Blues on the water

Lucinda Williams

Every three years or so, it seems, we're able to make things work in our schedule and head down to the Waterfront Blues Festival. Yesterday was our day in the sun (literally) and even a few hours spent there made we realize anew why it's one of Portland's signature events and also one of my favorites.

Start with the location. Tens of thousands of people are sardined into a grassy bowl sloping down to the west bank of the Willamette River. While you focus on whomever is performing on the featured stage, you're also able to look down at several boats bobbing in the water and across two bridges to the east side, with Mount Hood looming behind everything.

Consider the vibe. Though people are packed in tightly, with low-back chairs, blankets and coolers, there isn't a single person with attitude -- unlike what you often see at carnivals and amusement parks. Some folks are dancing (by themselves, with a partner or sometimes a group), reading, talking, eating or just people-watching.

Factor in the humans. This is one of those events that attracts people of all ages. Yes, you've got the grizzled graybeards and old hippie mamas, but you've also got twentysomethings and everyone in between, drawn by four days of music on four stages, tons of tasty food and drink, and several booths with clothing, jewelry, Mardi Gras beads and other merchandise. One of the memorable sights: A tall, thin dude in his 50s with purple hair to match his purple shorts and flip-flops. If only he'd borrowed the sunglasses with purple frames I spotted on a guy half his age.

Hawthorne Bridge rising behind a rotating screen

Add in the music. For $10 and two cans of food per person, you're treated to a lineup of more than 100 performers that this year included nightly headliners Robert Cray, Lucinda Williams and Buddy Guy. We saw Lucinda Saturday night and she was quite good. I often think of her as the female Bob Dylan -- great lyricist, one-of-a-kind voice (raw, bluesy, inflected with a Louisiana accent) -- and a Keith Richards lookalike (spiky hair, dressed all in black). 

TIME magazine once called Lucinda "America's best songwriter" and she made my list of favorite performers in May's A to Z music challenge. In many ways, she and her band are the opposite of Alison Krauss and Union Station, whom we saw earlier in the week. While AKUS is all about melodious music, harmonious vocals and friendly banter with the audience, Lucinda Williams is all business. No chit-chat for her.

The Oregonian's pop music critic, Ryan White, said it well in his Day Two wrap of the festival:

"Lucinda -- and she's a one-namer, isn't she? -- brings a different kind of party, a different brand of blues. It's the kind of party that involves sitting around by yourself drinking whiskey. It's not 12-bars and guitar face, but tell me a song called "Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings" isn't the blues?"

Chris and Deb Ehlers

Toss in a little serendipity. A day before the festival began, we realized our longtime friends from Salem, Bob and Deb, also were going to be there on Saturday. They arrived before us, saved us enough space to lay in two more chairs and we enjoyed each other's company on a gorgeous summer night. Bonus: Their son Chris, who was born the same week as our Nathan, had arrived home a few days earlier from Vietnam, where he's been teaching English for several years, and he met his parents there. So that was a nice surprise, to see him all grown up at 31, when our earliest memories of him go back to diaper-changing when both of our families were in the same babysitting co-op.

Finish with a feel-good payoff. The largest blues festival west of the Mississippi and the second-largest festival in the nation also provides the Oregon Food Bank with its largest fundraiser of the year. One hundred percent of gate donations go to feed hungry people  The first day alone raised 13,500 pounds of food and $76,806, White reported.

With all these positives, I'm left to wonder: Why attend only once every three years? I may have to reconsider.

Photo of Lucinda Williams by Ross William Hamilton, The Oregonian

Guilt-ee pleasures

Time to come clean.

When I was compiling my favorite artists' music videos last month for the A to Z Music Challenge, I couldn't decide between singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards or country music's Sara Evans, so I chose neither and went instead with Earth, Wind and Fire.

Time to set the record straight.

Edwards is one of those under-the-wire gems I discovered one night on "Austin City Limits" and then had the great pleasure of seeing her twice in concert at Portland's Aladdin Theater. She's Canadian and sings a couple of songs about the country's national sport (ice hockey) and is classified as alt-country, though I'd describe much of her music as straight-up rock.

I'm posting a video from her appearance on David Letterman in 2003, singing "Six O'Clock News" from her first album, "Failer," simply because it's better quality than most of her live performances on YouTube. If you're curious, check out these links to "In State" and "Copied Keys" -- both performed live -- and the upbeat, polished video "I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory."






