Summer in the City
7/26/03. Ah San Francisco summers… 60 to 70 degrees.. no
air-conditioning required, & great farmers markets
Living in Louisiana part-time helps prevent me from taking
for granted some of the great things we have here around
the Bay.
Some of those things includes the very nice, smoke-free
clubs we have here and the variety of Cajun and zydeco
events that we have available. From the blow-out big
production dances and events at Eagles Hall on Friday
nights to the more folksy Cajun-Creole emphasis of the
music at Ashkenaz to the funky clubs in Brisbane
(Razgulay), Oakland (Jimmies's), El Sobrante (Pizza Company
-a Indian restaurant/pizza joint with CZ on Thursday
nights.. how Bay Area is that?), to the small neighborhood
hominess of McGrath’s at Alameda to the street scene events
at The Music Company in the Portola neighborhood of San
Francisco to the regular Wednesday night jams at Blair and
Steve’s in Berkeley, there is always something going on.
In July, I did some Bay hopping, attending events at
several of these places. On July 8, the LaFleur et Basile
Band from Southwest Louisiana played Ashkenaz. Featuring
showmen Mark de Basile on accordion and Steve LaFleur on
bass, and featuring Jonno Fishberg (also with Charivari) on
fiddle, and Cutts Peasley on percussion, this band plays in
a high-spirited style drawing from both traditional
repetoire (Pine Grove Blues, Bayou Pon Pon, Quo Faire) and
original tunes, including a beautiful waltz written by
Jonno for his wife (Maria’s Waltz). I got a chuckle, when
during the break, Steve had changed from wearing a plain
white shirt to a tie-dye number. When in Berkeley…
I hadn’t been to the newly remodeled 23 Club in Brisbane,
now Razgulay, and boy was I shocked to see a new stage,
curtains, new floor, new wood paneling, and Russian beer on
the menu! The acoustics there are still the best in the Bay
Area. Sauce Picante put on a very nice show there on July
20, sounding confident and definitely maturing as a
performing group. Sauce Picante recently released their 1st
CD (email bkilpatrick @ mac.com for CD info)
I also attended Andre Thierry’s show at Eagles Hall on July
25. I hadn’t seen Andre since January and, while his stage
show remains low key compared to other zydeco performers,
the fieriness and inventiveness of his accordion playing
belies his nonchalant appearance. Unfortunately,Andre's
performance this evening was hampered a disjointed backup
band. Not many players can beat Andre when the sound is
tight and I was sorry this wasn't one of those nights.