For the Gulf

For the Gulf

by Patty McGehee on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 11:09pm

CC Adcock organized one of the most wonderful evenings out at the Acadiana Center for the Performing Arts Grande Opening to raise Money for  Gulf Aid of Acadiana.  Charlie G's, I Monelli, & Chef Pat Mould provided food and libations. Everything was tasty and the music was spectacular. The new facility has  pristine acoustics.

I had a new friend arrive on Friday to share this event with us. Mary Gale arrived on Friday night to go with  us.

The three of us got dressed up and arrived in Lafayette with a half hour to spare before the doors opened. We walked down the street to Pamplona Tapas Bar and had a wonderful glass of Sangria while discussing  what was in store for us. At 6:30 we walked down to the Acadiana Center for the Arts and were greeted on the street by Roddie and Billie Romero.  Billie was dressed in a very chic  dress with a tied ribbon hem that was darling.  We chatted for a moment and wandered inside. The front of the building is a lovely wall of glass. We were ushered into the building to claim our will call tickets which told us what seats we were to sit in. Valerie Gonsoulin was there to greet us and it was a pleasure to meet her in person.

Mary had previously met James and Claudine Tussart before and graciously introduced me to them. James had donated one of his hand made guitars to use as a  fund raiser during a silent auction. I believe it sold for 6 thousand dollars during the evening. The cocktail party before hand included food from Charlie G's, I Monelli, and Chef Pat Mould. I was served some wonderful crepes and a savory crawfish pasta dish. On hand were quite a few of my musician aquaintances.  I got to talk to and visit with some wonderful people. As usual, Eric Adcock gave me a kiss on the cheek.
After eating, the lights in the hall dimmed signaling us to enter the  performance hall. I was astonished to find out that my seats were in a special place so I could take photos. I don't know why, but someone was my angel and sat me in the very front  at stage level in what I would call, perfect seats for a photographer. In fact, the two photographers that were shooting came and stood right by me to shoot.

The show was stellar with no unruly crowd noise and we were able to hear every nuance of the performance in clarity! The new facility has  pristine acoustics and it was a delight to hear Sonny Landreth's incredible guitar work without the noise that usually goes along with his shows in other venues. CC Adcock stole the show with an acoustic rendition of "The Last Hayride" and his performance duo with Ani Defranco was outstanding. Zachary Richard stole my heart again with his song "Last Kiss." Legendary Marianne Faithful ended the show with her fiery voice. All in all, it was a stellar, memorable night.

During the intermission I was able to visit with guitar player Bruce McDonald and photographer Erika Molleck Goldring. I had   previously met Erica   at Tipitina's music workshops for Children. Mary was meeting EVERYBODY! That gal is a whirlwind of social hob knobbing! I was impressed.

I felt very satisfied just to hang back and survey the whole scene. I met a few new people, visited with some others. I decided to go back into the theater before they returned after intermission and Drew Landry came down from above to talk to me  about the impact he has been making  exposing the REAL damages imposed by the oil spill, not the Watered down fake reports being televised by the government. I told him I was impressed about the things he and Sherri have accomplished. He was in a whirlwind of socializing and I felt honored that he took the time to come over and tell me hello. He gave me a quick hug and was off running to hob  knob some more.

I was fiddling with the camera and having a hard time. I knew that I should not use the flash to interrupt the show so I hung back. I was getting terrible no use shots and I was very disappointed. The lighting was great for the show, but bad for camera work. I waited until the audience was told they could come up to the front at the shows end to use the flash. It was one of the poorest shoots I have ever had.
I hope my regular readers are not too disappointed.
See ya later, alligator,
XXOO
Patty

