Live Music at San Francisco Premiére of
Down From The Mountain
and more, around and about...
It all started with an e-mail to from Mike Hall (Chairman of the Northern California Bluegrass Society) about the movie Down From The Mountain, which opened in the Red Victoria Movie Theatre ('Red Vic') in San Francisco in October 2001. Mike explained that Larry Carlin had arranged for live Bluegrass/Old-Timey music to be played on the stage (in front of the screen) before each evening performance for the week-long run, with a band list. It turned out that Belle Monroe and Her Brewglass Boys, in which our daughter Pam plays guitar and sings, was booked. And Hey! My wife Jean and I were planning on a visit in October... a word to Larry, who writes in this mag ... all fixed! (Larry's review of OBWAT)
Belle Monroe and her BrewGlass Boyz before
the show at the Red Vic
The Red Vic, on Upper Haight St., is a smallish, specialist, classic-type
movie theatre run by a group of worker/owners. Not the great 'up-market'
type but more of the 'everyman's' movie theatre and nicely suited to the
Haight-Ashbury area. It is very quaint, with old-style entrance hall and
plush seats, which famously include rows of double and triple couches towards
the front. Party-poopers! I always thought the doubles should be at the
back? Well, it turned out that our gang was to play two sets at the Sunday evening shows. When Jean and I play alone we go as Almost Bluegrass "Is that bluegrass?" ... "Not quite, but almost!") so when in San Francisco we play with most of Belle Monroe as The Almost Bluegrass Band. There wasn't time for a full set but we did manage a couple of numbers along with BM&BG members Tom Drohan (bass), Ted Silverman (mando), Rick Hendricks (Dobro). Jean sang and played rhythm guitar and I picked banjo and harmony vocals.
What a blast! The reception was fantastic - honest! Pam had introduced us as providing "An example of the British interpretation of Bluegrass." Well that prompted me to point out to the packed house that Bluegrass has it's roots in Old time music, based on the old mountain music of the Scots, Irish and English immigrants, so it is our music really" and WOW! How they cheered and clapped! After that we could do no wrong! What an experience! The only sad thing was that Pam forgot to take any pix while we were on... :-( Between shows really nice folks came up to us to chat and one guy asked, "You don't sound like you're from these parts?" Understatement of the year! "No, were English." "You live here?" "No, in England, we're here on vacation." Silence, then "How did manage to get this gig???" I explained the old cliché about "It's not what you know...." The folks were very appreciative and especially of Jean's singing.
The movie really was good, but I won't go into that because reams have
been written on it already. I'd just like to say how especially impressed
I was by some parts of it. It was a slow start, but the historic background
I found especially interesting. John Hartford's presentation and performances
were simply super; previously I hadn't really understood him and it's just
too late now, unfortunately. I liked the way the real personalities of the
people came out and, in my mind, the two winners were, without doubt, John
Hartford and Emmylou Harris. She is amazing - multi-tasking and keeping an
eye on the baseball scores while rehearsing and playing. And what a beauty
- always had a soft spot for her! (so to speak). Why didn't they put Dan
Tyminski's MOCS on the CD? I hope you don't mind if I ramble on a bit... (Should I care? Do I care?)
Jean and I take a rest from busking: Main Street, Columbia, Gold Country It had been nearly 100 degrees that day in the City... fires were starting - Oakland under threat again (it was exactly 10 years ago the big Oakland fires caused extensive damage). And a hotel (all wood, of course) caught fire in the City. And more anthrax scares... So next day we set off eastwards for the relative coolness and safety of the Gold Country, to stay with Julio Inglasses (Guerra is his real name but he is bespectacled...).
The Almost Bluegrass Band plays at the Bazaar Café There we picked with Julio and friends in the St. Charles Saloon and busked on the Main Street (above) ... dodging the stagecoach as it delivered the mail... honest! Columbia is on Highway 49 (named for the miners of the 1849 gold rush, as in "...dwelt a miner, forty-niner...") near Sonora, which is near nowhere else.
And that's how the vacation continued... gigs in San Francisco and around, like the Bazaar Café (photo way above), the Golden Gate concert (article w/photos) and picking parties like the one held at Ralph Nelson's in Palo Alto for the NCBS Volunteers. That one is supposedly for people who had helped the NCBS events through the previous year, but we were simply 'volunteered' by Mike.
Another great California Trip! Derek Brandon, Chester, UK
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