Flanfire

[Nancy with new "do" and Jessica Shepherd!]








WOW! From six till way past ten thirty North By Northwest was ROCKIN' -- Thanks zillions to all who came, all who wanted to come but had other commitments, all who just sent good vibes our way, and especially to the people who worked tirelessly to help us out and make this show a fantastic event (and success). Thanks supremely to Natalie Zoe and the lovely and gracious (and super vocalist) Sasha Ortiz (Austin will be hearing BIG things from Natalie's little girl all grown up), to Chad Pope (brand-new Austinite - from Fort Worth and the virtual brother of blueswoman Beth Garner -- and, oh yeah, Natalie's new music partner on Wednesdays at Woody's on Ben White), to Richard Vannoy who helped set up the sound, to everyone who brought stuff for the silent auction (I will list them all once I get the full info), to Winker and Eileen and everyone else (especially you Travis -- great videos) who took pictures, to all the gang who played -- (see story below for details) -- to all the folks (KEYE, Quorum Report, the Statesman, the Chronicle, and I have no idea who all else) who promoted the show -- and let us not forget North by Northwest itself (and I will mention that someone from my own Hope Chapel won the keg that they had donated to the silent auction), which provided a superfabulous venue, great food and drinks, and NO HASSLES -- and even a private room for the musicians to relax and grab a bite. Special thanks, too, to the great God who brought a nice breeze and cooler temperatures so that no one had to pass out from heat exhaustion despite the nonstop outdoor dancing (thanks Laura Rose, Amanda, and especially Melody and Caleb).

Okay, here's a little rundown of who played and all that stuff -- and then a little more private info.

My half-Canadian, half-Texan friend Bryce Clifford opened the show with a band that included Grubdog Mitchell on drums, Zachary Firnhaber on bass, Bryce on lead guitar and vocals, Kullen Fuchs on accordian and trumpet, and the inimitable Kim Deschamps on pedal steel. The band - along with fellow travelers Slowtrain (featuring Adoniram Lipton, who was having a very good time himself last night) - will be playing TONIGHT at Ego's starting about 10 pm or so ... and a bunch of us intend to be there to thank these guys for their fine work in warming up the crowd.

Kim stuck around to augment the sounds of Jessica Shepherd's guitar and vocals ... Jessica opened some eyes with her strong show that got longtime pal Shelley King to join her for a couple of knock-down drag-out duets. [Jessica will be playing up in Wells Branch on September 17 - Constitution Day - and has other gigs around town and all over Texas; Shelley's Wednesdays with Carolyn Wonderland at Artz Rib House are legend, and the full band plays Saturday at Aunt Tilly's, a new music venue and island cafe on Lake Travis.]

Then it was my very dear friend Wendy Colonna - and all I can say is WOW -- when she has a band behind her it must be out of her generosity to the guys because she's all right all by her lonesome! [Wendy plays Thursday at Cypress Creek Cafe in Wimberley, Friday at The Iguana Grill on Loop 620 (great TexMex and a super view of the lake), and will debut at Antone's on August 17 where she will be recording a LIVE album for release later this fall -- BE SURE NOT TO MISS THE ANTONE'S GIG AND GET YOUR HOOTS AND HOLLERS ON DIGITAL TAPE!
[Beauty AND talent -- what a combination all night long!] Next up it was the hostess with the mostess, Natalie Zoe herself, along with super songwriter (and fine guitar player - well, so is Natalie) Mike Cross, Tommy Holden on percussion (drums plus), and some amazing guy whose name I will supply later came up and killed on some kind of trumpet thing -- and well, Natalie got Shelley and Jessica to join her on one number that absolutely rocked the house, the hotels down the street, and even the grocery shoppers waaaaay caddy-corner across the street at Whole Foods. But then the place had already gone nuts when the band covered the Subdudes' Late at Night! [Once again, Natalie plays Wednesdays at Woody's and Fridays (at least the next two) at Club 115 on San Jacinto ... and I forgot to mention that on that hugely rockin' number Chad Pope jumped up and played Natalie's guitar behind her back ... (and if you need graphics, just wait for the photos to come out!).

The star of the show for me, though, was Sasha Ortiz - Natalie's own "spawn" - who showed she belonged on stage with the seasoned professionals who preceded her. [See photo at top with her mom and Chad.] Okay, maybe she was a little shaky following the number her mom had done with Shelley and Jessica and the big band sound -- and maybe she was a little unsure of whether her guitar was too loud - but when she opened up those beautiful pipes and brought the audience into her own world through her original song, I actually heard gasps ... Now I had seen Sasha singing with her mom (but doing only backup vocals with her and the amazing Donna Hightower), and I know she has been a huge high school singer who once fired her band for not being serious enough about the music, but to my knowledge this was her adult Austin solo debut and it was indeed a memorable occasion. Rumor has it Sasha will be performing solo this fall around town ... but let's not rush her -- she has a definite plan for building her career, and this level-headed teenager is quite likely to work her plan to near perfection!

There was a little time loose while the Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers set up for their amazing set -- and even with Gurf Morlix surely in Canada by this time in the summer, the stage was too small, such that keyboardist (Nancy's favorite!) Nick Connelly had to sit on the stage with his keyboards out on the dance floor, there were three guitars -- Malcolm Welbourne (Papa Mali), Carolyn Wonderland, and Scrappy Jud Newcomb - Sarah Brown the woman of renown on bass (and she sang a song especially for me), and my good buddy Paul Bhudda Mills on drums. THE VERY BEST BAND IN AUSTIN -- Catch them (minus Jud, who'll be in Colorado) this Sunday as they close down the old Maria's Taco X-Press and get their equipment off the stage just before the wrecking ball hits the building ... And yes there will be all-day music at Maria's on Saturday, too!!!!! Lest I forget, the Harmonizers were joined on stage for their very first number by the prodigious Clark Drake on harmonica (see photo).

All good things must come to an end -- and so the evening ended with an amazing performance by the man who has long been the best male vocalist in all of Austin -- and my very very good and dear friend, Malford Milligan (whose next Austin gig is Saturday at The Oasis -- also on Lake Travis -- looks like a good time to have a margarita and watch the sun go down!). Malford introduced me to his band mates, but I did not write their names down and will have to report and thank them by name a little later on .. but Bhudda Mills did play drums for Malford, too. I seem to recall (the events blurred as the evening went on) that New Orleans refugee Dale Spaulding (I think that is right) joined Malford on harmonica at some point during the set. This guy is AWESOME -- second time I have heard him blow in less than a week -- the first time was at Ruta Maya last Thursday -- see my notes.

So after all of this, I finally got home around midnight and popped in the two DVD's my pal Travis had made videotaping the early part of the evening -- just so my Nancy could get some of the experience up close and personal. We even got clips of my grandson and his mom shaking a leg (okay, some of me, too!) -- lots of dancing, indeed -- and lots of great action from the performers and some of the wonderful friends. Stop by for a visit sometime and I will throw the video into the hopper and we can sit back and reminisce and laugh and sing along.