Sara Evans, on the other hand, is a Nashville powerhouse and a favorite of Middle America. No wonder, considering she grew up on a farm in Missouri, started singing as a child in her family's band, and broke into the business as a traditional county artist. Later, she developed more of a mainstream, contemporary sound and won the Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year award in 2006.

She's released seven albums, including her greatest hits, and still performs at county fairs and other small venues all over the country. Her band includes two sisters on backing vocals and a brother on bass guitar. Unfortunately, the Republican Party adopted her song "Born To Fly" and played it relentlessly at the 2008 national convention.

Here's a video of her singing "When You Say Nothing At All," a Keith Whitley song that I thought only Alison Krauss could do justice to.




Want more? Check these out:

 "A Real Fine Place to Start"

"Let's Dance"

A to Z music challenge: Mission accomplished!

 I began this month with a challenge to myself: Pick out a favorite artist for each letter of the alphabet and post a corresponding music video.

It was a fun exercise and now it's complete, with a couple of days to spare. I came up empty on the letter "X" but otherwise I'm done. Here's the list in reverse alphabetical order.

I welcome any feedback -- corrections, additions, condemnations, whatever. Even if none is forthcoming, I've now got a little archive to call up anytime.

Z is for Led Zeppelin
Y is for Neil Young
W is for Lucinda Williams
V is for Stevie Ray Vaughan
U is for U2
U is Keith Urban
T is for Susan Tedeschi
S is for Sade
R is for the Rolling Stones
Q is for Queen
P is for Pink Martini
O is for Joan Osborne
N is for Stevie Nicks

M is for Joni Mitchell
L is for John Legend
K is for Alison Krauss
J is for Norah Jones
I is for James Ingram
H is for Mayer Hawthorne
G is for Patty Griffin
F is for Fleetwood Mac
E is for Earth, Wind & Fire
D is for The Doobie Brothers
D is for Duffy
C is for Camera Obscura
B is for Anita Baker
A is for The Allman Brothers Band

Image by Pixomar

Z is for Led Zeppelin

If I were a stickler, I'd put ZZ Top in this slot. But because it's my list and this is the last letter of the alphabet, I'm giving myself some leeway to go with Zeppelin, a far better band that left a hugely influential footprint in the world of rock music.

A quick word about ZZ Top. Guitarists Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill brought a free-wheeling, fun-loving style to the stage, for sure, and they're fun to watch. ("Sharp Dressed Man" captures their energy and hard-driving sound.) But the chest-length beards and sunglasses screamed "shtick."

On the other hand, Led Zeppelin burst onto the scene in 1968, when I was still in high school and the first notes of  the first track ("Good Times Bad Times") just grabbed you by the throat and demanded your attention.

With Robert Plant on vocals and Jimmy Page on guitar, they were superb showmen who performed with manic energy. They had a great bluesy sound that intersected nicely with hard rock on songs like "Heartbreaker," "You Shook Me," and "Dazed and Confused."

Of course, it was "Stairway to Heaven" that shot them into the stratosphere. I still remember seeing them do it live during a show at the Oakland Coliseum, just a few rows from the stage. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey gave the song a second life with their homage in "Wayne's World."

I'm still trying to figure out how T-Bone Burnett came up with the idea of pairing Robert Plant with Alison Krauss on the Grammy-winning album "Raising Sand." Sheer genius.

But back to Zeppelin. Here are a couple of clips from the band's early days.

Y is for Neil Young

A man and his guitar. Spare, meaningful lyrics and simple melodies.

I've always thought Neil Young was at his best as a minimalist. Sure, he was an important part of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and he rocked it with Crazy Horse. But he's always played with passion and excelled as a songwriter, as epitomized by his classic,  "Old Man.".

Wish I could have found "Here For You" from the concert film "Heart of Gold" but I'll settle for "Four Strong Winds" -- a song by fellow Canadian Ian Tyson that he said he played all summer long as a teenager. Love the sense of community among all those on stage

Other classics:

"Harvest Moon"
"Heart of Gold"
"The Needle and The Damage Done"

Tedeschi Trucks Band rocks

Just got in from an energizing concert at the Crystal Ballroom featuring the talented duo of Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band played for 90 minutes and then added two encore songs. The two videos here, "Bound For Glory" and "Midnight in Harlem," are typical of their live performance. Heartfelt vocals by Susan, great guitar licks by Derek and then solos by several band members that stretch the songs out to about 8-10 minutes each.

