Concert #744 - The 32nd Claremont Folk Festival (Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden) (May 30, 2015)

This year's Claremont Folk Festival took place on the hottest day of the month of May. With temperatures in the upper 80s and with barely any shade in the seating area, the artists scheduled to appear before 5 PM had to perform in front of mostly empty seats, which is a carbon copy of what happened last year at the 31st edition of the festival.

Photo taken at 4 PM, at the end of Perla Batalla's performance

The honor of headlining the festival went to veteran musician David Grisman and his cohorts, collectively called the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience. In his seventy-first year of existence, David sounded good and so did his band, comprised of Keith Little (banjo), Chad Manning (fiddle), Jim Nunally (guitar) and Samson Grisman (upright bass). By the way, Samson is David's son.

David Grisman's partial set list

Roving Gambler

Lone Pilgrim

Muddy Roads

Highway Of Sorrow

Engine 143

Fanny Hill

Walkin' Blues

Dawggy Mountain Breakdown

The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience

David Grisman

To me, the festival's finest moments were delivered by Blind Boy Paxton, an artist I knew little about. Sporting a broad smile, a fine sense of humor and uncommon musical versatility, Jerron (his real name) was a revelation of massive proportions. I loved his singing, as well as the ease with which he played multiple instruments - one doesn't often see musicians who can deliver top-notch solos on banjo, guitar, fiddle, as well as harmonica. Jerron's repertoire of classic blues and all sorts of old-time ditties kept the audiences captive for the entire duration of his set and, after he played his last song, everyone - myself included - stood up and gave him a well-deserved standing ovation. The songs I liked the best were "Railroad Bill", "Mississippi Bottom ", " When An Ugly Woman Tells You No" and "Hesitation Blues".

Blind Boy Paxton in Claremont

Blind Boy Paxton in Claremont

Blind Boy Paxton in Claremont

Tom Freund and his band played a quality set that showcased his versatility as a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, as he switched from guitar to mandolin to ukulele and finally to a large upright bass. The crowd got quite a bit louder when Tom introduced Grammy-winner Ben Harper, his long-time friend. Ben stayed on the stage for five songs, while keeping a relatively low profile. According to Ben's web site, the five songs were "Why Wyoming", "Angel Eyes", "Cakewalk Into Town", "Copper Moon" and "Collapsible Plans". Tom also sang "Ghost In This Town" and "Digs". Earlier in the set, Tom brought out Ellen Chase- Verdries (Ben's mother), for the singing of "Hickory Wind", a fine song from the repertoire of Gram Parsons.

Tom Freund (right) with Ben Harper

Tom Freund with Ellen Chase-Verdries

Tom Freund

Ben Harper

Perla Batalla took the stage shortly after 3 PM, accompanied by her daughter Eva Batalla-Mann and a small band. As expected, her set included a few Leonard Cohen songs: "Sisters Of Mercy", "Bird On A Wire" and "Hallelujah". With her distinctive voice, she also sang Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy" and a Spanish language song called "La Llorona" (The Weeping Woman). I liked her set, but at one point I had to take a break from the blistering sun and took refuge in a shady area, away from the stage. I returned just in time to catch her set-closing rendition of "Hallelujah". Very nice.

Perla Batalla

Perla Batalla & Eva Batalla-Mann

The main reason I went to the festival was to once again see one of my all-time-favorite bands, the Dustbowl Revival. Their set kicked off shortly after 1:30 PM and went on for one hour. The band showed up as an octet, with the following lineup: Zach Lupetin (vocals, guitar), Liz Beebe (vocals, washboard), Daniel Mark (mandolin), Connor Vance (violin), Matt Rubin (trumpet), Ulf Bjorlin (trombone), James Klopfleisch (upright bass) and Josh Heffernan (drums). Their repertoire is an ever-evolving affair, which is both good and bad. The good: there's great new music every time I see them. The bad: they may never play their "classic" gems, such as "Dan's Jam" and "Western Passage". In spite of the heat, the band sounded fabulous. The songs I liked the best were "National Geographic", "Shine", the Band's "Up On Cripple Creek", the set-ending "Whiskey In The Well" and "Minor Swing", the old Django Reinhardt tune.

The Dustbowl Revival

Liz Beebe and Zach Lupetin

Daniel Mark (left) and Connor Vance

Ulf Bjorlin (left) and Matt Rubin

Frank Fairfield took the stage at 12:15 PM, accompanied by Tom Marion, an accomplished player of many different string instruments. The sun was hot and it was still early in the day, so only a small handful of people were in attendance. Their music can be described as "old-school folk music", the kind that sounds better in a smaller room.

Frank Fairfield (right) and Tom Marion

Away from the Main Stage, the smaller but much shadier Oak Tree Stage hosted a few worthy acts, among which the Squeakin' Wheels sounded the best to these ears. I particularly liked Marguerite Millard's voice and singing style. Guest Ellen Chase-Verdries joined the band for the singing of three or four songs.

The Squeakin' Wheels

The Oak Tree Stage

The festival featured a few other musical and non-musical events and activities, as shown in the following photographs:

Booths

Drum Circle at the Tea House

Ukulele workshop

Art workshop

As in previous years, the 32nd Claremont Folk Festival was organized by the Claremont Folk Music Center, a much-loved local store and museum of musical instruments, a relatively small operation that has limited resources. They deserve kudos for undertaking the running of this large-scale festival that attracts many hundreds of folks, year after year. While they do most things right, the organizers can do a whole lot better when it comes to the topic of VIP seating. With VIP tickets priced at $100, one would expect some law and order to be maintained in the area designated as VIP seating, but sadly, it was chaos and noise that prevailed over law and order. In the coming years, I will definitely think twice before shelling out the extra money.

