The 2nd Annual Bluegrass & Beyond "Holiday" Jam was a little more subdued than last year's - perhaps because of it's proximity to Christmas - or, perhaps because some of you continue to hold onto the age old values of being with family and loved ones at the holidays.
Come On! It's the 21st Century, folks - Christmas... Family... Loved Ones... that's SO 20th Century!
Next you'll tell me that you still like to hand make music on acoustic instruments - in the company of other live musicians... Not me - give me Guitar Hero, Facebook and let me Twit? (oh yeah, John Cleese "twits", we Tweet). Virtual reality can't come soon enough for this old Rockabilly.
Anyway, between Karen's cookies (I can still taste 'em), Scotty's 1-man Holiday Spectacular (unfortunately, his Scottettes didn't show), AJ's "Christmas With The Family" and Bill and Sarah's surf-rock, Spanish fandango version of "What Child Is This?" (I think I had a part in that one, too) - it passed for a Holiday Jam!
Oh, and even the Easter Bunny made a cameo (during the "Day-O, Banana Boat Carol"):
"The Kings see something hippity-hopping along,
It’s the Easter Bunny, heh, you don’t belong in this song;
Bunny says you better hurry up on your way,
If the Child not born, I got no Holiday."
Apparently we had a pretty good time because Brett followed up Bill's "All Right Now" with another Free-related song by Bad Company - which nobody at the jam that night can now recall the name of - including Brett ("Gawd, That was like 50 beers ago...").
Brett and I also tried Jerry Reed's "Eastbound And Down" - probably more of that beer thing ("The boys are thirsty in Atlanta, and there's beer in Texarkana").
Tony kept us movin' further on with "On The Road Again" from Willie.
Karen, perhaps mindful us of the follies of our ways reminded us of life "In The Gravel Yard" (with a number for my name...).
Bill further admonished us with Ralph Stanley's "Shoutin' On The Hills" - reminding us to "make our reservations" - and not at the Rainbow Room for New Year's Eve...).
All I can say is that there'd be a lot fewer churches if there were no bars to repent from... (and probably fewer gravel yards, too).
Sarah reminded us that "All Things Must Pass" (she's been singing that a lot since she married me!).
And the jam did, too, but not before a rousing group version of "Sweet Georgia Brown".
In a final touching gesture of how the holiday spirit affects us all - even grizzled Tony - the big guy was packed up and leaving when we started playing "The Hobo Song" from Old And In The Way. He ran back in, unpacked his guitar and even managed to get a solo in. Obviously, he was so moved by my singing of it that he just had to share in the musical joy we were creating.
Funny though - he told me later that I was hacking it up so bad that he felt an obligation to come back in and set me right. I still prefer to think the holiday spirit engulfed him...
Hopefully, with Steve, Eileen, Raylene and Paddy's help, there'll be more Holiday parties to come!
Dave Comins
Posts
1 comment:
I'm glad that we continued the tradition of "Allright Now" at the holiday jam. Now along with the Christmas tree and yule log, we have those heart-warming holiday lyrics: "I took her home, to my place...."
By the way, I assume that still tasting Karen's cookies a week later was intended as a compliment!
Brother Banjo Bill
Post a Comment