The live Folk Season continues at GoVinum in Bad Godesberg. This week it was the turn of Currach to whet the musical whistles of patrons. Luckily, they had a tin whistle at hand for the job, and we had John Harrison on hand to have his whistle whetted and send a report.
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Gianna Nannini – Italy’s Mother of Rock
Gianna Nannini’s appearance at this years June ‚Hard Rock Calling’ Festival in Hyde Park was on a side stage in mid afternoon, long before Bon Jovi closed the days music. In Italy though Nannini has been a Rock Music icon since 1979’s ‘California’ disc depicting the Statue of Liberty with a vibrator. She headlines to thousands of devoted fans. The Museumsplatz in Bonn was the final German step of that European Tour and a chance to see if the fire of rebellion still burns.
Balancing Act – Amy Winehouse
Image via Wikipedia
‘I cheated myself,
Like I knew I would,
I told you I was trouble,
You know that I’m no good ‘
Sad news this week that Amy Winehouse joined the infamous 27 Club of famous musicians who ended their lives almost before they truly began. „They will never grow old“ to paraphrase the lost souls of the Great War. Truly they never will. Who can imagine Hendrix without a frilled shirt and bell bottomed trousers? or Morrison without a lean, hungry look and leather trousers? Amy Winehouse will now forever be the girl with a bee hive on, and sadly in, her head. A crazy mixed up kid with a musical gift that was greater than she could carry.
Dana Fuchs Interview
With three young starlets currently playing on the ‘Girls with Guitars’Tour, the question might be asked “Does Thomas Ruf really need another female Blues musician on his impressive roster at Ruf Records?” If you’ve been lucky enough to catch Dana Fuchs on one of her European Tours, or on the road in the States, Then you will know the answer is an emphatic ‘yes!’ The girl fromNew York has been playing to ecstatic audiences throughout Europe in promotion of the new ‘Love to Beg’ CD. I managed to track her down between concerts, acting, and photo shoots to find out more about Dana Fuchs, her Blues roots and the ‘Church of Rock n Roll’ as she describes her energy laden shows.
BB King and Queen Ana
Who better to take a close look at two great musicians than a fellow musician? John Harrison was on hand when young Queen of the Blues Ana Popovic opened for THE King of the Blues in Bonn this week at the Museumsplatz, Mr BB King.
Gregg Allman at Museumsplatz
The title decieves. This wasn’t ‘just’ Gregg Allman but an evening featuring some of the Blues genres brightest stars. Derek Trucks recently crowned a year of Awards for his own band to split it up and go on Tour with his wife Susan Tedeschi, herself a highly rated musician back in the USA. Not forgetting either that there was also a Brit blues talent making his Bonn debut in the shape of young (just 19) Krissy Matthews.
The Pogues – Men you don’t meet everyday
In 2002 Q Magazine listed The Pogues as “One of the fifty bands to see before you die”
A little late maybe; but last Thursday at Bonns Museumsplatz I got around to the task, and, whilst it would perhaps be optimistic to hope that Punk-Folk was well, was it still alive? The Pogues would be a chance to find out.
It’s 8pm, and I’ve been standing in the Photo-pit with a monitor blasting music directly into my ear for half an hour. There’s a plastic duck sitting on top of a backstage speaker that I’ve now ‘shot’ three times with my camera just to pass the time. Roadies shuffle back and forth onstage; we’re half an hour late and no band. Fans I’d spoken to on the train from Cologne had been enthusiastically talking about the Band, but I had the impression that a show stood or fell on the physical condition of singer and renowned drinker Shane MacGowan. Now, as MacGowan finally took the stage, I feared his appearance didn’t bode well for the evening.
A Cheeseburger for Pinetop Perkins
Cheeseburger & Apple Pie – in memory of Pinetop.
7 July would have been the 98th birthday of Blues Legend Pinetop Perkins who died this year. I recieved the following unique idea from ‘Marci B’ on how to ‘remember’ Pinetop via Candye Kane. Sounds great to me!