When I quit my job as the entertainment guy at the Record Searchlight six months ago, I was stunned how quickly I fell out of the loop of what was going on. Great concerts came and went, and I was left saying things like, “Whaa, really? They just played last night? Oh, crap, I wanted to see them.”
It’s still happening. Last night I missed Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband at the finale of the Mosquito Serenade in Anderson. This summer I missed both Peter Rowan and Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys at the Oaksong Society summer concert series.
Blue Turtle Seduction
But the music’s not over this summer. Tonight (Thursday) in downtown Redding, for instance, there’s a bunch of live shows worth catching. The impossible-not-to-dance-to jam band Blue Turtle Seduction of South Lake Tahoe headlines a show at Bombay’s that also includes San Diego’s On The One.
Over at MarketFest, former San Diego resident Slam Buckra and his band headline the weekly series in Library Park. It’s something like the eighth time Slam has played MarketFest. At the Vintage Wine Bar and Restaurant, the exceptional Redding jazz guitarist Charles Valona plays an evening show (with the equally exceptional bassist Bruce Calin). At the Post Office Saloon, Marc Soares and his Indigo Brew band perform with yet another talented guitarist, Al Mires.
Looking to the weekend, one of the best bands on the West Coast, the Waybacks, perform Saturday at the Oaksongs series at Gray Pine Farm. The band has seen some lineup changes recently, but hardcore Waybacks fans tell me the group is better than ever. Guitarist James Nash is otherworldly good, and the young fiddler/mandolin player Warren Hood, a new addition, has been blowing people’s minds, apparently.
At the Cascade Theatre, the Neville Brothers on Sept. 3 could certainly be a great show. I have to admit being a little curious about the country outlaw, David Allan Coe, on Sept. 14. Who knows what that one will look like.
A little beyond the region, I already have tickets to see one of my all-time favorites, Lucinda Williams, at the Britt Festival on Aug. 28. When I checked the site late Wednesday the show wasn’t sold out yet, which surprises me, because there are two other hot groups on the bill — the Avett Brothers and the Waifs. I need to get in a better habit of checking the Sierra Nevada Big Room’s site — Jackie Greene is already sold out for Sept. 9.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are coming to Big League Dreams in October as part of Big Bike Weekend. Know that Kim Wilson will give a good show, and the band will have a great guitarist. Eddie Money’s also on that bill. Which Eddie Money will show up remains to be seen. As he told me a few years back, “I’m a party boy.” You can draw your own conclusions on that statement.
