The Americana West Music Festival opened last night at
the Hotel Café, the first of two nights of fantastic music and great vibes. The
Hotel Café has two stages and both were in action, so choices had to be made
regarding who you wanted to see at any given moment. The great thing was that
whatever you choice you made, it was the right one. There were no mediocre
artists at this thing. Whoever you were watching, you were certain to be
enjoying the music.
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| Francis Blume |
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The doors opened a bit late, but that actually didn’t
affect the schedule, as Francis Blume, scheduled to go on at 7, went on at 7:05
p.m., as close to on time as one could expect. He did a solo acoustic set. This
was in the larger room, which is where I started the evening. I immediately dug
Francis Blume. With his first song, “One Way To Omaha,” he created cool, dark
atmosphere, and included some whistling. He followed that with “Kills Me.” “
It’s a real upper,” he joked after
telling us the song’s title in his introduction. His set also included “Can’t
Pretend,” “Now That I Care,” “Daydream” and “Gone For Good.” When introducing
“Daydream,” he said that he wrote it about hating his day job. “
But, good for me, the company I worked for
went bankrupt.” His set ended at 7:31 p.m.
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| Alex Jordan |
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Then, as Alex Jordan was setting up, Ted Russell Kamp
joined him on stage. It turned out that Ted was part of the house band backing
several of the artists over the course of the evening. Very cool. Ted Russell
Kamp is one of those musicians who get me interested in projects just through
their involvement. Another of those musicians is Carl Byron, but more on him in
a bit. At 7:38 p.m., Alex Jordan was ready to go. How’s that for a quick
changeover? He opened his set with “Queen Kerosene,” which had a great country
rock sound. That song is the title track to his new album, and his set focused
on that release. Before going into “Blue,” the Jayhawks song, which he also
included on that new CD, Alex said, referring to the musicians backing him, “
I
met these guys about ninety minutes ago.” Talented musicians can pick up
things quickly, and though these guys weren’t Alex Jordan’s regular backing
band, you’d never know it if he hadn’t mentioned it. Their rendition of “Blue”
featured a nice lead on guitar during the jam. They also jammed on the next
song, “Emily,” a fun number. After it, Alex said, “
This is a fun day.” Indeed. His set also included “Made To Fall
Easy” and “Saving Grace.” His set ended at 8:06 p.m.
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| Ryan Hahn |
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Ryan Hahn was up next, using the same backing band. Ryan
Hahn was someone I’d seen last summer at a special concert celebrating Mick
Jagger’s 80th birthday, where he played with his band The Believers. At that
show he did only one original song, “Alright,” which he also played last night.
But he opened his set with “Little Town,” which mentions “
the hills of Kentucky,” where he was originally from. And in
introducing “Farmers Son,” he said that a lot of his songs are about coming
from Kentucky, from a small town, and coming to Los Angeles. Though every once
in a while you’ll meet a native of this city, most of us have come from
elsewhere and can relate strongly to this material. He followed “Farmers Son”
with “Dead Man’s Mine,” a powerful number that found the band jamming again,
and wrapped up his set with “Evil Girl.”
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| Shane Alexander |
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Ryan Hahn’s set ended at 8:38 p.m., and I rushed over to
the other stage to catch Shane Alexander’s set, which had been scheduled to
start at 8:40 p.m. I got there at 8:39, and found that he was already playing. I
mentioned earlier that I tend to pay attention to projects that certain
musicians get involved with, and that Carl Byron is one of those musicians.
Well, a couple of days ago, he had posted that he was going to be playing with
Shane Alexander, which is why I was determined to catch his set. Carl hadn’t
steered me wrong yet, and that perfect track record continues, for I
immediately connected to Shane’s music. When introducing “A Heart Like Mine,”
he said that Carl Byron plays on his new album, and that is a disc I want to
add to my collection. “A Heart Like Mine” was a beautiful song. “
This is not our first goodbye” was a
line that stood out for me. He followed that with “You Make Your Own Luck,”
which he had written with Danny McGough. “
You
find your own way/It’s never too late.” “Ballad Of The Troubadour” was a
song he wrote because his father-in-law didn’t understand why he does what he
does, and in it he sings that a song can make the world just a little bit
better. Obviously, everyone who attended the festival last night agrees with
that. He wrapped up his set with “Front Porch Serenade,” finishing at 8:58 p.m.
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| Los Rock Angels |
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I stayed at the second stage to catch the next three
acts, beginning with Los Rock Angels, a band that has been around since the
late 1980s, and last night was introduced as the “
most elusive band” in southern California. Could that be why I had
never seen them before? I don’t know, but I’m so happy that I saw them last
night. They opened their set with “Hole In My Heart,” and immediately had the
whole crowd smiling. “
There’s a hole in
my heart where there used to be you/I loved you so much, I don’t know what to
do.” “
Happy Friday night, everybody,”
they said after that song. Well, these guys were making sure it was a happy
Friday night for everyone in the room. This band was certainly delivering the
most cheerful music of the night, at least thus far. They encouraged dancing,
and some folks moved tables to create a little room. Their set also included “Mexicajun
Baby” and “Heartaches, Tears And Water,” along with a few others whose titles I
don’t know. There was some delicious work on accordion, and, at one point, some
great stuff on harmonica. Their set ended at 9:50 p.m.
