Flanfire

“Scars can fill us up with pride .. Scars can also make us hide those wounds we got when a part of us died….  How many scars do you have?  Will you ever show your scars to anyone?” 

At the memorial service two Januarys ago for my darling wife Nancy, I found myself speaking words about scars — how sometimes people’s scars are invisible to the eye but painfully obvious to the touch, especially a touch that is just not gentle enough to bring healing and comfort.  I was talking about how we need to be aware of who we are conversing with, how not to put foot in mouth or down their throat — how to spread life and not the crush of death.

That’s why I don’t listen to Lucinda Williams any more — except of course at the annual Hank and Lucinda Williams Hoot at the Cactus Cafe, the brainchild of fellow Red Sox fan Jenny Reynolds.  You see, it’s not that she left Austin, not that the last time I saw her at ACL Festival she was (well) not all there on stage.  It’s just that song.  You know, the one BettySoo [shown here with Charlie Faye at the Saxon last Saturday] sang Tuesday night …. the one that breaks my heart every time I hear it — the one that every time I hear any song of Lucinda’s it breaks my heart because I cannot forget that song.  The one that tells me my Susan is never going to call me on the phone — or ask me to iron her shirt for work — or give me a long lecture about how I need to love people better — again.  [Well, on another plane, she does come to me over and over through the people I meet out on the streets of Austin.]

“See what you lost when you left this world, this sweet old world….”   You see, I can hear those words once a year (or any other Lucinda song) because July 27th is Susan’s birthday — and I have to celebrate her life every day but especially at this special time.  When it matters most.  And somehow (though a day after this year) the Williams Hoot always helps me (though this is just the third year) celebrate Susan’s wonderful life — the life she chose to sacrifice thinking it would be better for the rest of us.

The nights SHE would wander the streets of her beloved Houston to seek out her lost girlfriends and try to bring them home to safety.  The weekends she spent with her disabled friend, even going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and still getting back for her American Humanics meeting.  The day she died, she went to her job interview and then to the graduation ceremonies at the elementary school she had volunteered at, teaching reading to immigrant first and second graders.  And then the love our family was shown by Austin’s music community (in which we were still fledglings at the time) that has driven the Flanfire ship for nearly six years now.  For me, of course, the song sounds like, “See what I lost when you left this world,” except that out of that loss we have had great gain.  As you all know, life is made better through celebration … and knowing that we are all dying and so should live life to the fullest every living breathing moment.  [I can never think of Susan and not see Snoopy dancing.]

Susan would have turned thirty on Monday.  And Monday night, where was I?  Out at House Wine with some of my dearest friends — B. Sterling Archer (whose B. Sterling Band will soon be releasing its debut CD) and Melanie Martinez of Tiny Tin Hearts (which likewise has a CD about ready for prime time) — and Abbi Sims, whose spirit reminds me so much of my daughter’s — adventurous, honest, forthright, caring, and sharing … and in Abbi’s case, a downrightr good singer and budding songwriter and outstanding Open Mike hostess at House Wine.  Also in the house (well, outside in the front lawn) were Craig Marshall and Jon Notarthomas and Will T. Massey and the lovely Valerie Fremin (more very dear friendds) — Drew de France and Kurt McMahan from the band Ouachita, which plays Friday at the Belmont — and one Donnie Jones (shown here surrounded by Kurt along with Abbi and her songwriter friend Anna who hails from just south of Brenham, Texas).  And, oh yeah, Donnie Jones (who is better known these days as a wine merchant and vineyard owner) is a songwriter — a man who counted among his friends Townes Van Zandt and Blaze Foley and John Prine too (and of course Guy Clark), and whose songs are of that same caliber.  Will T is working with Donnie to record a bunch of his songs — some brand new, others buried for maybe decades.  Monday, it turns out, was Jay Sims’ birthday too, but we were mostly there to celebrate Abbi’s birthday on July 29th (which SHE was celebrating at the Cathedral of Junk).

But back to Tuesday night at the Cactus — which opened with Eric Hisaw and Chrissy Flatt and then Kerry Polk and friends and then The Flyin’ A’s (Stuart and Hilary Adamson) before emcee Tom Pittman made his actual debut singing and playing guitar all by his lonesome on a public stage.  After 40 years!  An historic occasion!  And, despite his own protestations, he was good lookin’ – sang well too!