Scenes of chaos and noise in the VIP seating area

Concerts #249 & 730 - P.F. Sloan at various venues (2001 & 2014)

This post covers the following two concerts:

• P.F. Sloan at McCabe's Guitar Shop - May 12, 2001
• P.F. Sloan at the Coffee Gallery Backstage - November 22, 2014

Both events were quite special, as they gave me the opportunity to be under the same roof with one of my all-time favorite musicians - not only that I absolutely adore his compositions, but I'm a huge fan of his singing as well. 

Last night's proceedings kicked off with writer S.E Feinberg, whose ten-minute-long introduction included the playing of P.F. Sloan's first hit, "Kick That Little Foot, Sally Ann", recorded in 1964 by a singer named Round Robin. No, the original singer did not show up - Mr. Feinberg played the song directly off of his Apple laptop, by holding it up against his microphone. By the way, S.E. Feinberg is P.F. Sloan's co-writer on Phil's newly-released memoirs titled "What's Exactly The Matter With Me".

Taking the stage to a rousing reception, P.F. Sloan started out with "Whatever God Wants" and "This Love", two outstanding songs from "My Beethoven", his brand new album.

P.F. Sloan at the Coffee Gallery Backstage

What followed was a veritable smorgasbord of great songs, interspersed with equally great stories that involved some of P.F. Sloan's contemporaries, such as Bob Dylan, Fred Neil, Donovan, Barry McGuire, the Mamas & the Papas, Lou Adler, the Grass Roots, Jim Webb, Van Morrison and others. 

The Set List 

Whatever God Wants

This Love

What's Exactly The Matter With Me

The Sins Of The Family

Take Me For What I'm Worth

I Can't Help But Wonder, Elizabeth

Eve Of Destruction

Let's Live For Today

Where Were You When I Needed You

Hold On

A Must To Avoid

(Here They Come) From All Over The World

Tell 'em I'm Surfin'

California Dreamin'

Upon A Painted Ocean

New Design

From A Distance

My Baby Left Me

Secret Agent Man (encore)

Somewhat surprisingly, Phil's set included two numbers he did not write, namely "California Dreamin'" and "My Baby Left Me", the song made famous by Elvis Presley. And speaking of "California Dreamin'": Phil shared with us that, even though the song's lyrics were penned by Michelle Phillips, the full writing credits went to hubby John Phillips, with Michelle's consent, in an attempt to market him as the "next John Lennon".

P.F. Sloan delivering "Secret Agent Man"

During the intermission, I had the distinct honor and pleasure of conversing with the master for a couple of minutes. Barry McGuire's name came up and, referring to his strong belief in Christianity, I told Phil that Barry could have written a Christian song by simply changing the name of his best-known hit into "The Destruction Of Eve". Phil saw the humor in this word-play, laughed and then autographed my newly-purchased book.

P.F. Sloan's autograph

Phil went on singing and telling stories for almost two full hours and I loved every minute of it. A well-deserved standing ovation kept Phil on the stage for one final number, "Secret Agent Man", which got everyone standing up yet once again.

Phil's singing voice sounded pretty much like on his more recent studio recordings. Throughout the show, he accompanied himself on an acoustic guitar. The whole event felt more like a gathering of friends taking place in someone's living room. There were only three songs I did not know, and one of them, "New Design", was among the highlights of the evening. There were no musical guests and no opening act.

P.F. Sloan at the Coffee Gallery Backstage

P.F. Sloan at the Coffee Gallery Backstage

S.E. Feinberg at the Coffee Gallery Backstage

P.F. Sloan interview after the concert

P.F. Sloan chatting with a fan at the Coffee Gallery

The Coffee Gallery stage

A few words about P.F. Sloan's appearance at McCabe's in 2001. The place was only half full, which surprised me very much. Phil took the stage and announced that the first half of the show would consist of nothing but new material, with the hit songs scheduled to come later, after the intermission. Initially, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of having to sit through a bunch of new songs, but - as it turned out - my fears were totally unfounded. Phil's new music, while having little in common with his hit songs, still sounded great to these ears.

As promised, the second part of the show brought us many of his well-known hits, as well as an unannounced guest, Creed Bratton of the Grass Roots fame. It was also goose-bumps time: Phil's delivery of his always-relevant gem, "Eve Of Destruction", was one of the most emotional moments I have ever experienced during a live concert. Phil closed his set with "Secret Agent Man", a song that, as he told us, brought him more pride than any other of his songs.

Tom Freund was the opening act.

Concert #511 - Graham Parker at McCabe's Guitar Shop (May 29, 2009)

I have never been one of Graham Parker's true fans, but it's hard to be an avid music listener without hearing his songs, sooner or later. A few of them - "Bad Chardonnay" and "The Madness Of Love", the Richard Thompson composition - had been on heavy rotation on my iPod, so just before the show sold out, I jumped on the bandwagon and got myself a ticket to see him live at McCabe's. I sat in the front row.

The show was OK, but not great - Graham did well, but simply put, there were just too many songs I didn't know - all of them, to be precise. There were plenty of connoisseurs around me, so at times I felt a bit out of place there.

The show was opened by Tom Freund, he was OK, but for me it was yet more songs I didn't know ...

Tom Freund