Another Hoot – One for the Gulf
25 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Duff McKagan, Duff McKagan's Loaded, Mark Pickerel, Mike McCready, Music, Pearl Jam, Seattle, Star Anna Tags: Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf, Jeff Rouse, Moore Theater, Rick Friel, Shawn Smith, Tim DiJulio, Ty Bailie, Victoria Contreras
September started out the Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf, another sing-a-long with some of Seattle’s greatest musicians, this time at the Moore Theater. No cameras were allowed, so I didn’t bring mine, not that I’m not tracking down what bootleg video exists. OK, questionable on the goodie-two shoes award here. . . It probably was a good thing for me to just enjoy a show for a change instead of taking too many (maybe not so great) photos, and sometimes a decent video or two.
Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf 9.2.10 by Pearl Jam Official, on Flickr
Once again, Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready and his wife Ashley O’Connor headed up the effort, pulling together some of Seattle’s best talent, sponsors and all the other logistics needed to put on a successful benefit.
I won’t even pretend to remember the order of the songs this far after the event (and while there’s a lot of video, there are a lot of good moments missing as well).
Duff McKagan - Wild Horses, video by Outlaw Digital Media
Guns N’ Roses dude Duff once again headed up the line up with Mike as the big name draws, also promoting the show in his Reverb blog for Seattle Weekly. In reality, Duff and Mike shared the stage equally with all the other musicians, letting them shine.
There weren’t really any moments like this:
Saw that one coming!
Here’s how Patience went at the real Hoot, with Jeff Rouse (who is in Duff McKagan’s Loaded), Star Anna & Shawn Smith leading up vocals:
While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Mark Pickerel & Star Anna on vocals, Tim DiJulio (aka Rock Tim) on lead guitar, and Ty Bailie on keyboards (video by ShastaLoup):
Blue Bayou – Rachel Flotard of Visqueen, with Rusty Willoughby on guitar:
Wonderwall – Jeff Rouse and Victoria Wimer Contreras (video by ToryRenManagement):
Instant Karma -Star Anna – awesome, with a little help from her friends (video by rb1229):
Purple Rain- Shawn Smith (with Tim DiJulio once again stealing the show on lead guitar):
You can see the great thing about Seattle’s music scene in the video – all the musicians are supportive of each other and love jamming together. The not so great thing is the audiences’ tendency to just sit or stand there. I don’t think it’s really that they, or rather, we, don’t love the music. I don’t know . . . is it that we’re a city of introverts -people who read, spend a lot of time online or hike alone in the woods? . . . or that we’re so polite? The latter was part of my problem that night, as I wanted to get up during Star Anna’s last number (which I think was Instant Karma), but everyone was sitting. . .except a few people and the guy in front of me was apologetic. . . and I told him he shouldn’t be. I finally did get up during Shawn Smith’s Purple Rain finale, only to be glared at by at least one woman (who I wasn’t even standing in front of).
One of my favorite moments of the night (which I wish there was a video clip of), was when Rick Friel, after running the raffle and auctioning off a dinner with the two Deadly Catch guys, opened the second half of the show with The Monkees‘ I’m a Believer, hamming it up and getting everyone out of their seats first, and dancing! Alas, they all sat down again after that, instead of rocking out the rest of the night. . .
Other musicians playing that night included Pete Droge (Crimson and Clover – another blast from the past!), Kristen Ward, Gary Westlake, Kim Virant, Chris Friel, Rebeqa Rivers and Justin Davis.
The concert was a fundraiser for the Gulf Restoration Network, to help clean up the Gulf following BP’s disaserous oil spill. Learn more online at: http://healthygulf.org/
Hootenanny for Haiti: Seattle’s Rock & Roll Campfire
07 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in Duff McKagan, Duff McKagan's Loaded, Kim Virant, Kristen Ward, Mark Pickerel, Mike McCready, Music, Pearl Jam, Seattle, Star Anna Tags: Brad, Gary Westlake, Haiti, Jeff Rouse, Johnny Thunder, Kim Warnick, Mad Season, Matt Cameron, Mother Love Bone, Partners in Health, Shawn Smith, Showbox, Stone Gossard, The Fastbacks
I went to the Hootenanny for Haiti with Mike McCready, Duff McKagan and friends last Sunday night and it was a blast!
It was kind of like singing around the campfire with 1,100 of your closest friends, who happen to include some of the best musicians in Seattle, and a song list that includes The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Tom Petty and a couple surprises from the deepest vaults of Seattle rock history.
They started the show off, to a sold out and capacity crowd at the Showbox at the Market (the original Showbox), with Wild Horses. Here’s the preview before the show from KISW radio.
Let’s see: Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Duff McKagan’s Loaded), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Gary Westlake (Kristen Ward, Flight to Mars -the UFO tribute band that also includes Mike), and Jeff Rouse (Duff McKagan’s Loaded, Alien Crime Syndicate); and many more at the actual show.
