Gov't Mule & RatDog, Greek Theatre, 6/29/08

It was a hot summer day in L.A., reaching into the mid-90s. We parked on Los Feliz and hiked uphill all the way into Griffith Park and the Greek Theatre, because when we were there on Mother's Day in May for Phil Lesh & Friends, we didn't care for the crammed-in $15 dirt parking and the wasted space cadets who leaned on and set beer bottles on my car....not to mention the asshole who threw beer across my windshield as I was leaving because my husband and I didn't want to run over their pile of glass bottles. Sorry, I digress......

Even though we bought pre-sale tickets, we did not score the preemo seats. We sat in the second floor section, to the right. Thank God for jumbo screens and mini binoculars. Poor Gov't Mule suffered from opening band syndrome....playing for all they were worth while concert goers kept streaming in, and socializing, talking loudly. No respect. Okay, some folks were grooving and into it, including us, however....the sound was not loud enough. My husband walked around, and he said people were yelling at the sound guys to turn it up. Needless to say, playing outdoors is different, because there are no walls to bounce the sound off. Mule was the highlight of the evening, but the Ventura show was much more electrifying. (Both Mule and RatDog each did a two-hour long set at the Greek.)

RatDog is fronted by former Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir. Although we've seen them numerous times, we much prefer former Dead bassist Phil Lesh's band. (My husband and I are Deadheads from way back, with 100s of shows under our belts.) I was really disappointed in RatDog's set. It was a snooze fest. It was like the whole band did some Valium and muscle relaxants before the show. Compared to how the Dead used to play the same songs, RatDog was passionless and uninspired. Bob Weir displayed all the enthusiasm of a guy who is working a second job to pay for his kid's orthodontia. He looked out of it, he messed up lyrics (what else is new), and he was phoning it in. I was grateful for the plethora of balloons someone near us was blowing up and bouncing around, because it gave me an entertaining distraction during RatDog's set. We almost left early, which is something that we never, ever do. There were a few bright moments (like the requisite singalongs), but overall it was a lackluster show.

One of the most fun things of the evening was seeing so many old friends there. We will be seeing RatDog again in late August at Red Rocks, but we are actually more into The Allman Brothers (with Warren), who RatDog will open for. I'll be sure to take a good book along with me. Or some balloons.

Gov't Mule set: Jam in F# / Banks Of The Deep End / That's What Love Will Make You Do / Lay Your Burden Down -> Smokestack Lightning -> Lay Your Burden Down / About To Rage / Slackjaw Jezebel / I Believe To My Soul / She Said, She Said -> Tomorrow Never Knows / All Along The Watchtower (with Bob Weir and Kenny Brooks) / Devil Likes It Slow (with Kenny Brooks) / I'll Be The One Blue Sky -> Can't Always Get What You Want Tease / Rocking Horse / Soulshine

Ratdog set: Jam / Hell In A Bucket / Easy To Slip / Dark Star / Bertha (with Warren Haynes and Danny Louis) / Black Throated Wind / Friend Of The Devil / Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo / Samson and Delilah / Stuff / Morning Dew

Gov't Mule, Ventura Theater, 6/28/08

Gov't Mule's first set Saturday night was a rare treat of some "Old School Mule", meaning a harkening back to the days of yore when they were a power trio with late bass player Allen Woody. After the second song, guitarist Warren Haynes said, "This is a special night, we haven't done this since 2000." Apparently, keyboardist Danny Louis had a prior engagement, and couldn't make it to the show until the second set. Most of the songs in the first set were from their first two albums, and it was most excellent.

The second set featured trumpeter Mike Braud on Mule, and highlights for me were I'm a Ram (originally done by Al Green), and my all-time favorite Humble Pie tune, Thirty Days in the Hole. Gov't Mule was scheduled to play Ventura Theater a year or so ago, but that gig was canceled, so I was really glad they could make it to my hometown this time.....hopefully it won't be the last. The theater was pretty full, and the audience was very receptive and responsive.

My only complaint was that the canned music played during the intermissions was truly bad, like it was from a compilation titled "The Worst of '70s Pop and Disco". I don't know whose call that was, but it was harshing my mellow. Dude.

Set list: 1st set - Jam in F / Wandering Child / Blind Man In The Dark / Grinnin' In Your Face / Mother Earth / Gameface / Larger Than Life / Mr. Big / Blue Jean Blues / Trane / Third Stone From The Sun Jam / Temporary Saint / Thorazine Shuffle
2nd set - A Million Miles From Yesterday / I'm A Ram / I Shall Return / Brand New Angel / Drums / Streamline Woman / Endless Parade / Mule / Encore: Thirty Days In The Hole

Happy Birthday, Robert Hunter!

