Monday, May 28, 2018

Notes From The 2018 Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival, Day One

Dave Mason
It has been a fantastic weekend of music. For me it started Saturday at the Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park in Simi Valley. Plenty of good music on two stages (set far enough apart that the music from one doesn’t bleed into the other), as well as food, drinks and positive vibes make this an event I enjoy every year. Saturday’s lineup featured Dave Mason, Bo Dollis Jr., Devon Allman Project and Chubby Carrier.

I started the day off at the blues stage, where Lightnin’ Willie got things underway with a really good set featuring music from his 2017 release No Black No White Just Blues. I’ve been digging this album, and was glad to get a chance to see him perform. When introducing “Eyes In The Back Of My Head,” he said it was a song about cheating, and urged folks not to cheat because they’d end up hurting themselves more than the other person. That tune featured some cool work on harmonica. He had a horn section come out for “Locked In A Prison,” and I loved Lightnin’ Willie’s cool and passionate delivery of lines like “She used to love me/She used to call my name.” That song had a great slow blues groove, and those two saxophones sounded wonderful. Lightnin’ Willie also gave us some delicious work on guitar, not scrimping on his solo, but letting it go on long enough for the audience to get caught up in it. After that guitar solo, the next line he delivered was “Well, that’s my story,” as if the guitar itself had told the story, which of course it did. The horn players then remained on stage for “Heartache” and “Phone Stopped Ringing.”

The set-up was a bit different from last year. There was still that fenced-off section in front of the blues stage for people who purchased what they called “Super Tickets.” But the size of the photo pit was cut in half, and just behind it, but in front of the Super Ticket section was a new area for folks to dance. And they certainly made good use of this new section. Bo Dollis Jr. & The Wild Magnolias got folks moving, opening their set with “Hey Pocky Way.” (They started while I was in the bathroom. The beer was going right through me that day. By the way, the bathrooms backstage were like palaces. Seriously, those portable toilets were bigger than my bathroom at home.) The Wild Magnolias delivered a completely fun set, and a couple of the band members wore beautiful, elaborate costumes with lots of feathers. A couple of times, Bo Dollis Jr. stepped down off the stage, even entering the Super Ticket area and popping over to the sponsors’ tent, while continuing to sing. (He wisely walked around through the backstage area to get back on stage, rather than trying to jump back up.) Things got funky with their very cool, fun rendition of “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” featuring delicious work on bass. Somehow things got even funkier from there, with some wonderful stuff on keys and drums. Their set felt like a celebration, and the crowd was really into it, even joining in with tambourines and whistles. In addition to some band members going out into the audience, a few audience members were invited on stage toward the end of their set, as the line between performers and audience was blurred.

I wanted to get over to the Cajun stage for Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band, but decided to first catch a bit of the Devon Allman Project. The band members huddled toward the back of the stage before beginning their set, and when they started, they immediately began jamming. No talk, no nonsense, no easing in, just straight into a good, heavy jam. The crowd was certain appreciative, as were other musicians (I saw Lightnin’ Willie down front snapping a couple of photos of Devon Allman). After two or three songs, Devon said, “What a perfect day, y’all.” Indeed!

I then made my way across the park over to the Cajun stage to see Chubby Carrier. He was already into his set when I got there, and folks were dancing. There is an actual dance floor set up in front of the Cajun stage, and lots of folks were enjoying themselves there, grooving and moving. As in previous years, I got the sense that this stage was where the party really was. “We’re going to have a Louisiana gumbo in California,” Chubby Carrier told the crowd. He did a good rendition of “Josephine,” rock and roll with that great New Orleans flavor. And that washboard player seemed to be in a glorious state of ecstasy throughout the set. After a great instrumental number, Chubby Carrier tossed some items out to the crowd, asking them to visit Louisiana. And in introducing “Zydeco People,” he told the crowd, “You are my zydeco people, you know that?” At one point, drummer Jayme Romain stepped to the microphone to deliver a nice rendition of “Tennessee Whiskey,” while Chubby Carrier took over on drums. He sang another number, and then the bass player took over on lead vocals and squeeze box, while the drummer played bass, and Chubby Carrier remained behind the kit. Then Chubby Carrier returned to his spot at the microphone for the ridiculously fun “Jalapeno Lena.”

I headed back to the blues stage because I didn’t want to miss a single second of Dave Mason’s set. He opened with “World In Changes.” And, hey, was that a plush teddy bear attached to the drum kit? Yes. “Nice to be here,” Dave said after the opening number. He then added, “Nice to be anywhere, as a matter of fact.” He then played “Rock And Roll Stew,” a song from the Traffic days, and one that got the audience excited. That dance area in front of the stage was packed with folks. Gretchen Rhodes then joined the band for a very cool rendition of “Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys,” singing lead on a verse. Oh man, there was a moment when Dave Mason held onto a note on guitar, and it was so delicious. The crowd responded enthusiastically. Gretchen also sang on “We Just Disagree.” Dave Mason followed that with “Look At You Look At Me,” which featured a really nice section on keys. Gretchen returned for “Can’t Find My Way Home.” She then sang lead on a cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride And Joy,” with Dave Mason stepping aside (he didn’t play on this one). Gretchen really belted out the lyrics, totally owning it. They followed that with “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” a song I used to love seeing the Grateful Dead perform. “Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave” and “Only You Know And I Know” followed, with Gretchen playing tambourine on the latter. Dave Mason closed out the set with “Feelin’ Alright,” first mentioning that he was nineteen when he wrote it. “I want you to join on the chorus of this song, ‘cause I know you know it.” Indeed, everyone knew it. But I think everyone knew all of the songs from his set. At any rate, everyone around me was dancing and singing. He did an encore that began with a good dose of classic rock and roll, “Shake, Rattle And Roll,” which had everybody dancing and smiling. He followed that with a great, rocking version of “All Along The Watchtower,” Dave delivering a short guitar solo at the end. It was a really good set, and it ended a little after 6 p.m.

I had intended on staying to catch at least the first couple of songs of Alex Nester’s set. I had missed her last year, and had heard only good things about her performance. But it took quite a while to get her band set up, and I had to get down to Santa Monica for the We Are The West concert. Perhaps next year I’ll be able to see her?

Here are a few photos from the day:

Lightnin' Willie
Lightnin' Willie
Bo Dollis, Jr. And The Wild Magnolias
Bo Dollis, Jr. And The Wild Magnolias
Devon Allman Project
Devon Allman Project
Chubby Carrier And The Bayou Swamp Band
Chubby Carrier And The Bayou Swamp Band
Dave Mason
Dave Mason

The Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival is an annual event, and is located at 5005 Los Angeles Ave. in Simi Valley, California.

No comments:

Post a Comment