my neighbor Steve who grabbed my key ring and brought it out to me. He even stayed around to help me change the tire. It could’ve been much more of a pain, but, as it was, I was only about 35 minutes late and the folks at Zou Zou’s were very understanding. Ended up being a great evening! Lots of traffic in the shop due to the amazing weather. And I will be sure to take the key ring WITH THE TOOLBOX KEY from now on!
REVIEW – Solid Grounds Open Mic – Tuesday, April 14
This was one of those magic nights that actually started a week before. Rochelle Clark and I talked about playing a tune together and decided on John Prine’s Angel from Montgomery. She had played this at the open mic before, so I had no doubt about HER ability to perform it. I worked on it a bit that week and we met up in the hallway to give it a run through before taking it to the stage. Wow! We both looked at each other halfway through and knew if we could do it one more time like that it would be great! We managed to get through it on stage and received many nice comments from the patrons. As we nursed smoothies in the back of the shop we talked about possibly working up a few more tunes together. Plans are in the early stages. Stay tuned!
REVIEW – PFDC Fundraiser at Solid Grounds – Friday, April 10
Patrick, Mike and Danielle rocking out!
This turned out to be even better than I envisioned! Thanks to all the great support from families and friends of the Plymouth Fife & Drum Corps! We had a wonderful evening of fellowship and music. Patrick Powers and Mike Sutfin rocked out a few times. They really need to show up at a Tuesday night open mic at Solid Grounds! They were great to listen to! Danielle Stephens played along with them on flute. She did a wonderful job!
Diana Predhomme and Prashant played two songs that blew me away. Hard to believe these two have not been playing together before this event! David Nefesh came by to give us a real treat with his performance as well as to lend his support to our cause. Thanks David!
Rise Again does their best impression of sardines!
Charlie Cogo’s Band, Rise Again, crammed themselves onto the tiny stage and entertained like they always do. Hope you all had your deodorant working! Charlie stole the set with a great job on the Kazoo! Not sure if I’m more impressed with your kazoo playing or your accordion playing, bro!
James Humphries joined me onstage for a few tunes in the beginning, middle and end of the evening. Thanks Jimmy! Thanks also to Rise Again for coming up to help me end the evening with Goodnight Irene.
Thanks to Marsha Sutfin, Phil and many others who did so much to help make the evening a smashing success. There’s been talk of doing another event like this. We shall see…
NEXT SHOW – Solid Grounds Coffee House w/Robert Johnson – Saturday, April 25, 7-9pm
UPCOMING SHOW – Zou Zou’s Cafe & Coffee Bar – Friday, May 15, 7pm
UPCOMING SHOW – Mama’s Coffee House – Saturday, May 16, 7pm
Gardenviews of Northville
REVIEW – Gardenviews – Friday, April 3
Lou Mascolo, owner of Gardenviews in downtown Northville, is a great guy and asked me to play out there for a few hours during the First Friday event in the city. I asked my buddy Jim Humphries to come along and lay down some harp and it was a very fun evening. People were coming in and out all night.
One of the customers made my night when I finished a song and made a few comments. She turned around and saw us in the back and said “Wow, that’s live music! I thought I was listening to the radio!” Maybe someday, ma’am. Maybe someday!
NEW SHOW – Gardenviews – Saturday, May 23, 12 noon
Lou has graciously asked me to come back and play at the Gardenviews anniversary, Saturday, May 23 from 12 noon to 4pm. Hopefully the weather will be better and we can have an outdoor event!
NEW SHOW – The Junction – Saturday, June 6, 7pm
A relatively new venue in Farmington called The Junction has booked me for a show the evening of June 6th. I’ll be performing alongside a couple of additional acts which will be named later. If you look at their myspace you will see that they book some fantastic performers like David Nefesh, Bobby Pennock, Annie and Rod Capps and more! Can’t wait to see who else they book for June 6th.
NEXT SHOW – PFDC Fundraiser Open Mic at Solid Grounds – Friday, April 10, 6pm
Please come and help raise funds for the Plymouth Fife & Drum Corps just by enjoying some coffee and singing or playing a few tunes! I am priveleged to be hosting this open mic fundraiser. This event is open to all PFDC members, instructors, family, friends and alumni. If you’re at all musically inclined, bring your instrument of choice and join in the fun. See you in beautiful downtown Northville this Friday night.