After the break, it was Jenny herself and then Seth Walker, BettySoo and finally Guy Forsyth.  So after the show I found the two world-renowned lads standing side by side and popped out the camera for this photo — and Guy says this may be the first photo ever of the two of them together.  Whatever – Guy had closed his set with a brand-new song he wrote in remembrance of fallen hero Stephen Bruton.  Later he was showing off dozens of photos of his pride and joy, his 2-year-old daughter who is just gorgeous!  I know a little something about being a proud papa — Guy admits it has changed his life.

A few more notes before I go — and I promise I WILL get to those CD reviews sometime soon.  First off, we have Margo Valiante flanked by Etan Sekons and three-string bassist Kyle Clayton at the Whip In, where I was eating some of the best Indian food ever to grace my lips AND enjoying one of that venue’s many nights of fine Austin music.  [Hats off for their support of Groundworks!]  That was on Saturday, and I left at intermission to run to the Saxon to catch a great set from porterdavis (sadly, no decent photos for you).  Just stunning!  Mike Meadows on vocals and his patented drum-percussion rig, birthday boy Simon Wallace on harmonica and vocals, and Daniel Barrett on slide guitar and vocals.  The band was taking orders for their own new CD, which will be available at their August 28th Saxon Pub show — if they make it back home from Nova Scotia.  Then, as noted, it was Bettysoo, who opened with “Do Right Woman,” a Dan Penn song made famous by the Flying Burrito Brothers (okay, theirs was by no means the first, or even the biggest hit version, but Earl Poole Ball played on that record — as did (duh!) Gram Parsons).  No wonder she’s opening for Joan Baez!

The little lady in the yellow dress is Akina Adderley (yes, Nat Adderley, Jr.’s baby girl) — and SHE was the opening act at Sunday’s very well attended Austin2Africa event that was raising money for an orphanage for South African children whose parents had died of AIDS.  [The $20,000 they need for the project is but a drop in the bucket of Oprah's budget for her posh girls' school.]

This was Akina’s fourth show with her Village Playboys in four days (Victory Grill, Antone’s, Marcus Cardwell’s backyard!) and she had to run out the door to sing the national anthem at a RollerGirls throwdown.  Also on the bill were Kalu James, Tandoorifinger, Paul Banks (who will be back at Momo’s soon), and the amazing John Pointer (who broke a string on his very first song and never slowed down).

Susan would have loved this extended weekend — from Thursday through Tuesday, great music one night after another.  Her favorite, of course, was long-time Austinite Steve Ulrich, whom she used to see regularly at the Hole in the Wall during its glory days singnig in between Quatropaw sets.  I like to think she is hearing the music I hear in Austin from her special place in the clouds. 

Will Taylor’s genius is not limited to his great arrangements or to his excellent viola (or violin) work.  Will (in the spiffy shirt) has this knack of getting great musicians to play with him — and great singers to perform at his shows (for example, Lisa Tingle blew the doors off the Led Zeppelin review, I am told).  Will is also a genius in finding new ways to present himself and his friends — the newest being the Will Taylor Jazz Strings Quartet, which last week began a Sunday night series (starting at 6 pm) at Opal Divine’s Penn Field.  Backed by longtime confederate Shawn Sanders on cello and Jason Allen on viola, Taylor scores again with the fabulous Leah Zeger on violin — and even though we do not (yet, at least) get to hear her glorious jazz vocals in this ensemble, her skills on the violin (she was the youngest ever to be a regular with the Austin Symphony, I seem to recall) are just what the doctor ordered.  [Indeed, scroll down a bit and you will find Leah singing (and playing violin) at Ming's Cafe along with regulars Brad Houser and El Goins and guitarist Trevor Labonte, another of those lads who seems to prefer Austin summers to Wisconsin winters.

Now I have some great Jackie Bristow news to report -- first, her lifelong guitarist, Mark Punch, one of Australia's top session players (for example, all but the latest Kasey Chambers record and both of Jackie's) and an excellent singer, flew into Austin to stay a month or so and do some live shows (like this one with drummer Mark Hays at Flipnotics -- which by the way has a brand-new owner, a new porch floor, a new A/C system as of Monday, and maybe some more surprises as well).  Second, Jackie is opening for Bob Schneider at the Cactus Cafe on April 30 and has her own debut at the Saxon Pub the very next night.  Third (and maybe best of all), a chance (??) encounter with composer-arranger Stephen Barber led to a surprise reunion with David Boyle, an Aussie whom Jackie had met years before he came to Austin to play with the Scabs and after numerous adventures purchased the old Providence Primitive Baptist Church facilities and built the Church House studio in East Austin.  Word is our favorite Kiwi songbird is already in the studio with David, Mark, and who knows who else -- to lay down a couple of tracks right now and maybe more later.  [For double the please, check out the photo of Jackie Bristow and Jackie Daum -- whose own new record will be out before long.]

