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| Dr. Soundgood |
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The concert series Americana In The Park continued
yesterday with some good blues, jazz and zydeco music. This series takes place Sundays
in September at Gandara Park in Santa Monica, and is put on by the city of
Santa Monica in partnership with McCabe’s. And they do a great job, not only in
booking talented and interesting artists, but in the whole organization.
Different food trucks are brought in each week, and parking lots have been
reserved for those attending the concerts. And the parking is free. There are
also, of course, merchandise booths for those who want to pick up CDs and
records of the performers or McCabe’s T-shirts and other items.
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| Mara Kaye |
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Yesterday got off to an excellent start with a set by
blues vocalist Mara Kaye, who was accompanied by Tim McNalley on guitar. She’s
originally from Brooklyn, but based in Los Angeles now. Yesterday marked the
first date on her current tour, which will take her up into Oregon and
Washington. She kicked off her set with “Black Sheep Blues,” and followed that
with “In Love Again,” “The New York Blues,” Mississippi John Hurt’s “Ain’t No
Tellin’” and a gorgeous rendition of “Blue Moon.” She also did a couple of
original songs, “Lord Above” (in which she sings, “
Lord above, are you listening/Are you real, can you hear me?”) and “Dystopian
Blues” (which I think most of us can related to). She has an excellent voice,
right at home in traditional blues while also feeling fresh and current. She
wrapped up her set with “Strange Things Happen Every Day.” Her set ended at
4:45 p.m., at which point The New Orleans Tradition Jazz Band began its march
around the audience, followed by those who felt like dancing, this while the
next band was setting up. After a circuit of the park, they landed in front
of the stage, where they played several more songs, including “Sweet Georgia
Brown” and, of course, “When The Saints Go Marching In.” They were a whole lot
of fun, and many folks were up and dancing. Their set ended at 5:15 p.m.
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| The New Orleans Traditional Jazz Band |
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Dr. SoundGood featuring Doug Legacy was the headlining
band yesterday. They used to be called Zydeco Party Band, and indeed their set
felt like a party. And lots of people were dancing on the grass. They opened
their set with “Meet De Boys On The Battlefront,” featuring a delicious beat
and some good work on accordion. They followed that with “Saturday’s Child,” a
song from Doug Legacy’s new album. Before their cover of B.B. King’s “Everybody
Lies A Little,” Doug Legacy mentioned buying a cassette labeled simply “Blues,”
a tape without even a track list included, for a dollar, and then having to
figure out what songs were on it. They followed that with a couple of songs
from the band’s 1990 album King Cake,
the title track and “Crime Don’t Pay.” They also covered “Lonesome Boy Blues.”
It’s interesting the way certain lines show up in different blues songs, the
same with some old folk numbers. For example, in “Lonesome Boy Blues,” Doug
Legacy sang, “Some got six months, some
got a solid year,” a line that is also featured in “Viola Lee Blues.” Jimmy
Z delivered some fantastic work on saxophone and harmonica, sometimes both in
the same song, and also played some percussion. He also got a chance to sing on
a couple of numbers during the set. One of the highlights for me was the band’s
rendition of “Hey Pocky Way,” a Meters song that the Grateful Dead used to
cover. They followed that with Aaron Neville’s “Tell It Like It Is.” They
wrapped up the set with “Hot Tamale Baby.” The show ended at 7 p.m. Yes, we
were treated to three solid hours of excellent music, all for free.
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| Dr. SoundGood featuring Doug Legacy |
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The music series continues next Sunday with The Delirians,
and an opening set by McCabe’s Hootenanny Collective, featuring some of the
people who work at McCabe’s.
Here are a few more photos from the show:
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| Mara Kaye |
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| Mara Kaye |
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| The New Orleans Traditional Jazz Band |
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| The New Orleans Traditional Jazz Band |
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| Dr. SoundGood featuring Doug Legacy |
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| Dr. SoundGood featuring Doug Legacy |
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| Dr. SoundGood featuring Doug Legacy | |
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