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Entourage had an excellent night at The Music Corner last weekend - we performed for almost 3 hours, doing a Beatles set along with our regular fare. We're looking to reprise the gig at the Encanto clubhouse, stay tuned for more information. Video was taken so I'll deliver the goods on my home site as soon as I get the stuff!
12-24-2007
Had a great Christmas show on December 16, with lots of people attending. I played with Entourage and Brass Ring and did some backup for Ron Cordova and other folks. I'll be posting some video when it's available.
We went and saw Golden Compass yesterday, and it was very enjoyable. Hard to say what the controversy was about, we didn't see anything but a fantasy movie. Of course, I visited the website. One of the premises of the fantasy world is that your spirit exists as a separately embodied talking animal. The website gives you a test and assigns you an animal spirit (called daemons in the film). Somehow I got the jackal. I don't know what that means, but feel free to go to the Golden Compass site and let them know if you think it's accurate or not.
- Location:space
- Mood:
geeky - Music:Bollywood
Herbie Hancock was great, doing tunes from Watermelon Man up to selections from his latest album of Joni Mitchell songs. He had a couple of synths, a grand piano, multiple computers and his Roland jam-like-a-guitarist keyboard, which was quite fun. The band was Herbie Hancock, west-African guitarist Lionel Loueke, Vinnie Colaiuta on percussion, Nathan East on bass, and an appearance from extremely young vocalist Sonya Kitchell. Herbie was astonishing as expected, but Nathan East was a standout, playing fat 6-string bass and electric upright. He was always tight and always right. Lionel Loueke did a very interesting solo song, b-boxing a west-African song and singing beautifully, accompanying himself on what looked to be a Godin Multiac – beautiful guitar, that.
From there to the So You Think You Can Dance Tour 2007, full of very short spots, really young people with astonishing athletic bodies doing gymnastic and enthusiastic dance numbers. Herbie’s show was loose and stretched out, the Dance tour was canned and planned every step of the way. This show was at the Jobing.Com arena in Glendale. Good sound system, lots of lighting effects with strobes and giant TV screens, topped off with confetti and streamers in the finale. There was a lot of good music that I would just get into and then the dance would be over, way too abruptly in my opinion. Men were outnumbered about 4 to 1 in the audience, and I would estimate that tweener girls held the mode measure.
To get into the arena for the Dance tour, I had to go through a metal detector. My Swiss Army pocket knife did not pass muster, I had to take it back to the car. Lord only knows what kind of killing spree I might have gone on, what with all that estrogen in the air. Women’s purses were just passed around the detectors and cursorily glanced at, so we could have smuggled an army’s worth of guns in if we wanted to – or the mighty 2-inch blade I nearly got in with. The story of America today – extra procedures that inconvenience harmless people, do nothing to provide actual protection to anybody, and give some people the feeling that they’re important and powerful (the employees, not the attendees).
- Location:All over the valley
- Mood:
enthralled - Music:Yes
10-08-2007
Well, it's the day after the 29th Annual Folk Music Festival at Sharlot Hall (www.sharlot.org). I had a great time in the cool pines, performing with Brass Ring and Entourage (and providing a little backup to smooth crooner Ron Cordova). I heard good comments about all the performances, and spent a lot of time listening to the other musicians - that park was packed with very good players and singers. It was inspiring.
There's a little slack time in our current schedule. Brass Ring performs December 3rd at the Peoria Monday Night Melodies and I'll be joining all those groups and a host of other people for a big Christmas show on December 16th. I'll be looking for some open mike nights and post the info when I get it. Please come out and help support us.
- Location:Home
- Mood:
contemplative - Music:alternative indie
Big excitement coming on Sunday, October 7th. Come up to the cool pines of Prescott, Arizona, for the 29th Annual Folk Music Festival at Sharlot Hall (www.sharlot.org).
I'll be performing twice on Sunday the 7th, both times in the Amphitheater. At 10:00 in the morning, I play with Brass Ring, and at 1:30 in the afternoon, I'll be performing with Entourage. (Entourage fans, take note that Ron Cordova has a solo performance at 4:00 in the Sharlot Hall building that same day.)
This is a great festival, featuring Fiddles and banjos, storytellers, dancers, and songwriters, a Sunday morning musical instrument swap meet, and over 150 performers; workshops on instrumental styles, song swaps, singer-songwriter sessions, theme jams, mini-concerts, sing-alongs, Sunday morning Country Gospel sing, teaching workshops, contra dancing, clogging, Flamenco dancing!