They were like a small orchestra on stage with 11 members, including a three-piece horn section, two drummers and two backup singers, blowing through their original material and adding a couple of covers: Stevie Wonder's "Uptight" and Sly and the Family Stone"s "Sing A Simple Song."

They had the crowd dancing from their first set and the band seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves. Always good to see.

The crowd itself definitely skewed older. A lot like the crowd you'd see at Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival. Graying men in ponytails, braids and beards. A couple of guys in Jack Daniel's T-shirts. Women swaying in long dresses while holding their cups of beer.

All in all, a good vibe and a great show. The Tedeschi Trucks Band is coming out with a new CD next month. Check it out.

X is for ???

Sorry but I can't think of a single band or musician that starts with "X."

Can anyone?

W is for Lucinda Williams

Count me among those who've jumped on the Lucinda Williams bandwagon in recent years.

Though she's been recording music since 1978, I didn't become aware of this talented lady until nearly 20 years later. To me, she's the closest thing we have to a female Bob Dylan. By that, I mean she's a superb songwriter, a good but not great musician, and her vocals run the gamut of raw to scratchy to oh-so-delicate.

Born and raised in Louisiana, she's an American original who plays it all: rock, folk, country and blues. In fact, she's on the bill July 2 at this year's Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland.

She's a multiple Grammy Award winner, a prolific recording artist (11 CDS so far) and someone who clearly cares more about the integrity of her music than the glitz that often goes with performing.

Her lyrics are nothing if not honest and heartfelt. Consider this excerpt from "Overtime":


Your blue eyes, your black eyelashes
The way you looked at life
In your funny way
I guess out of the blue
You won't cross my mind
And I'll get over you
Overtime

Your pale skin, your sexy crooked teeth
The trouble you'd get in
In your clumsy way
I guess one afternoon
You won't cross my mind
And I'll get over you
Overtime

A sample of her range:
"Essence"
"Real Love"
"Still I Long For Your Kiss"
"Overtime"

V is for Stevie Ray Vaughan

There are guitarists and there are guitarists. Then there is Stevie Ray Vaughan.

He's one of those -- like Eric Clapton or Carlos Santana -- whose sound you would recognize anywhere.

I discovered him several years ago when he was performing on "Austin City Limits" -- the long-running show that over the years has introduced me to so many other outstanding artists. Seems only appropriate given that Stevie Ray, who grew up in the Dallas area, had adopted Austin as his hometown. After his untimely death, the city erected a memorial statue of him with his signature wide-brimmed hat and knee-length leather coat.

He was killed in a helicopter crash in 1990 while flying with Clapton's road crew to Chicago following a performance the previous night. He was just 35.

While he was alive, he produced six albums, most of them with Double Trouble, the band his older brother Jimmie also played in. After his death, another dozen albums came out, many of them taken from live performances or compilations of his greatest hits, including "Crossfire," "Pride and Joy" and "Texas Flood."

He had a voice like sandpaper and a face made for radio but, boy, could he play.

U is for U2

If it seems U2 has been around forever, well, I guess that's because it's true. The band formed in Dublin in 1976, released their first collection of songs in 1980 and since then have become of the biggest bands ever, with about a dozen albums to their credit.

With Bono on vocals and The Edge on guitar, they've crafted a style and sound all their own, perfectly suited to big arenas and international stages. 

People seem to either love or hate Bono. I think he's a great musician and a bit of a prima donna, sure, but also someone I give props to for his support of humanitarian and philanthropic causes.

What's indisputable is the band's incredible body of work, including:

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
"Beautiful Day"
"Angel of Harlem"

Just to mention a few...

U is for Keith Urban

A bonus for "U."

First time I heard Keith Urban was at a wedding reception for a couple who were each marrying for the second time. It was an informal affair. Family and friends gathered in the basement of their Vancouver home and the newlyweds moved out onto the floor for their first dance.

That's when I first heard "Making Memories of You," a lovely ballad that's easy on the ears.

