Saturday offered us a hint of real Spring, with mild temperatures and no downward rushing moisture. I took Willow to the park while Jen took care of some errands, and as usual she spent some time tossing rocks into the creek, which is currently swollen and chocolatey with sediment.
In the evening, I went over the hill to see In Gowan Ring, Nick Castro, and Whysp at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. The show was actually held in the lobby of the theatre, with the main auditorium off-limits. When I got there the door wasn't open yet, so I wandered over to Staff of Life to look for a snack. I got something called Primal Strips, a kind of vegetarian jerky which I decided must have earned its name due to the fact that the only way to open the package is to tear it open with your teeth. By the time I got back to the Rio I still hadn't accomplished this. At least it gave me something to do while waiting for the music to start.
When things finally got going, I discovered that In Gowan Ring was actually a full band this time, with Bee using his newly made lyre guitar accompanied by Nick Castro and his band. Afterwards, he showed me another guitar he'd built (the one on the left in the photo) using a leaf-shaped bowl he'd found at a Goodwill store. They started off their set with Mad Michael (aka Crazy Man Michael), which has been a favorite of mine for years, continued with a sublime selection of newish material, and ended it with a Changes song. After a five minute break, they all came back for Nick Castro's set, which included originals and traditional material (the most notable being Willy O'Winsbury, a song I've heard many versions of over the years). It's a shame that more people didn't show up. This is the kind of music that more people need to hear and appreciate - A welcome sidestep from the endless march of time and the so called "progress" it brings. Bee's softly sung songs often seem to be flowing into the present through a window in time left open somewhere in the middle ages. Nick Castro's songs are more rooted in the present, but similar in feel.
They were followed by Whysp, who continue to sound like Incredible String Band. I love the fact that they have a sitar player. They're a lively bunch, with lots of rattling and shaking and strangeness.
Today the rain was back for awhile. We worked in the yard a bit and I finally got locks on all of the big reptile cages. The new cage door on the Monitor cage is much easier to open than the old one, and Jen said she saw Willow trying to open it the other day, so now the Monitor and Python cages have locks. Just in case...
No comments:
Post a Comment