At home for the evening, as usual, I can hardly believe where I was just 24 hours ago and how it all came together. Often I look on "pollstar.com" to see what favorite acts are touring and whether they're stopping close by. That's how I learned the British folk-progressive rock band Strawbs were doing a U.S. tour. This was great news, but the itinerary indicated most dates would be in Canada and the Northeastern U.S., with the exception of a May 16 stop in Covington, KY near Cincinnati.
Checking pollstar last Friday, I was surprised to see a May 19 appearance in Lexington, KY had been added to the schedule. This seemed doable - except this was a weeknight and it's still 160 miles each way from home.
However, Monday's work schedule put me in strategic position to head up there mid-afternoon, and I arrived in Lexington about 4 p.m and located the venue just in time to watch some familiar looking guys carrying guitar cases go inside for sound check.
Next I learned an opening act had cancelled, leaving the entire program for the Strawbs to handle, and that tickets could be had for $5 if you could reserve one. Luckily I met the announcer known as "Captain Don," struck up a conversation about the band and got his help reserving me a seat for the 6:45 performance. The early start time meant I'd be back on the road quickly afterwards, or so I thought.
The Kentucky Theater, a beautiful old structure in the heart of town, is host to a weekly internationally syndicated radio show, "The Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour." Each week a musical guest gets interviewed, plays some tunes and the hour-long show gets taped in front of the audience.
After a brief time standing in line, the auditorium was opened and I found a seat on the third row easily.
Seated on the stage were David Cousins (original member and songwriter), Dave Lambert, who joined the band in 1973, and Brian Willoughby, who came along in 1978. A multitude of guitars and banjos surrounded them. The setlist was brief only because each song title included a suite of two or more melodies:
"A Glimpse of Heaven" (FROM THE WITCHWOOD A&M SP 4304)
"Tears & Pavan" (from BURSTING AT THE SEAMS SP 4383)
"Alice's Song" from recent album BAROQUE & ROLL
"Ghosts" (from 1975 A&M album of the same name 4506)
"Flower & the Young Man" from GRAVE NEW WORLD (SP 4344)
"The River" from SP 4383
"New World" from SP 4344.
An opening number "Mistakes We've Made That Never Go Away" was performed by radio show regular Michael Jonathan.
During the interview Cousins mentioned the Strawbs being the first U.K. act signed by A&M back in 1968 and their brief association with Sandy Denny, who later joined Fairport Convention. The linking of several tunes into a single suite was inspired by Rick Wakeman, who played keyboards for Strawbs from 1970-71, as well as Paul McCartney.
The last two songs were done as an encore after the taping, and the guys hung out in the lobby for a while. But, thanks to the generosity of the radio show crew, yours truly got invited to join them with the Strawbs at an outdoor cafe near the Theater for dinner and drinks (nothing alcoholic for me - I had a long trip ahead). There I had the opportunity to ask Cousins how they got signed to A&M. He said a Belgian D.J. mailed a demo recording to Jerry Moss, who then contacted them. We spent a fun hour or so talking about music and other fun stuff.
Finally, I got back on the road and drove most of the way back non-stop, getting home at almost 2 a.m. and finding my neighborhood was under a power outage after a heavy rain storm.
If that -- and all the lost sleep -- is the price of making an impromtu A&M event road trip then it was well worth it. This was an unexpected pleasure which I couldn't have imaginged would ever happen.
JB
NP: Strawbs FROM THE WITCHWOOD (SP 4304) "A Glimpse of Heaven."
www.woodsongs.com
Checking pollstar last Friday, I was surprised to see a May 19 appearance in Lexington, KY had been added to the schedule. This seemed doable - except this was a weeknight and it's still 160 miles each way from home.
However, Monday's work schedule put me in strategic position to head up there mid-afternoon, and I arrived in Lexington about 4 p.m and located the venue just in time to watch some familiar looking guys carrying guitar cases go inside for sound check.
Next I learned an opening act had cancelled, leaving the entire program for the Strawbs to handle, and that tickets could be had for $5 if you could reserve one. Luckily I met the announcer known as "Captain Don," struck up a conversation about the band and got his help reserving me a seat for the 6:45 performance. The early start time meant I'd be back on the road quickly afterwards, or so I thought.
The Kentucky Theater, a beautiful old structure in the heart of town, is host to a weekly internationally syndicated radio show, "The Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour." Each week a musical guest gets interviewed, plays some tunes and the hour-long show gets taped in front of the audience.
After a brief time standing in line, the auditorium was opened and I found a seat on the third row easily.
Seated on the stage were David Cousins (original member and songwriter), Dave Lambert, who joined the band in 1973, and Brian Willoughby, who came along in 1978. A multitude of guitars and banjos surrounded them. The setlist was brief only because each song title included a suite of two or more melodies:
"A Glimpse of Heaven" (FROM THE WITCHWOOD A&M SP 4304)
"Tears & Pavan" (from BURSTING AT THE SEAMS SP 4383)
"Alice's Song" from recent album BAROQUE & ROLL
"Ghosts" (from 1975 A&M album of the same name 4506)
"Flower & the Young Man" from GRAVE NEW WORLD (SP 4344)
"The River" from SP 4383
"New World" from SP 4344.
An opening number "Mistakes We've Made That Never Go Away" was performed by radio show regular Michael Jonathan.
During the interview Cousins mentioned the Strawbs being the first U.K. act signed by A&M back in 1968 and their brief association with Sandy Denny, who later joined Fairport Convention. The linking of several tunes into a single suite was inspired by Rick Wakeman, who played keyboards for Strawbs from 1970-71, as well as Paul McCartney.
The last two songs were done as an encore after the taping, and the guys hung out in the lobby for a while. But, thanks to the generosity of the radio show crew, yours truly got invited to join them with the Strawbs at an outdoor cafe near the Theater for dinner and drinks (nothing alcoholic for me - I had a long trip ahead). There I had the opportunity to ask Cousins how they got signed to A&M. He said a Belgian D.J. mailed a demo recording to Jerry Moss, who then contacted them. We spent a fun hour or so talking about music and other fun stuff.
Finally, I got back on the road and drove most of the way back non-stop, getting home at almost 2 a.m. and finding my neighborhood was under a power outage after a heavy rain storm.
If that -- and all the lost sleep -- is the price of making an impromtu A&M event road trip then it was well worth it. This was an unexpected pleasure which I couldn't have imaginged would ever happen.
JB
NP: Strawbs FROM THE WITCHWOOD (SP 4304) "A Glimpse of Heaven."
www.woodsongs.com