James and Claudine Tussart and Patty McGehee

Photographer Erika Molleck Goldring and PattyMcGehee

Patty and Mary Gale
Photo by Dan

James Tussart metal hand crafted guitar Photo by Patty McGehee

Sonny Landreth
Photo by Patty McGehee

Sonny Labdreth and
C C Adcok
Photo by Patty McGehee

Dickie Landry
Photo by Patty McGehee

Sonny and CC
Photo by Patty McGehee

Ani Defranco, Dickie Landry, and CC Adcock
Photo by Patty McGehee

Is it Feaux Blood or Faux Blood???? A foray into "English Territory" Louisiana on Halloween by Patty McGehee

Is it Feaux Blood or Faux Blood???? A foray into "English Territory" Louisiana on Halloween

by Patty McGehee on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 7:11pm

Dan  and I drove  off to St. Francisville Louisiana at 9:00 am on Halloween morning. The weather was perfect. We were headed to the Feaux Blood Festival at Magnolia Cafe. We got there about 11:20 am and we went into the cafe and had a wonderful meal. Dan had fish and I had a California inspired BLT with sprouts and Avocado on it. It was wonderful.

The stage was set up in the center of the old Magnolia Motor Courts that were built for the tourist industry, probably in the 1920's. The backdrop over the stage had FAUX BLOOD I  painted on it. I thought we were going to the FEAUX BLOOD I  Festival! I guess "English Territory Louisiana " does not know how to spell using "Cajun" French language! I got a kick out of that! The place is cute and well maintained. We set up chairs just to the right of the sound booth. There was NO ONE there, except for the musicians themselves. I walked around and visited for a moment with Jace Everett and had a photo  taken with him and Chuck Profit.

We settled in and just lazed in the lawn chairs enjoying being outside.  After a long while, maybe an hour or so, Joe Hall  from Lafayette got up and did a set on squeeze box.  At first, I was disappointed because I had read that Mitch Reed was going to be there and the fiddle player was not as as good a Mitch. (Maybe he was a STUDENT of Mitch Reed's.) He definitely was a beginner, but I praise him for getting on stage and doing it! Joe Hall sang a very fun song about two dogs named Dixieland and Fido. I loved it! I told Dan, if I ever get another dog, I would name it  Fido and spell it the French way, Phideaux.

Then Jeff and Vida got up and wowed me with their Bluegrass set. They used to play around a lot in our community but I was never able to get Dan to go see them. After watching their set, he admitted that he really loved them. After they performed, I bought their two CD's and talked to them a while. They were really nice people. Vida has a stellar voice and her timing is perfect.

CC Adcock, Hart Fortenberry, and Cedric Watson arrived and got set up to do a duo. Hart was along as roadie as usual.
I talked to him for a few minutes about New Orleans music. We had a nice visit.

Cedric and CC put on a sweet set, with Cedric filling out the fiddle part on "Runaway life."  It was sweet, but my favorite was "The Last Hayride."  It was very enjoyable.

Jace Everett was up and he put on a great set, very powerful. It was fun to watch his facial expressions and his intensity. His style of music is seldom heard here in Louisiana, so it was a treat for me.

Chuck Profit's set was awesome, with CC sitting in towards the end. I enjoyed it immensely. I am not sure if St. Francisville was ready for the use of the F word  on stage or references to taking off a girls little black dress, but I am sure they will get over it! LOL! The crowd continued to be extremely spare and I wondered if the owner lost a lot of money. He had set up a wonderful sound system and the facilities were excellent. I would definitely go back for Feaux Blood/Faux Blood II, if it ever materializes.
Kevin  Ford has an excellent facility, was a gracious host, and provided an excellent sound system. I enjoyed his staff and his hospitality. I am hoping that this festival can grow and become a regular event. I enjoyed walking around in the surrounding area to see children dressed up in their Halloween costumes doing the Trick or Treat thing. I had a wonderful time.