In the several years since then, I've become more familiar with Urban's body of work, and progressively more impressed. The dude is talented. Writes some nice lyrics, catchy melodies and plays the guitar with great skill and versatility.

Lucky him, married to Nicole Kidman. What I'm still trying to figure out, though, is how a guy from New Zealand becomes a country music star in the United States.

While we ponder that question, here are a couple of worthy videos to go along with the one embedded below:

"You'll Think Of Me"
"Only You Can Love With Me This Way"
"You're My Better Half"

T is for Susan Tedeschi

Contemporary blues is one of my favorite genres and this woman is a big reason why.

The combination of hot guitar licks, smoking vocals and no-nonsense performance all comes together wonderfully in the package that is Susan Tedeschi. She's from Boston and has a voice that's been described as a cross between Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin. That she's married to Derek Trucks, a former child prodigy who's the son of the Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks, only makes her appeal all the sweeter.

They're performing in Portland next Wednesday at the Crystal Ballroom and I plan to see them. It'll be the second time for me. Saw her at the Aladdin Theater a couple years ago and she was awesome.

While she can rock it with the best of them (check out "Gonna Move" and "Rock Me Right"),  I also like that she can slow it down with covers of Bob Dylan ("Don't Think Twice, It's Alright") and John Prine ("Angel From Montgomery") and her own "Soul of a Man."

Plus, I like that she's got a social conscience. On her latest CD, "Back To The River," she has a song about New Orleans and Katina called "700 Houses." Check out the lyrics here and the live perforrmance here.

But first, strap on your seat belt and give a listen to "Little By Little."

S is for Sade

You know you're a superstar when the world knows you by one name.

In the case of Sade, the Nigerian-born British singer, there's truly no one who looks and sounds like her in the world of music.

From the time she and her band burst onto the scene in 1983, her music has always had a captivating quality. Smooth rhythms, sultry vocals, jazzy and bluesy at the same time.

She and her band have made only six albums, but I think that's a key to their popularity. They've been selective about making nothing but great music. Glad to see her come out of retirement. And I'm happy to say I'll finally get a chance to see her in concert in August when she comes to town with John Legend in August.

Hoping she'll perform a few of the classics along with material from her newest CD, "Soldier of Love," such as:

"Kiss of Life"
"Lover's Rock"
"Somebody Already Broke My Heart"

R is for the Rolling Stones

They're called the World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band -- and for good reason.

The Rolling Stones have produced an astonishing body of work that goes back to frickin' 1962. Nearly 50 years worth of memorable music, with so many songs that sound as fresh today as when they were first recorded.

"Satisfaction"
"Honky Tonk Women"
"Start Me Up"
"Brown Sugar"
"You Can't Always Get What You Want"

The list goes on and on.

Except for Lennon and McCartney, I can't think of another songwriting duo as prolific -- and as good -- as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Plus, the Stones are still the consummate performers.

Q is for Queen

Really, who else could it be in such a narrow category? But, then, Queen deserves a category all its own.

Behind frontman Freddie Mercury, Queen churned out some of the best stadium rock ever: "We Are The Champions," "We Will Rock You," "Another One Bites The Dust," etc.

But rising above everything was the oddball classic "Bohemian Rhapsody," originally released in 1975 and made famous all over again in 1992, thanks to the movie "Wayne's World." I suspect I'm probably not the only one who flashes back to Wayne and Garth and their buddies singing along in their car as they cruise the streets of Aurora, Illinois.

As Wikipedia notes, "The song has no chorus, instead consisting of three main parts: a ballad segment ending with a guitar solo, an operatic passage, and a heavy rock section."

P is for Pink Martini

Portland has become quite the magnet for indie musicians: The Decemberists, The Shins, M. Ward, Conor Oberst, Carrie Brownstein...But if you were to ask which band best represents Portland to the world, I think most people here would say Pink Martini.

The so-called "little orchestra" founded by pianist/composer Thomas Lauderdale and vocalist China Forbes has endeared itself to folks with its exquisite musicianship, international flair and involvement in the community.

The band has made five CDs and each of them is brimming with creativity and an enthusiastic embrace of world music. They choose music that ranges from lounge to jazz to pop and they've sung their songs in at least five languages besides English -- French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese. They often do concert fundraisers (we attended one at the Memorial Coliseum shortly after Hurricane Katrina) and they regularly perform on New Year's Eve at a local venue.