Maybe it says something about the crowd (including me), that the first good sing along got going with Tom Petty’s Even the Losers (Mark Pickerel taking the lead on this one):
Some of the songs were a real hoot (and totally unexpected)! Jeff Rouse covering Prince’s I Can Never Take the Place of Your Man? Kim Warnick (The Fastbacks) taking the lead on Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven is a Place on Earth? Actually, Duff warned us this one was coming a couple weeks before on his Reverb blog on The Seattle Weekly site. Still, that he had so much fun playing it. . .
Johnny Thunder’s Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory was another one Duff told us was coming:
Star Anna really stole the show with her version of Otis Redding’s That’s How Strong My Love Is (version below not from the Hootenanny). I’ve said it before, but her voice is just incredible. The amount of emotion that just breaks your heart (but in a good way).
Kim Virant took up the challenge of following Star with Stevie Nicks’ Stop Dragging My Heart Around (doesn’t seem to be any video of that up). I’m not sure which of the guys was singing the dead on Tom Petty part of the duet.
Kristen Ward really held her own, taking the stage early with Hank Williams’ I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry amidst wolf whistles. Here she is with Gary Westlake singing Dolly Parton’s Jolene (and, yes, the drunk guys shouting at the start see Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron. . .). Some people need to get out more, or maybe not. . .
Now for some pure Seattle moments. River of Deceit, from Mad Season, the super group Mike played in with the late Layne Staley (Alice in Chains), among others. Jeff Rouse takes Layne’s part:
There was also a mini-reunion of one of Pearl Jam member Stone Gossard’s side projects, Brad, after the raffle. Brad is playing at the Showbox on April 14, and that show is already sold out.
Then, back deeper into Seattle’s past – Crown of Thorns, from Mother Love Bone (a band before Pearl Jam that Stone and Jeff Ament were part of before their lead singer, Andrew Wood, ODed when they were on the brink of fame). Shawn Smith, from Brad, took the lead vocals. Holy Cow!
Then Duff and Star Anna did a duet of Bob Dylan’s Knocking on Heavens Door. Even Duff was in awe of her Otis Redding cover, and really embarrasses her (but in a good way) going on about it.
Sweet!
Closing out, Duff taking the lead on Iggy Pop’s I Wanna Be Your Dog, followed by the ladies taking the lead on I’ll Fly Away.
Awesome show for a great cause!
With the packed house and raffle tickets ($5 for one, $20 for 5), they must have raised a lot for Partners in Health and their work for Haiti. There is still supposed to be an autographed guitar that was played by Mike and Duff at the Hootenanny coming up on Charity Buzz. If you have $1000 or so lying around, it should be coming up this week at: http://www.charitybuzz.com/auctions . Search for Hootenanny for Haiti.
Obligatory late night transit story for this concert:
They’ve got police posted at the Westlake tunnel late nights. A cop was dragging a guy away in handcuffs for. . .(cue Dragnet theme). . .smoking a cigarette? OK, I’m not a big fan of second hand smoke, but . . . “You’re busted!”? I can see a ticket. He deserves a ticket (the officer helpfully pointed out the sign on the way out when the guy claimed he didn’t see any rule about it).
At least with the cops there, people aren’t getting the crap beaten out of them and getting robbed with everyone including the security guards standing around. Looks like the police are looking for something to do, though; so I’d suggest not lighting that cigarette and throw away your trash properly! Granted, a good idea anyways. . .
Another Flight to Mars with Mike McCready & Friends
06 May 2009 3 Comments
in Charity, Crohn's Disease, Duff McKagan, Duff McKagan's Loaded, Flight to Mars, Kim Virant, Mike McCready, Music, Pearl Jam, Seattle, Shadow '86, Stone Gossard Tags: Crocodile, Guns N' Roses, Showbox, Ticketmaster, Velvet Revolver
I can’t get enough of Mike McCready’s guitar playing, as I continue being spoiled living in Seattle and getting to hear Mike and his rock star friends at ridiculously low prices in intimate nightclub settings for charity. Spoiled, except for the fact his main band never plays Seattle these days. No, the Gorge isn’t Seattle, at least for those of us without cars. Shouldn’t those of us who leave a small carbon footprint be rewarded? ; ) OK, so really I don’t have a car because I’m too broke to have one and would have to live in it if I did, but still. . .
On to the show! After missing out on a reprise of Tom Morello playing the newly reopened Crocodile for $15 because a friend was in crisis, I jumped at the chance for tickets for Mike’s latest fundraiser at the Showbox (at the Market) for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, even though I was in Boston for Amnesty International’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the time (yeah, I still need to blog about that one). Tickets only $20, except Ticketmaster tacked on almost $15 in “convenience” charges (still a bargain, but come on, a 75% profit on charity tickets?!!).