- Location:Home
- Mood:
artistic - Music:Nature's sounds
09-06-2007
Brass Ring had a great show on August 29th at the Encanto Clubhouse. Of course, it worries me the number of people who sang along with "Mama, Don't Whup Little Buford", but what the hey, they were entertained.
Entourage played a private party on the 31st and raked in the biggest tip take ever. So, all in all, it was a good week musically.
Both groups will be appearing at the Prescott Folk Festival the first weekend in October, I'll post more information when I've got it.
And thanks to everybody for their support. See you soon, Don
On a personal note, I'd like to take this opportunity to honor the memory of my Father who passed away last year. Francis E. Harrington, November 7, 1924 to September 7, 2006. Dad was in the Navy and worked on the Avenger aircraft. His favorite song was "You Are My Sunshine", and that was one of the songs played in the bluegrass jam at Encanto last Wednesday.
- Location:Home deep
- Mood: thoughtful
The show opened with a stage band and Denny Laine (most well known for his short stint in Moody Blues and his influential place in Paul McCartney's Wings), singing some well known numbers. So far, OK, but not as exciting as I hoped. Then Joey Molland (introduced as the "last surviving member) came out to do Badfinger songs, which just reminded me of what good material they were. The energy levels started to climb. The Mitch Ryder came out and rocked the house with "Devil with a Blue Dress on". The stage band was excellent and worked hard all night.
Country Joe McDonald did an eclectic acoustic set, playing with some alternate tunings for "Sweet Lorraine" and doing his infamous "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die-Rag".
Felix Cavaliere's Rascals delivered a great set, full of medleys mixing their tunes (Groovin, People Want to be Free) with other songs of the period quite masterfully and seamlessly. I believe that Felix was the only original member of the Rascals, but I could be wrong.
Another break and out come the Zombies, whoopie, what a show! Rod Argent and Colin Blumstone, original members, did a great job doing both Zombie tunes and Argent songs (Hold Your Head Up High). It felt like each act was getting better and better.
Then the Turtles hit the stage and had a great time. They played the heck out of their material and really had a lot of showmanship. Flo & Eddie, the original members also known for their stints with Frank Zappa, knew how to play a crowd and everybody was singing along with everything, especially "Happy Together".
The evening closed with a set by Mountain. It was certainly the loudest set, and I'm not sure exactly who was who in the power trio on stage. I admit at this point, I left early, simply because the music was no longer moving me. I didn't seem to be the only one, many folks were on their way out.
It was great to hear good tunes performed by people who knew and loved them, and it was obvious that each of the musicians, whether original band members or stage band, loved what they were doing and enjoyed the music thoroughly. That's what it's all about.
It was... odd... seeing Country Joe McDonald hyping t-shirts ("pick up your Hippiefest t-shirts at the merchandising booth"). Not that I have problems with any of these great groups making money, but it seemed somehow at odds with the Summer of Love this tour supposedly celebrated.
But, minor moral qualms aside, it was a great show and I was charged up afterwards.
- Location:Deep Home
- Mood:
energetic - Music:silence
Wow, what a show Edgar Winter puts on. I have not seen him live before and his interactions with the other band members were very impressive, they were virtuosos all. They did Tobacco Road, a song I've always enjoyed performing and (of course) Frankenstein, and it was high energy all the way. (Edgar Winter - Lead Vocals, Saxaphone, Synthesizer, Keyboards, Timbales; Doug Rappoport - Lead Guitar; Mark Meadows - Bass Guitar [they called him the "Bass Cowboy", cute]; Mike Leasure - Drums, Percussion.)
Deep Purple took the stage after break, sporting Steve Morse as lead guitar, along with Ian Gillan (singer of the second incarnation), Roger Glover (bass, another of the second incarnation), Don Airey (keyboard), and Ian Paice (drums, the original from the first incarnation). You can't tell the players without the score cards.
Those who don't recognize Steve Morse - he was lead player for the Dixie Dregs. I love the Dixie Dregs albums. Those people could really play their socks off. I remember buying Dixie Dregs on vinyl and the store clerk saying, "My day is complete! I've sold another Dixie Dregs record! It can't get better!"
Ritchie Blackmore (coiner of the name "Deep Purple) is off doing Ren Faire stuff and he is an excellent guitarist, but Steve Morse is a unique talent.