Papa Mali aka Malcolm Welbourne at the Ogden Museum 11/4/10

by Patty McGehee on Saturday, November 6, 2010

We slipped off this afternoon headed to NOLA at 3:45 p.m. The air was clear and a cold breeze blew me around while driving  on the Elevated highway above Manchac. The sun was shining extra bright after three days of storms nearly washed us away. We got in to the NOLA CBD at about 4:45. We parked and walked three blocks to get to the Ogden. It is a lovely museum. I marveled that it was across Camp street exactly where my father's automotive repair shop was in the 1960's. The building shop was in is still there and the lot where the wrecked cars used to be stored is now a parking lot. I don't remember the Ogden building looking like it does now at all. In fact, I found it impossible to remember what it looked like way back then. I had to give myself a break...1969 is a long time ago!

We waited about 20 minutes to go in. We were able to get a front row seat. Papa Mali started playing and the first song was uneventful. The second song, "The girls from Bossier City.." Well, that was spectacular! we spent an hour and 45 listening to the wonderful songs.

During a break during and question and answer session, I was able to ask Malcolm about the song he wrote named "Sugarland." I asked him what inspired him to write that song and just "how were you able to channel that "Mardi Gras Indian stuff" into that?"  He gave me a sweet smile and said that he wrote it because, " I  did a lot of driving in Texas on the highway  where Sugarland Texas is, and you know, that is one of the places where  Leadbelly was incarcerated, and I wrote it trying to  show the despair these people had to endure there. It is very ominous, not  a nice place. I started working on it in the studio and when Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Indians got involved singing the chants, the song took on a life of its' own."

I was so excited to ask him that. Then there were mentions of some of the people he had played with and how he had worked his way into working with his heroes and mentors, including George Porter Jr. and Bill Krautmann from The Grateful Dead.  He discussed his new CD that was released  just yesterday with his new band 7 Walkers.

He finished  up the concert with two  of our favorite songs, ending with a Dixieland standard, "Lay me down a Pallette," and one of my favorite songs written by  Professor Longhair. Lots of people mobbed him after the concert. We held back and just watched everything from afar. (One of the things he has done in the past was wow me with a whole Dixieland set at Chickie Wah Wah one night about  two years ago!)

I went outside to talk to the drummer, Robb Kidd. We had a nice visit talking about the drums and the songs we really liked. I told Robb, I had wondered if he could really pull off the drum licks on "Early in the Morning" live! I told him, "You did it! I told Dan yesterday I was not sure if a drummer could really play like that, that the studio mixer must have  sped  up the drum licks." We  had small talk about his kit and how he uses a Tom Tom on its side instead of a  bass drum and has it miked up very loud. I complimented him for playing with, what I call, "finesse." Just perfect nuance to his work. He is an amazing drummer, not at all just about being loud, but about being sophisticated. I got a kick how he had laid a tambourine on top of a cymbal
stack and it tapped it with his foot  making it shake just a tad, kind of the way Monk does it by hand!

Malcolm finished up selling and autographing  posters and came out. I got to speak to him again about  "Sugarland." He said that the song seemed to have a life of its own and he meant it to be very ominous. Dan asked him a hundred questions and he was good  about answering them. It was a pleasure to talk to him. We had to finally bow out and give him space. We thanked him and left all excited about what we had experienced.  What a night! Papa Mali shook my hand and  we said goodnight.

Papa Mali at the Ogden taken by Patty Mcgehee

Patty McGehee and drummer Robb Kidd

My Take on the new Year..

My take on the new year...

by Patty McGehee on Friday, January 7, 2011 at 8:23pm

I was reading Dege's wise words for the new Year ... here is my take on it......
It has been my experience that: It always takes longer than expected to complete something, it always costs more than you think it will, if you don't watch out for those people that prey on others you will become a victim-so watch your own back, never speak ill about others because it will always bite you back, anticipate-welcome the struggle life hands you and then you will be rewarded with peaceful moments that come right when you need them....
Take some time to pet the dog, stroke the cat, sit in the sun, cool off in the shade, float in the bathtub, and hug your lover and your friends and do a few good deeds..
Works for me.........