A Conversation with T Bone Burnett

A Conversation with T Bone Burnett. April 23. Saturday Night. Sundance Kabuki. Presented by the San Francisco International Film Festival.

I arrived early. I’ve worked at the Festival, so I know what they mean with the warning on the back of the tickets. “Ticket holders must arrive 15 minutes prior to show time to be guaranteed a seat.” “Get your seat,” I’d been advised earlier.

On the way in I spotted staff waiting for the man to arrive. There were some staff people in the audience, a sure sign that this should be a special event. Jeannette Etheridge, the owner of The Tosca Cafe in North Beach was in a group of VIPS in reserved seats.

T Bone Burnett had just won an Oscar for Best Original Song, “The Weary Kind” from “Crazy Heart.” He also had to be celebrating Jeff Bridges’ Best Actor Oscar.

They played some T Bone Burnett tunes while we waited, among them “Zombie Land” and “Fear Country.” I’d been lucky to catch Burnett play at The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. It wasn’t expected that he would play tonight.

We’re in the big theater. This is the same room where I saw Rock shows before The Kabuki was converted to a movie theater. I saw Iggy in this room. There were great Tubes New Year’s Eve shows here. The configuration is much the same, but it’s a movie theater now. It’s redecorated and certainly more sedate. There are large Japanese fans on the wall. It’s the biggest theater in Sundance Kabuki and is used for the bigger events.

Deputy Director Steven Jenkins gave a short introduction. There was a short description of Burnett’s musical accomplishments. A complete listing of the records and the artists he’s produced and appeared with would be too long to repeat. “We’d be here all night.” “Take a good look at your favorite CDs.” There’s a good chance T Bone Burnett was involved. Burnett worked on the Coen brothers’ “O Brother Where Art Thou?” movie soundtrack. The hit movie gave “Roots” Americana music a big boost.

Jenkins thanks some people and sponsors. He also thanks his brother Larry. Larry is in Burnett's management team and helped talk him into appearing tonight. Elvis Mitchell will act as MC. He’s a film critic from Detroit. He hosts a public radio show, The Treatment.

Burnett and Elvis Mitchell come onstage to big applause. “Oscar winner T Bone Burnett!” Elvis is a Black man with dreads in a ponytail. Burnett is in a suit coat and dress shirt. I really didn’t notice until later, but he wasn’t wearing sun glasses. There would be no Roy Orbison look tonight. There are two chairs and a small table onstage.

Elvis starts by saying that Burnett is one of the few people who was directed by Bob Dylan. Burnett says that playing in the Rolling Thunder Revue with Dylan was “his first gig.” The tour was filmed and released as “Renaldo and Clara.” “Did anyone see ‘Renaldo and Clara’?” A show of hands reveals that over half of this audience has seen it. Burnett is surprised. “I told you these were your people,” Elvis tells him.

So, what was it like being directed by Bob Dylan? Burnett talks about Dylan’s directing style. Everything was improvised. Dylan would choose a few actors and a location. “You’re going to have a scene with her.” There were no lines, and that’s all the direction they got. It was like the tour. “We were winging everything.”

Burnett says the tour was great. Every night was different. The music performances were better than the film. “Joni Mitchell would come out and sing a song by herself. Then she’d play one with Dylan.” “Then someone like Rambling Jack Elliot” would join them onstage. The combinations of musicians and songs changed every night.

Burnett said he never saw “Renaldo and Clara.” “Oh wait!” He was at a meeting with Japanese investors who were shown an eight hour version. They were puzzled and didn’t invest.

Burnett says that despite his sometimes gruff manner, Dylan was great to work with. “Directors can be stubborn. Isn’t that right, Jeannette?” The owner of The Tosca Cafe in North Beach gets a mention from onstage. I’ve heard that Burnett stops in there when he’s in town.

Elvis says the sound track for The Big Lebowski is underrated. How did it get started? “We were very stoned,” Burnett says. The director, Joel Coen, had great musical taste. “We started with Beefheart and went from there.”

The room goes dark for some clips on the big screen. The first clip is from “O Brother Where Art Thou?” It’s the scene where they’re recording “Man of Constant Sorrow.” Burnett says we’re too used to hearing those old songs with scratches in the sound. “We wanted the music to sound new. It can’t sound old and scratchy. It’s always now in movies.” He says George Clooney can sing, but in the end they had it dubbed. There’s a clip from “Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.”

What were the films that influenced him to make music for movies? “Gilda” and “American Graffiti,” especially “American Graffiti.” “It changed the way music was used in movies.”