Sixty-seven years ago today, in San Luis Obispo, California, Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter was born. Hunter was always the less-heralded member of the band, as he didn't perform with them, but he arguably wrote the most memorable and classic Grateful Dead lyrics. Most notable is his famous line from Truckin': "What a long, strange trip it's been!", which is now a permanent part of our popular culture. I believe he is second only to Bob Dylan as far as great American rock lyricists go.

I've had the pleasure of seeing Hunter perform live acoustic shows over the years, most recently was several years ago at the UC Berkeley Greek Theatre, when he opened for Phil Lesh and Friends. He was a little creaky, but wonderful nonetheless. With only his acoustic guitar accompanying his poetic storytelling ballads, he can command an attentive audience. Wishing you many more birthdays, Hunter!

Book Review: "I'm With The Band: Confessions of a Groupie" and "Dandelion: Memoir of a Free Spirit"

Oh, how I used to envy the famous girl groupies when I was a teenager! I read about their daring, salacious exploits in the fangirl magazines of the day, and I was enthralled. It was all a fantasy, though....I could have never been so bold and confident, and I wasn't fashion model material....but any female rock fan worth her platform shoes would have loved to trade places with them for at least one steamy night.

Now that I've read Pamela Des Barres' reprinted memoir, I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, and her friend and fellow groupie Catherine James' autobiography, Dandelion: Memoir of a Free Spirit, I have to admit that my star-fucker envy has evaporated. If you think being dumped by your pimply wannabe-rockstar boyfriend was painful, try being dumped by Mick Jagger or Jimmy Page. Not a very happy scenario.

While Des Barres seemingly had a happy childhood and stable loving family as an only child growing up in the San Fernando Valley of southern California, James had a horrific childhood at the hands of her neglectful, abusive, drug-addicted mother who made Joan "Mommy Dearest" Crawford look like Mary Poppins by comparison. While reading about Des Barres roaming the streets and staying out all night while a teen living at home, I kept thinking, "Where were her parents? I would have never gotten away with that." Meanwhile, James' mother never seemed to miss her or care that she would disappear from home....in fact, she finally ran away for good at the age of fourteen, from Los Angeles to Greenwich Village in New York City after meeting and getting to know a young Bob Dylan.

Both young women have remarkable histories in that they both met, hooked up with, and were influenced by men who we now know as legendary rock stars, but at the time most of them were just starting out on the road to fame. Both memoirs capture the wild, fast-paced flavor of popular culture in the '60s and '70s. Des Barres became a protege of Frank Zappa, and was one of the infamous G.T.O.'s, while James hung out at Andy Warhol's Factory in Manhattan. James had a son by Denny Laine of the Moody Blues, and then lived with Jackson Browne in L.A. before he was famous. Both women had affairs with Mick Jagger and Jimmy Page, along with many other rockilicious conquests. They both had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time....and their stunning good looks certainly helped open doors.

Des Barres writes in a whimsical, almost Valley-Girl "Omigod" style, especially when quoting from her old diaries, but it illustrates her mindset at that age and era. Sometimes her prose gets a bit flowery. James writes in a more straight-forward, matter-of-fact tone, which is effective and shocking when she reminisces about her Dickensian childhood. I'm a sucker for old photos, and the autobiographical photos in both books did not disappoint. They are both obviously intelligent women and survivors, which can't be said for many of their peers. I definitely give major props for that.

I highly recommend both books for insight into the world of rock from a female point of view. Rock has always been highly male-dominated, and I don't think much has changed as far as women's roles in rock. There seems to be two main positions: on your back or on your knees. While Des Barres and James may be seen as early feminists who enjoyed free love and casual sex on their own terms, they were often used and hurt by men. Many of the passages are heavily poignant. I found both books engrossing to the point where I read long into the night.

I have one of Des Barres' other books (Let's Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies) on order at my local library. Hopefully the person who checked it out will return it someday.....if they haven't taken it with them on a rock & roll tour in pursuit of a longed-for conquest.....

Alton Kelley, 1940-2008

Another important figure in rock & roll history has left us. Last Sunday (June 1), legendary psychedelic poster artist Alton Kelley died at his Petaluma, California home due to complications from osteoporosis.


Kelley and his partner Stanley Mouse teamed up with the Family Dog Collective, and effectively radically changed graphic art styles related to advertising music acts, concerts, and record albums. He gave the Grateful Dead their skull and roses iconography. Kelley and Mouse influenced not only the San Francisco Bay Area, but their ground-breaking psychedelic art (along with artist Peter Max) also had far-reaching influence into popular culture, particularly the advertising and commerce aimed at the baby boomers.


