Flanfire

Austin Pops: Great for Moms Too!

I owe a HUGE debt to my pal Ulrich Ellison (shown here with electric guitar) for turning me onto a ticket to the Austin Pops concert at River Bend Center that also featured (Sir) John Mills, Ruby Jane Smith, Leah Zeger, and the rest of the great orchestra that founder and conductor Jamie Desautels has put together (including Chris Maresh on electric bass).

This was also my very first visit to the Riverbend Center -- one of the finest venues I have seen in years. Just WOW! [Okay -- it is a LONG way down from the entrance to the front row.] The acoustics are amazing, and of course the stage backdrop is stunning. This "In the Mix" show, which featured original songs from Mills, Ellison (the debut of Glorious Heights), and Zeger and Desautels (Just in Time and Can't Go Wrong) plus arrangements of classics Layla and November Rain and a bunch more. Note that Leah did not even bring her violin/fiddle to Riverbend -- this is a photo taken at a Hudsons show a week earlier (see below). Austin is SO blessed with young, beautiful jazz/pop singers, but Leah may be the only one who has a degree in opera performance -- and who can play a mean fiddle too!

Ruby Jane's four-song set (yes, our girl now has a pretty dress as she nears her 14th birthday) had her jousting with orchestra soloists and (as usual) getting the audience involved. The (Texas-born) Mississippi Fiddler jammed with concertmaster Shana Bey (shown above with Ellison) on "Carroll County Rag" as her jazz fiddle teacher Martin Norgaard looked on from his Violin II post; she got the horn section involved (especially Ron Wilkins on the tuba, Mills, and trumpeter Rich Haering), and kept Maresh, Ellison, drummer Rob Casaneau (like Desautels, a native Canadian), and percussionist Laura Mordecai (whose hubby Mike is also in the ensemble) busy with numbers from Bob Wills, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash.

The Austin Pops has two more shows this season in its "Live Music Legacy" series -- on February 7 (Newbies and Oldies, featuring Daniel Stokes of the Flatcar Rattlers) and May 23 (Fiddles & Folk, featuring Phoebe Hunt). Check out their website for updates - and if you have a few bucks, get out to a show sometime.

I did I did also see Leah with Hudson Mueller and Brian Hudson the night before Halloween (hence the Hudsons' amazing outfits); Aaron Starr aided on harmonica and vocals on a couple of songs and later demonstrated another of his many talents. That same evening I got out to Lambert's to see New Zealander Jackie Bristow (who is living here for the next 6 months or so) and Australian Kara Grainger (one of my very favorite people anywhere). I felt really bad that the "best" Kara could do for a band was Chris Maresh (there he is again!) on bass, Brian Austin on drums, and Jake Andrews on guitar (sharing licks with Kara who is hardly a slouch!). I could have posted action shots but opted to show just how much Jackie and Kara enjoyed the boys in the band -- especially when Chris sang "Diamonds."

For the REAL Halloween, I was very fortunate to get out to the Compound (E. 4th Street) to celebrate All Hallows Even with T-Bird and the Breaks, who all showed up as hobos in contrast to their normally suave attire. Phoebe and Stephanie Hunt were all decked out as orange flowers, and there were costumes all around. Amazingly, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (!?) showed up to promote her appearance on Saturday Night Live. There were to be prizes for the best costumes but I cut out a little early and did not find out who won -- my vote would have gone to Fidel Castro (no photo for security reasons!) and the Zombie Bride!

Late Friday, I stopped by Ringside at Sullivans (which oddly closed up at midnight?) to catch a set and a half from Wendy Colonna and her fabulous band -- Chad Hot Rod Pope on guitar, Dave (beardless) Madden on piano, Leslie McCurdy on bass, and Brandon DeMaris on drums. Wendy and the boys really had the crowd going -- and then Ginger Leigh showed up, and it was Ladies Night until the manager unexpectedly pulled the plug. Ginger has a great new video out promoting her nomination for the position of Texas State Musician (currently Shelley King) -- check it out at her site, www.gleigh.com .

All great music -- and yet my PERSONAL favorite night of the past two or three months had to be last Thursday (when I forgot my camera and thus have NO photos to share). Started off with half a set at Flipnotics from the Fundamentalists (all five members on one little stage!) -- that's Brennen Leigh, Silas Lowe and company. Then it was over to the Saxon Pub to catch MOST of Sunny Sweeney's wonderful set -- gotta love that woman, AND her new guitarist Cole Rich (and yes, he is kinfolk to Charlie Rich).

But all that was just the warmup for the rest of the night! A CD release from Robert Harrison and Future Clouds and Radar (with Hollie Thomas, Darin Murphy, Kullen Fuchs, and Joshua Zarbo) -- and a great set at the Saxon. THEN, thanks to a beautiful, mysterious redhead, I motorvated over to Lovejoys to catch a set (and a new CD) from the Summer Wardrobe -- and got an even MORE unexpected bonus -- Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves, compleat with appearances from Sally's folks -- all the way from England -- and George Duron's lovely mom. AND Sally's forthcoming CD, which she will release in January after a December tour of England. Sally's Sixties power pop (with a twinge of punk?) is good stuff, and Sally herself just infects you with her exuberance and energy. Just being around her cures any case of the blahs!

Okay, already -- you will have to WAIT for my reviews of all three of these recordings! But you can catch Future Clouds live at Antone's on November 21, Sally at the Mohawk on November 20 (with Golden Bear, Leatherbag, and the eclectic Ethan Azarian), and the Wardrobe on November 28th at Emo's. But why wait for fun? The Breathers (yes, Claire Hamilton sings on the Summer Wardrobe record and actually got on stage at Lovejoys with the band!) have a show at the Continental with Li'l Cap'n Travis and the sultry Hilary York on November 13th. And let it not be missed - The Service Industry has a new record, "Keep the Babies Warm." out November 18.

Finally, to the theme of this puzzle -- note the afore-mentioned moms of Sally and George. But today we are talking about Ruby Jane Smith and her enterprising mom Jobelle -- but also about Jobelle's own mom Honey (and her dad, too), whom I met at Waterloo on 38th on Friday at the Ruby Jane Show -- on Honey's actual birthday. We all got a piece of the birthday cake that Jobelle admits not to making herself -- and my Mississippi mother was thrilled to meet people who knew her Jackson so well. Best of all, we got to hear Ruby Jane pick and sing with David Carroll on bass, Marvin Dykhuis on acoustic guitar (is there ANYBODY better?), and the handsome (just ask Phoebe) Willie Pipkin on electric and acoustic guitar. And, yes, Phoebe herself got on "stage" for a few numbers, notably "Blue Skies."

Gotta go -- catch some Z's so I can get out to see Leo Rondeau and Joanna Barbera and HER new band at the Hole in the Wall on Monday! And just remember -- dance like you would if nobody was watching! And, yes, folks, that's A. J. Vincent tickling the ivories at Momo's the other night -- and, yes, I did see some other music that I liked but am not writing about here.