My posts have been sporadic at best in October, and I apologize. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say when it rains, it pours. Too many demands making this hobby of mine-- I am forced to recognize that when push comes to shove APW falls under the heading of avocation-- seem like a luxury. Hopefully things will lighten up soon and I will have the luxury of time.

On Thursday, September 23 I saw the adorable and radiant Jill Sobule (you can link to her over there on the right; I don't have the energy) at Joe's Pub in NYC. As had happened once before, I joined her onstage for her new single "Cinnamon Park," a glorious tune about taking mushrooms in the park in the 70s at the Battle of the Bands, and which is written around a loop of Chicago's "Saturday In the Park." I do a horn imitation, and on this number Jill has me start off before she sings, playing the horn chart for the Chicago song.

But enough about me. Jill was in great form, performing both solo and with Jim Boggia, a Philly-based singer-songwriter who's first album, Fidelity is the Enemy, is a gorgeous listen in the tradition of the Beatles' Let It Be. In fact Boggia closed his opening set with a solo rendition of "She's Leaving Home." Gutsy. And he pulled it off.

So then, Jill. The usual captivating show, full of heart and soul. She and Boggia play well off each other, and her nasty guitar on “When My Ship Comes In,” and her first-ever public performance of the new song “Tel Aviv,” were two among many highlights.

The next day I was on a plane to Atlanta for five shows in three days—the Allman Brothers at the Fox Theater, Friday-Sunday; plus two shows associated with the Georgia Allman Brothers Band Association (GABBA) annual GABBAfest. The Allmans at the Fox were a treat I won’t belabor here too much; my reviews can be found at the band’s site. Here I am writing about the 24th; this me on the 25th (the best of the three); and oh, here I am sounding off about the 26th. One cool thing was that they repeated only one song across the three nights—“Dreams”—and that they played each night. The catch was that each night the waltz-time mid-section featured a different soloist—former band member and guest performer Jack Pearson on Friday; the incandescent Derek Trucks on Saturday; and the heroic Warren Haynes on Sunday. “And the thing is,” Haynes told me, “They’re all different,” because each reflects the unique voice of the soloist.

Check out my reviews, or at least one, to get the flavor.

On Friday night after the show, we all dashed over to the Cotton Club to catch the Yonrico Scott band, which is the Derek Trucks band sans Derek. Of course Derek sat in for a nice chunk, filling the tiny room with the most awesome full, ringing guitar tone, using just his ax, a slide, and his amp—no effects, no house PA, just playing straight out of the amp and into the room. It was thrilling. There were other oodles of guests as well, including his lovely wife Susan Tedeschi and Donna Hopkins (read on).

Saturday afternoon Donna Hopkins, a great Atlanta blues musician, opened for Jack Pearson, again back at the Cotton Club. Hopkins operates at a nexus between Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, and Gov’t Mule. She made me an instant fan. I think the highlight of her set was when her 9-ish year old daughter joined her onstage—with a mic stand adjusted to her height—to sing harmony of “Everything Money Can’t Buy.” Pearson, who’s band featured his wife on bass, filled the room with graceful, sweeping lines on blues, jazz, and instrumental guitar pieces. His playing makes people happy. He’s so humble and self-effacing, but seeing the Allmans crew members react to him backstage on Friday night brought home what a gentleman he is, and how well-thought of he must have been among his colleagues during his stint (’97-99) in the band.

One of the fun things about the Fox run was that so many friends who also follow the band were there. We all stayed in the hotel across the street, and so did the band; brushes with band members and their families were commonplace. I had the chance to mingle and hang out with many members of the “extended family.”

Back home the following Tuesday, September 28, and SmiLE comes out. Naturally a copy is delivered to my house that day. At first I am struck—and not in a good way—by how “modern” the songs sound. I mean, I’m missing the edits in “Heroes and Villains.” But I keep listening, and playing it for the baby, and it grows on me, I get over the jolt, and it quickly becomes clear this is a glorious triumph, a great piece of pop song craft performed lovingly and cohesively by an extremely talented aggregation of artists. Kudos especially to Jeff Foskett (“the CEO of the fal-sett-OH!”, as he was introduced at the concert), and to Darian Sahanaja of the Wondermints, both of whom were linked to in the concert review below.

October 6th and I’m back seeing Jill, this time at the Cutting Room at a private show for WFUV-FM donors. I got in on one of 10 or so pairs of the tickets made available (free) to Jill’s fans. You were supposed to bring someone who had never seen Jill live before, so I brought my sister-in-law. The show was on the radio, and is archived here. (Click “WFUV archives” on the left, then search for Jill, and play the Cutting Room show.) You probably want to play this stream, especially if you have a fast connection. But go forward to about 32:04 in, where I do my “Cinnamon Park” thing. Yes, there for posterity, I join Jill on the invisible trumpet.

Actually, I’m not even going to say anything else about the show; give it a listen. She was her usual sweet self at the show, being so kind and attentive to my sister-in-law. They are about the same age and grew up in the same area, and were swapping stories about old bars and clubs. This is part of why I adore her so much. On the one hand she is so talented—writer, singer, guitarist, humorist, live performer. On the other hand, she is so down to earth-- she knows many of her fans by name, she will wait after a show and sign everybody’s CDs. She takes requests, and if you get her before a show she might even do a dedication.

Labels: The tunes