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| Wolftrap | |
Next up was Wolftrap, another group I had not seen
before, and another that I loved right away. They opened their set with “Fucked
Up Blues,” featuring some sweet vocal work. They followed that with “Angeline,”
folk rock that really rocks. After that, they mentioned how they moved to L.A.
just a couple of years ago, and said that Los Rock Angels are their new
favorite band. I get that, but I bet Wolftrap’s next song made them a new
favorite of everyone in the room. It was a delightful song about gangrene that
had many folks laughing out loud, yet also had a beautiful, sweet sound. That
was followed by “CRISPR Blues,” which began with some good blues guitar work
and included the line “
Cookin’ up some
new DNA.” Yes, I absolutely love these guys. Their set ended at 10:28 p.m.
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| Gilbert Louie Ray Band |
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Earlier I mentioned the Mick Jagger birthday concert
which was organized and hosted by Jay Souza of Patrolled By Radar. Another of
the groups that played that show was Gilbert Louie Ray Band, and that group
followed Wolftrap last night. I had enjoyed their short set last year, and was
excited to hear a little more from these guys. I wasn’t the only one excited
about their set, for the room got even more crowded as they began, and most of
the people there were familiar with the band’s material. Their set included “What
I Have Left,” a cover of Marty Robbins’ “Doggone Cowboy” (with Jordan Hook
joining them on guitar) and “Allegedly,” along with a few others. And
apparently the band has an album coming out this summer, so that’s another
release to keep an eye out for.
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| Al Dual |
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It was already after 11 p.m., and I rushed back to the
first stage to catch Matt Axton’s special set. But, fortunately for me, they
were a little behind in that main room, and Al Dual was still on stage. Holy
moly, what a performance! The energy and joy were tremendous, and the music
featured some phenomenal guitar work. I caught only a couple of songs, but they
were enough to make me want to own everything this artist has put out. So when
the set ended, I asked them if they had any records and CDs for sale. They
assured me they did have a record out in their car, and that they’d bring a
copy back for me. And indeed, they did. While Matt Axton was playing, a member
of the group handed me a copy of
Reel To
Reel. It was my only music purchase of the night, and I can’t wait to enjoy
it.
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Matt Axton singing "Joy To The World"
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Matt Axton put on a special set to close out the first
night. Labeled “Americana Joy,” the set featured several artists joining him
for two songs each, the first a song written by Hoyt Axton (Matt’s father) and
the second being an original. Molly Kruse was the first artist to join him, and
kicked off the set with “Boney Fingers,” with the crowd singing along. It was a
total delight. Matt stepped off the stage then for Molly’s original number, “Out
Of My Hands,” which featured a lead on bass by Ted Russell Kamp and even a
short drum solo. Regina Ferguson then joined Matt for a nice rendition of “Evangelina.”
Regina played guitar on her original song, “Carolinas,”
with Matt stepping off again. Matt then mentioned the title of the set, “Americana
Joy,” and said the “Joy” was because of his father’s most famous song, “Joy To
The World.” Taylor Hungerford, of Tar & Flowers, played “The Pusher,” a
song recorded by Steppenwolf and featured in
Easy Rider. Taylor was on electric guitar as well as vocals, and
Matt did not play on this one. It was excellent rendition, with a particularly
good jam. Taylor followed that with his “Spinning In Gold,” which was also
fantastic. Matt did not play on this one either. Nena Anderson joined Matt for
a wonderful rendition of “Little White Moon.” Her original was “One More,” on
which she played guitar. Jordan Hook was the final guest of the set, and he
chose “Never Been To Spain,” another of Hoyt Axton’s well-known compositions,
and then played his own “Dancin’ Fool.” Matt did not play on either song. That
was the end of the guests, but not the end of the set. In fact, Matt had
planned on playing another six songs, but perhaps because things were running a
bit late, he cut it down to only two. The first, “Bad Moon,” featured some
delicious work on guitar, with the two guitarists trading licks. “
Who do you think won that battle?” Matt
asked someone in the crowd. The night concluded with “Joy To The World,” with
the audience singing along. The show ended at 12:46 a.m.
The fun continues tonight at 7 at the Hotel Café.
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| Los Rock Angels |
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| Wolftrap | |
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| Gilbert Louie Ray Band |
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| Al Dual |
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| Molly Kruse |
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| Regina Furgison and Matt Axton |
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| Taylor Hungerford and TRK |
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| Nena Anderson and Matt Axton |
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| Jordan Hook |
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