 We also got out last Sunday to see Heybale — and my favorite former Burrito Brother Earl Poole Ball (who also played with Johnny Cash) along with Redd Voelkart and half the town’s musicians in the audience.  Monday night early it was the McKay Brothers (Noel and Hollin) doing their acoustic duo set at the Hole in the Wall (just more proof that Bandera is a songwriters’ town), and later (after an amazing set from Bukka Allen with Brian Standefer, Mike Meadows, and Will Sexton – shown below) out to TC’s Lounge for the Little Elmore Reed Blues Band [Mark Hays on drums, Willie Pipkin and Mike Keller on guitars, and Dale Spalding and his big grin on vocals and harmonica -- and, yes, that's Sarah Brown of the Guilty Women on bass!]

 Tuesday night was ladies’ night — the evening began with the wonderful Greencards (whose new 18-year-old guitarist they swiped from the Lovell Sisters) at a CD release throwdown at Waterloo Records.  Kym and Carol were in fine form, and Eamon had enough energy left after the set to show a young fiddle player a few of the tricks up his sleeve.  Then it was over to Momo’s Club for a set from the Reliques (they grow on me) followed by two rounds with Joe Humel on drums — first for BettySoo (her first show with a new band that includes Jeff Plankenhorn on guitar, then with Charlie Faye (whose brand-new CD produced by Mark Hallman at Congress House was in her hands)!  BettySoo had last Saturday wowed us at Old Settlers (and she and Ben Mallott reprised their rendition of “Grievous Angel” at Momos), wowed the crowd at the Evangeline Cafe Saturday night along with Gurf Morlix — producer of her own brand-new CD soon to be released, and wowed us again last Tuesday.  But so did the equally diminuitive dynamite package from New Jersey/New York and her hot band.  Best of all — both ladies sang harmonies on each other’s songs.  Even better — they’ll be at it again next Tuesday.

 Wednesday started out with T-Bird and the Breaks at Scholz’s Biergarten — thanks to a late ttext from Sammy P!  [Sorry, guys -- no camera!]  This made it easy to float over to the Cactus for sets from the Maybelles (and that lovely Katy Rose Cox) and a CD release party featuring Greezy Wheels’ Lissa Hattersley and an all-star band — nine people on that little stage!  Paul Pearcy on drums, Andrew Bjorkland on bass, David Roach on keyboards, Chris Gage on guitar (and keyboard), John Mills on  sax, Michael Austin on clarinet and vocals, Cara Cooke on harmonica and vocals, and of course  sister-in-great-joy Sweet Mary Hattersley on that magnificent fiddle that has fed the soul of this town for decades.  And then it was back to TC’s for a stirring set from Soul Track Mind (Sarah Lincoln sitting in) and some of that delicious goulash!  And a LOT of dancing! 

Thursday was very special — my first show to see Aimee Bobruk and Erin Bobruk sharing the sage (at the Amsterdam) — Erin taking time from her Conspirare schedule to sing harmonies with little sis, whose songs are just so very good!  Shawn Davis of Stonehoney had asked me to stop by Headhunters (out back!) for their set, but I got there just late enough to hang out with the boys and listen to an old favorite of mine, Eric Hisaw, and his band — Vicente Rodriguez on drums, Matt Hudson (whom I had seen at TC’s the night before) on bass, and the lovely Chrissy Flatt (who is working on her own C right now) on rhythm guitar and vocals.  I have been listening a LOT to Eric’s 2008 CD, “Nature of the Blues,” which is a worthwhile addition to anyone’s collection.  The guy can SING!  Later that night I stopped by the Mohawk to catch a set from Bryce Clifford … fighting a cold that left me sleepy.  But the work is never done — CD’s to review are again stacking up, and then there were this weekend’s shows, which will be covered in a forthcoming report.  I WILL note here that I ran into Brian Keane and Rachel Loy (sporting a lovely rock!) at a secret show that doubled as a going away party for Michael Lahrman, impresario and dear friend whom we shall just have to visit in a land far away.