The Los Angeles Times had a very fine obituary about Alton Kelley. I'm sorry I never got to meet him, although my husband and I met Stanley Mouse a few years ago. I do have two original Family Dog handbills from the late '60s that they designed. I'm sad that we've lost another person who changed the face of rock & roll. Rest in peace, Alton.

Cheesiest Rock Star Photo Ever

I will declare right here and now that I've been an enthusiastic Rolling Stones fan ever since I was a kid in the early '60s. If I could only listen to one album for the rest of my life, I would pick Exile on Main Street, because I never get tired of listening to it, and I think it's the best album ever released, period. Hell, I'm even rockin' Keith's shag haircut circa 1972 (albeit a little longer).

But how this publicity photo of Keith and Mick ever saw the light of day is beyond me. It's a cross between a bad school picture and the $1.99 coupon special at Wal-Mart.

Cheesiest rock photo ever!

Bo Diddley, 1928-2008

I guess I thought Bo Diddley would live forever, just like his influence on rock and roll music. A wave of sadness instantly hit me yesterday when I heard of his death. Like bluesman Robert Johnson before him, he was one of the tremendously influential African-American musical pioneers who never really received their due, especially where financial reimbursement was concerned. Without Bo (aka Ellas McDaniel) and his famous "Bo Diddley beat", rock as we know it would be a whole lot different.

I became aware of Bo Diddley's music in 1969 via the psychedelic S.F. band, Quicksilver Messenger Service. They covered Diddley's tunes Who Do You Love? and Mona on their Happy Trails LP, reinventing them somewhat in a cosmic swirl that was grounded by that infectious signature beat. I was intriqued by the mysterious and seemingly sinister lyrics: "I got 47 miles of barbed wire/I use a cobra snake for a necktie/I got a brand new house by the road side/Made from rattlesnake hide/I got a brand new chimney up on top/Made from a human skull/Now come on, baby, take a walk with me now/And tell me, who do you love?" Small wonder Diddley never achieved the record sales of Little Richard or Chuck Berry.....he was weird, wild, and way out there before it was cool.

And that guitar! He invented his own cigar-box styled guitar and experimented with new effects like reverb, echo, and distortion. He even played the guitar with his teeth and behind his back long before Jimi Hendrix mesmerized the world with the same tricks at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Besides Hendrix, Diddley inspired and influenced rock legends Buddy Holly, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, and so many more. "Not Fade Away" by Buddy Holly is now a classic, covered by a vast number of bands. I heard the Dead play it many times, with the endearing call-and-response refrain, "you know our love will not fade away".

Our love won't fade away for you and your contributions to the music we love, Mr. McDaniel. Rest in peace.

I Wanna Rock!

After much deliberation, I decided to begin a blog devoted solely to my rock & roll life. I've had a blog on Xanga since 2005, mostly about my fiberarts creations, and sometimes I've written and posted the occasional rock concert review or rock book/DVD review. Now that my Xanga blog has been publicized more in the fiberarts world, I decided it would be best to have a blog just for rock.

It's fair to say I'm obsessed with rock music and everything that goes with it. I used to write for Relix magazine for several years in the 1980s, as well as local music publications. I used to make fancy shirts for local band members. I've been to hundreds of concerts since 1966, and I still go to dozens of shows every year. I love reading rock histories, biographies, and autobiographies. I love watching rock DVDs. And I also love writing about what I learn, and my thoughts and opinions on rock bands and their music. After earlier attempts to play the guitar and flute, I realized that I'm a better fan than a musician! (I still harbor a hidden desire to learn to play the mandolin someday, though.)

So, I'm launching Rock & Roll Stew, which gets its name from a great old song by the band Traffic. This blog will definitely be a stew of sorts, and I used to teach cooking, so there ya go. The header photo is the center detail of an awesome art quilt I made in the '90s titled Kaleidoscope Eyes. It was in an art gallery show, and I sold it to a Beverly Hills dentist who bought it for his wife as a Mother's Day gift. I sure hope they are cherishing it, because I loved that work of art. Glad I have a few photos of it. The psychedelic era is my fave, so there ya go!

Get ready for a fun ride through the world of rock! I've got tickets for lots of shows coming up this summer, so reviews will be in order. I'll also be including book and DVD reviews, and I'll be commenting on rock in the news. If you love rock as much as I do, be sure to bookmark me.

Peace & Love,
Barbara