You really got to appreciate the guys in Pearl Jam for their attempt to fight Ticketmaster on fan rip offs, even though it cost them at the time. Mike’s my personal hero for being willing to go so public with his ordeal with Crohn’s disease, most recently pushing for public restroom access in Washington state for those who suffer from Crohn’s and similar diseases. Whatever I have is milder than Crohn’s, but on a bad day – you got to go, when you got to go!
It was a dark and stormy night. . . No, really, it was rainy and very windy as we waited in line Saturday at the Showbox (at the Market), the original Showbox, across the street from Pike Place Market. It doesn’t get more Seattle than that!
What can you say with a show that opens with Shadow ‘86, Mike’s Hendrix tribute band? Mike’s guitar playing is absolutely amazing, especially when he’s playing some Jimi! Purple Haze, All Along the Watchtower, and of course, Voodoo Child (Slight Return) and many others. Mike was having a great time with his band mates, Chris Friel and Rick Friel, who were also great, as always. Kim Virant did come out again for this show, this time to sing the lead on Angel.
Here’s the full, official Pearl Jam video of Shadow ‘86 playing Voodoo Child (Slight Return) at the November 3 (night before the election) concert I went to at the Showbox (at the Market) last year. I’ve previously posted a fan clip showing Mike playing the guitar behind his back. That man is incredible!
Oh, yeah – Stone Gossard came out and joined Mike with Shadow ‘86 to sing David Lee Roth’s Just Like Living in Paradise, a song choice that got a bit of flack from some of the fans and one of the guys in Duff McKagan’s band, but Stone was having so much fun with it!
Duff McKagan’s Loaded was up next. McKagan (better known from Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver) lives in Seattle these days, even writing for the Seattle Weekly’s blog, Reverb, not to mention a hilarious column on dating tips for men for the paper, just in time for Valentine’s Day this year. Now who would have thought a rocker like Duff would be a romantic? Of course, the last part, for future daters of his daughter is especially funny. You thought the DeNiro character was scary. . .
It was great having an all rock and roll lineup this year, or at least what I call rock and roll. I wasn’t that into the Feral Children that the younger crowd was into last year. What the heck, I’m pushing 50 (only one year from my AARP card as of tomorrow), so I don’t have to pretend I understand young people’s music these days.
Duff and the boys in the Loaded band have the in-your-face rock star attitude. I’m sure this was the kind of rock show my father was always worried I was going to. . .
Mike McCready came out with Flight to Mars, his UFO tribute band, rocking us past 1 in the morning. Great band and lead singer, Paul Passereli, they were all over the place and having the time of their lives. All the bands were just having a blast. I love club shows!
Rock Bottom was just the ultimate. Their version Saturday night was epic (the clip from a gig two years ago above isn’t epic, but will give you an idea). They went into the lengthy solos. Kelly Van Camp did a terrific and epic solo on the drums. Then, just imagine this one, Mike McCready in another jaw dropping incredible guitar solo, with his shirt off and tattoos showing, bathed in blue spotlight, just a few feet away.
On the one hand, I wish I had brought my camera, because it would have been an incredible shot (then again, I’m not the greatest photographer). On the other hand my thought for the evening, that I wanted to enjoy the evening and focusing on taking pictures does take some of the focus off the taking in the show, and maybe I wouldn’t have been as mesmerized by his playing, if I was trying to get the perfect shot.
Here’s one I found on Flickr, from Bridget Christian’s photo set of Flight to Mars playing at El Corazon back in August:
Both Duff McKagan’s Loaded and Flight to Mars did their versions of Iggy Pop’s I Wanna Be Your Dog, which the guys in the crowd (and it was mostly guys in the thick of it up front where I was) were really into. There’s a lot about guys I still don’t understand. . .
Loaded’s version from Osaka, Japan in2001:
The winner of the auction to play with Mike and Flight to Mars, Jeremy (no kidding), came up and was trading riffs with Mike and the band on their version of I Wanna Be Your Dog. That’s got to be a Guitar Hero fantasy moment! Jeremy was pretty good, and no, I don’t think Jeremy was wicked ; ) . Although, I did see the band was treating him with a lot of respect. I think that had to do with the size of his bid, though.
Another great evening. I love living in Seattle! Still, I may have to move to Boston or Chicago to hear Mike’s other band. . . It really sucks when one of your favorite bands doesn’t play in your city, especially when they live in your city. It’d be like Springsteen not playing Jersey (and he even still plays Asbury Park, where he started out). Come on, Seattle audiences aren’t that bad! We were really rocking Saturday night!
I always feel silly asking a band to play your city, but then again, this is silly.
Please, Pearl Jam, play Seattle!
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