Flanfire

What a week it has been -- celebrating my 59th birthday by --

a - having some young musicians - Brennen Leigh and her brother Seth - over to dinner on Thursday night along with the impresario Tom Stevens, who runs the Wednesday Extravagonzo Nights at Maria's Taco X-press along with the Austin Chapter of the Harmonica Organization of Texas.

b - working Friday morning at the ticket booth at the Austin City Limits Music Festival to earn a three-day pass and have a lot of fun seeing who was buying tickets at the gate, then getting into the festival in time to see Steve Earle, a lyrics-forgetting Robert Earl Keen in his acoustic set with Rich Brotherton, the fabulous Los Lonely Boys, a little bit of Martin Sexton, and getting very close to the stage (and video screen) to dance for a solid hour to one of my all-time favorites (and the chief reason for my going to this year's festival), Steve Winwood.

c - staying at home on Saturday to watch my beloved LSU Tigers scratch and claw out a victory over the University of Georgia Bulldogs on national television - that's football to you, Catalystforfungirl.

Of special note, Austin City Limits has not brought "gospel" acts to the TV screen, and one reason I hear is that the ones they have approached have not been willing to do the show for scale (which speaks volumes about either their egos or their misconnection with the purposes of sharing the gospel), but the ACL Music Festival is LOADED with both gospel music and with ordinary musicians like Winwood and Los Lonely Boys - and if you listen to Steve Earle's latest efforts, him too - who profess their faith in a song or two or three during their sets. Winwood at an early age wrote the great Blind Faith hit, I Have Finally Found a Way to live, in the presence of the Lord -- and I remember seeing him on Letterman several years back acknowledging that he puts at least one spiritual song on every one of his records. One that I like is from Refugees of the Heart - "In the Light of Day" -- the lyrics include --

On the street tonight the innocent are dying
And the world's not right, so many millions crying
Evil lives and hate never gives
Hell is never far and is this all we are>

Oh Lord, hear us cry up in the fiery sky
That our souls may fly to you when we die
Help us feel the light inside us
Help us feel it everywhere, Oh Lord be there.

Also from that same CD is "Every Day (Oh Lord)"

What a world of trouble we all are asked to bear
But we have to keep on living, find our strength somewhere
And I choose to keep on hoping faith is still there....

Reaching for the stars for the song of us all
Looking through the lonely night for a faith that will not fall
For morning, glad I'm here when morning comes
Here when morning comes, one more day to keep on singing.

Another Winwood song, "There's a River," includes these words --

There's a river pouring
From a pure and a crystal stream
And it carries my heart along
Carries me all my life
And I know it will bring me home

There's a choir singing
With a force that can light the sky
I will join with a voice deep inside
Anthems for joys gone by
And for joys I am sure will come

But what Winwood really brings is a creativity that has not dimmed as he has gotten older. It was forty years ago that he stepped onto the stage with the Spencer Davis Group at the age of 15 -- and his set on Friday night included I'm a Man and Gimme Some Loving, along with Dear Mr. Fantasy and Back in the High Life Again -- plus songs from his brand-new CD including Different Light and Why Can't We Live Together -- which is a plea for racial harmony among other things. He played mostly the glorious Hammond B-3 - God's instrument, I have long believed -- but played mandolin on Back in the High Life and an amazing guitar on Mr. Fantasy.....

I will NOT bore you non-fans with the tale of the football game, but rather encourage one and all to enjoy each day of this wonderful life.