Category Archives: Music

san francisco – hardly strictly bluegrass festival

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day 1 – sunday, october 7

Bridget and I are driving south out of Sonoma wine country, out on Hwy 101. As we get closer to San Francisco, we see a sign for the San Anselmo exit. I’ve got Van’s Hard Nose The Highway in Dexy’s CD player and on comes “Snow In San Anselmo.” I look longingly to the west, past San Anselmo, thinking another time I’d like to do that Hwy 1 drive north out of San Francisco, through Sausalito and Marin City and up along the Coast Highway, as far north as that little town of Westport – which we’d passed through three days ago – that looked like a picture postcard from Ireland. Ah, but that’s for another day. Today is all about San Francisco and the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Continue reading →

portland, oregon

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We’ve got a four-night stay in Portland – again at another airbnb – this time a fully equipped basement apartment up in the northeast area of town. It’s an “in” night, one for watching of few episodes of “Mad Men,” and while I caught up on some work, Bridget figured out our plan of attack on Portland in the upcoming days. All I need to do is check out Powell’s Bookstore sometime and go see Willy Porter on Friday night; other than that, my schedule is free. Continue reading →

new orleans music

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Even without the music, New Orleans is a fascinating city, one that is easy to be in – restaurants, shops, a riverwalk along the Mississippi, art galleries, parks – all within walking distance, all filled with friendly folks who are genuinely pleased with life and glad to be spending a part of their day with you. Its narrow one-way streets demand you get out on foot to explore. It’s the only way to see New Orleans, and while you’re out there gawking at all there is on offer, your senses come alive … especially your auditory sense. New Orleans is many things, but paramount is the music. Live music. I daresay there isn’t a city anywhere else that keeps on giving music the way NOLA does. Continue reading →

matisyahu 9/3/11

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Another great night outdoors at Boarding House Park in Lowell; tonight it’s to see Matisyahu. If this is a new name for you, check out this video of One Day on YouTube. It’s one of those ear worm songs that I think everyone has heard by now. He performed it as the closer at tonight’s show, inviting all the kids in the audience to come up on stage to sing along. We all felt good. If we’d all had lighters, we’d have had them lit. Continue reading →

great big sea 8/26/11

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What an absolute hoot! I had no idea a Great Big Sea concert was a dancing party. But that’s what they do and that’s what their fans do. They’re so good that the fans are up dancing before the guys have even plugged in. And here I thought there’d be me and a couple hundred fans to see a band that most people never heard of. Boy was I wrong. It was the biggest crowd of the season for the Lowell Music Series at Boarding House Park. Continue reading →

bob dylan 8/21/11

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It took Bob to get me down to the House of Blues in Boston, the former Avalon, just behind Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox. I never much liked the Avalon – tight security, difficult sight lines – so it seems much improved in its new incarnation, with three levels, the third level being stadium seating, which is where I sat with my eyes glued on Bob all night. Continue reading →