Waist Deep in the Media Swamp

It is always tremendous fun to see George Clinton & P-Funk. Over the years, I’ve probably experienced at least a dozen shows going back to the ’80s.

This show was in Yoshi’s Jazz Club – a medium sized venue in the Fillmore District of San Francisco. We went to the late show. As the early show was letting out, the building’s fire alarm went off – but the club staff indicated nothing was amiss, so we did not evacuate.

The fire crew arrived and as they left they were laughing… as you may have guessed -  too much smoke backstage triggered the aarm. LOL. My friend & P-Funk guitarist Shaunna Hall wrote,  When the fire dept arrived at the club, the first man in called it a “Code 4 – there’s… a SKUNK LOOSE IN THE BUILDING!! Nice!”

As the song says, “Ain’t no party like a P-Funk party…” and this show did not disappoint. Superb musicianship + outrageous costumes = one of the finest musical grooves in the universe.

It took a bit getting used to to see George without long hair (he’s got the Panama boater hat on). I apologize for not getting any close shots of him myself – as I was having too much fun dancing. But I did shoot a few segments from our perch in the back to the club:

Here’s Shaunna, RonKat and some of the band jamming after the show:

So you can see some closeups, here’s a video shot by RatedFFF, who apparently had total access, including getting a live audio mix:

Music in July always means many outdoor events. This year was no exception.

Let’s begin indoors (on June 29th) at the Red Devil Lounge where there was benefit  to send volunteer builder, Christie Harbinski, to Jacmel, Haiti to help rebuild homes and buildings damaged by the earthquake. A number of San Francisco musicians donated their time – Ronkat & Katdelic, Broun Fellinis with Renee Wilson,  Black Quarterback with Eric McFadden, James Whiton, DJ ShOOey and others.

Broun Fellinis in their groove

Two New Orleans virtuosos, legendary drummer Johnny Vidacovich & jazz funk B3 organist Robert Walter did a rare duet performance at Coda. Here’s a little taste and the only time Vidacovich  or anyone, sang:

I went to the World One Festival, part of a larger July 4th Celebration at EL Cerrito Vista Park. Longtime Bay Area DJ Doug Wendt was responsible for most of it. I’d missed Afro Roots Reggae musician Rocky Dawuni a number of times, and I stopped by specifically to catch him.

Rocky Dawuni at World One

My good friends the Ukalady and Gabby Lala are now playing silly-funny music together as Kit ‘n Tenders. They did a gig at Larkspur Landing outside of the Marin Brewing Company.

Kit n' Tenders meeping out

I’ve been following the career of Michael Franti and Spearhead since I first heard them at the old defunct Kennel Club (now The Independent) back in the early ’90′s . Always positive, always rockin’.  I had not planned on going to this show, but I won tickets to go to the Greek in Berkeley at the last moment through Fusicology. Sweet!  There’s very few venues that can compete with the Greek on a summer night. Here’s a short video clip:

The Far West Fest in beautiful Point Reyes was a benefit for local community radio station KWMR. Some of the musicians I caught were Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, Pimps of JoyTime, El Radio Fantastique, and The Monophonics. All of them were local bands except the Pimps who were from Brooklyn.

Monophonics at Far West Fest