Deep Purple had a much more coordinated, planned show, highly integrated with the lighting effects. High energy, no doubt about it, but not as free-form and improvisational as the Edgar Winter lineup. A great evening, especially since my two tickets cost a grand total of $7.60.
- Location:Deep Home
- Mood:
optimistic - Music:silence
I’ll be performing with Brass Ring at the Encanto Clubhouse in late August, and both Brass Ring and Entourage will be playing at the Prescott Folk Festival in October. More information when I’ve got it!
06-27-2007 We just finished two great shows with Entourage this week, on the 22nd at the Encanto Clubhouse and the 27th at the Music Corner. It’s really great to hear the audience respond to what you do and there were spontaneous ooh’s, aah’s and the occasional “oh, wow” after many of our tunes.
06-20-2007 I saw David Bromberg and the Angel Band at the Orpheum theater tonight and it was FANTASTIC! There were so many astonishing musicians on stage at one time, it was hard to keep track. David sang both old and new songs and as usual presented an emotional show that explored the highs and lows of human experience. David Bromberg is a giant in the acoustic music world. He got his start in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk music scene, went on to perform with such legends as Bob Dylan, Chubby Checker and the Reverend Gary Davis, before launching his own highly impressive solo career.
The Angel Band has made publicly available an MP3 of one of their tunes “We Are Shepherds”. It’s a very moving piece and you can get it from their website at www.angelband.net
- Location:Deep Home
- Mood: happy
- Music:silence
canned heat. Canned Heat! Canned Heat! CANNED HEAT!
Boogie, boogie, boogie, great show with Canned Heat at the Rhythm Room last Wednesday. Very little left of the original line-up, of course, just the drummer, but it was blues and boogie all night long, kept me moving and grooving long after the show was over.
And 2, count 'em, 2 new shows for me playing with Entourage coming up at the end of this month. We'll be playing Wednesday, June 27th, at the Encanto Clubhouse, where we will be performing the 30 minute second set starting at about 8:30PM. Encanto Clubhouse is maintained and administered by the City of Phoenix Parks Department in downtown Encanto Park and is located approximately 1/4 mile South of Thomas Road on the East side of 15th Avenue. The following Saturday, June 30th, we play at the Music Corner, located at Shepherd Of The Valley Lutheran Church on the north west corner of 15th Avenue and Maryland Avenue. That set begins at approx. 9:15PM. (You can find all info about The Music Corner at : www.themusiccorner.org.)
I had 2 great shows at the Annual Folk Arts Fair in Prescott on June 2nd, one with Brass Ring and the other with Entourage. The energy was good and even though we were the last acts of the day, people stopped to listen. Both groups are full of talented people and lots of energy, it's a blast to play with both of them!
See you soon, Don
- Location:Home deep
- Mood: pleased
- Music:Going Up The Country
The following weekend, June 2, is the 34th Annual Folk Arts Fair at Sharlot Hall in Prescott (just up the street from the town square). It goes on all weekend (10 to 5 both days) and features spinning, weaving, and candle making on to quilting, chair caning, basket making and who knows what else. I will be playing twice on Saturday, at 3:00 with Brass Ring (including our friends Diana, Shawn and Susan) and again at 3:30 with Entourage to finish the day. And there's plenty here to interest many people from my group of friends who want to make a day trip of it.
We have more scheduled performances coming up, I'll keep you posted!
Thanks for your support.
- Location:Home deep
- Mood: jubilant
- Music:Soundscapes
I've got many gigs coming up in the next few months, I'll post a calendar soon.
- Location:Home deep
- Mood: mellow
- Music:Beach Boys - TBird
- Location:Home deep
- Mood: calm
- Music:Pepere's Mill
My next appearance will be at the Encanto Park clubhouse on Wednesday, April 4th, with Ms. Diana Clark, Bill Blazier, and Eddie Detroit. Musical selections include ballads and a few instrumentals spanning the past seven decades.
Encanto Clubhouse is maintained and administered by the City of Phoenix Parks Department and is located approximately 1/4 mile South of Thomas Road on the East side of 15th Avenue. It is set back from the street a few hundred feet. There are a couple of surface parking lots that will accommodate.
See you there!
- Location:Home
- Mood: relieved
- Music:Midnight Special
- Location:Home
- Mood: amused
- Location:Home deep
- Mood: accomplished
- Music:Stranger in a Strange Land