Lauderdale and Forbes met at Harvard (how many times do you hear that about a band?) his roots here go even deeper. Thomas attended Grant High School, where two of our kids went to school, and was already well-known as an up-and-coming musician before he even graduated. The first time I saw him perform was solo in the living room of one of Lori's friends, who had gathered his friends together in the final weeks of his life as he was dying of AIDS.


The band's touring schedule this year will take them everywhere from Canada to Europe to Bend in central Oregon, to New York's Central Park for a free concert. They're an awesome group. Probably their best-known song is "Hey, Eugene" but "Kikuchiyo to Mohshimasu" -- a Japanese love song, complete with the stringed instrument known as a koto -- is also worth a look and listen.

Be patient with the video below. The live music kicks in after about a minute. Definitely worth it.

O is for Joan Osborne

Joan Osborne is one of those under-the-radar talents who's never quite gotten her due. She's got a big voice and the chops to do justice to rock, folk, blues, even a little country.

Like most, I became aware of her in the mid-90s when she came out with "One Of Us." But then she was one of several vocalists featured in the "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," the documentary on the Funk Brothers, the studio band that played backup for a galaxy of Motown stars. Joan did some killer versions of "Heatwave" and "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted" that soared above everyone else in the film.

A couple years ago, she came to Portland's Aladdin Theatre and put on a great show, performing songs from her then-new CD, "Little Wild One".

The song below, "Sweeter Than The Rest," is from that CD. She's coming to Portland again this summer, scheduled to perform with Taj Mahal on June 23 as the first of this year's Oregon Zoo Summer Concerts.

Another video that gives you a sense of her range: "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends"

N is for Stevie Nicks

Is this cheating? I've already featured Stevie Nicks in "F is for Fleetwood Mac."

But she's forged a solo career of her own, too, so why not choose her for "N"?

Especially when the song is "Nightbird"? Here she is singing my favorite song from her first solo CD, "Bella Donna" with her sister-in-law Lori Nicks.

A to Z music challenge: Halfway there

I began the month with a pledge to post one music video a day for 26 days, one for each letter of the English alphabet.

So far, so good. It's May 13 and I've posted 14 times, from A to M. (A bonus entry on "D")

To see them all, click on the "A to Z Music Challenge" tag at the bottom of the page. Or view them individually.

M is for Joni Mitchell
L is for John Legend
K is for Alison Krauss
J is for Norah Jones
I is for James Ingram
H is for Mayer Hawthorne
G is for Patty Griffin
F is for Fleetwood Mac
E is for Earth, Wind & Fire
D is for The Doobie Brothers
D is for Duffy
C is for Camera Obscura
B is for Anita Baker
A is for The Allman Brothers Band


I'll begin the second-half push tomorrow. But before I do, sure would like to know about any reactions any of you may have.

-- Find anything you like? Dislike?
-- Find anything new?
-- Did I help you remember your past?
-- Do you and I have a favorite artist in common?
-- Who do you like? Who's missing?

Thanks and gracias!

M is for Joni Mitchell

If the word "original" ever applied to a musician, I'd say it goes with Joni Mitchell. Hard to believe the "It" Girl of the '60s and '70s is 67 years old. I say that because her music sounds as fresh today as decades ago.

I could rhapsodize about her towering influence as a singer-songwriter whose music evolved from folk to jazz to  blues to pop and became increasingly complex along the way. Or I could recall specific songs ("A Case Of You," "Coyote," "River," "Woodstock") and albums ("Blue," "Court and Spark," "The Hissing of Summer Lawns," "Hejira") as favorites.

Instead I offer these two quotes from comments left on a couple of her YouTube music videos:

-- Joni Mitchell is an artist who will be remembered and relevant 100+ years from now. Her music is poetry, her lyrics are music. She fits in no genre; she is a true original. And yes she did it all without the filtering, enhancing, correcting, mixing, etc. She slays me.

-- Joni Mitchell had such a wonderful ability to defy traditional phrasing and melodic structure without sounding awkward. What a masterful song writer and performer!

Saw her just once in concert, here at the Memorial Coliseum, where she closed the concert with "Shadows and Light." Amazing. Thanks to Canada for producing such a talented lady.