Burnett talks about editing. It’s hard to explain. You work on it and work on it, and suddenly it’s there. He compares it to being a sculptor. He cut fifteen minutes from “Crazy Heart” and then realized it was done. “It was just there.”

They go back to “The Big Lebowski” soundtrack. “We wanted to get that guy who did the strange instrumentals in the Fifties. Who was that guy?” Someone from the crowd suggests Martin Denny. Yeah, that guy! Elvis says, “Yes, it’s a very knowledgeable audience.”

They talk about “Stone Mountain.” The director was Anthony Mighela. Burnett: “You can’t understand this country unless you understand The Civll War.” Elvis: “So, you were interpreting it for him?” Right! Burnett talks about Civil War songs. Most of them were bloody. “Both sides would go back to their campfires and sing. ‘We killed a thousand of them today. Just wish it was more.’” It was real righteous God is on our side stuff.

“The Folk process takes place over years.” “The guy we call Homer was the result of three hundred years of different singers and storytellers in Greece.” “I want to be a story teller.”

Elvis asks Burnett about the “Gothic ethos of the South.” Some of his music is Gothic, “Like the South.” Yes, Burnett is from there. He grew up in North Texas. Texas is a little Gothic. New Orleans is very Gothic. Burnett says it’s a good place to be from.
We see some more clips on the big screen. In the “Walk the Line” clip Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) plays a Rock and Roll number. The young audience starts rocking. Everyone starts to realize that Cash will be a big star. After the clip, Burnett comments that Johnny Cash had a unique way of holding the guitar. Phoenix had a hard time duplicating it.

Another clip from the movie is Reese Witherspoon singing “Wildwood Flower.” “Wildwood Flower is the song everyone learns guitar on,” Burnett says. The song is familiar to many and Witherspoon had a hard time doing the song. At one point she left the studio. “I heard doors banging shut.” She went outside and screamed. Burnett went out and told her to just sing the song as if she was with a baby and singing a lullaby and no one else was there. It worked and Witherspoon nailed it. Burnett’s comment, “You can conquer worlds with enthusiasm,” draws applause.

Johnny Cash was intense. Burnett tells a story about a fellow band member who had borrowed an expensive Martin guitar from “Brian.” Cash saw it and asked, “Is that Brian’s guitar?” Yeah, he was told. Cash pulled out a key and put a big scratch on it. This left the band member in a spot. How could he return it now? He didn’t confront Cash.

We see a clip from “Lady Killers” and there’s another clip from “Crazy Heart.” It’s the scene where Colin Farrell sneaks onstage behind Bridges’ character, Bad Blake, to make a surprise cameo appearance. The crowd erupts when they see the Country and Western heartthrob. Bad thinks the adulation is aimed at him. When he sees the Colin character he figures out quickly that the excited applause and cheers were not meant for him. He looks a bit disappointed, but continues the song.

We’re shown a great version of “Strawberry Fields” from “Across the Universe.”

In a clip from “Cold Mountain,” a group of cowpokes are sitting around the campfire singing. It’s quiet and a bit ominous. One of them figures out that it could be his last night on earth. He’ll soon be dead. He starts singing anyway.

“The guitar was an anachronism. There just weren’t that many guitars in the Old West back then. They used banjoes and harmonicas.”

Jeff Bridges liked to work with first time directors. “He just likes it.” It has cost him in the past. “Jeff Bridges survived being in a Michael Cimino movie,” Elvis cracks. Bridges and the lead character from Crazy Heart “have much biographical in common.” They both went through frustrations and disappointments. “He couldn’t be Leonard Cohen. He couldn’t be Bob Dylan. He couldn’t be David Allan Coe.”

Every song has to have something to do with the story. The music can’t just be a diversion anymore. It has to have something to do with the story. Each song must move the story. Burnett compares the making of Crazy Heart to the story of Excalibur. “We just pulled the sword from the stone.”

The conversation keeps going back to influences. Was Elvis Presley a big influence on Burnett? No, Burnett says, “I missed Elvis... I was into Ralph Stanley and Jimmy Reed.” When he saw Elvis on “that TV show” “The “Comeback Special,” he was “Elvisized.”

What movies do you first remember the music from? What was your first movie music memory? Burnett says it was “Gilda.” He had been learning guitar and realized Rita Hayworth wasn’t close to forming any chords on her guitar. Burnett figured he could do better. Elvis Mitchell says the first movie music experience he can remember was “Cat Ballou.” In one scene they used a banjo that didn’t have any strings on it.

Burnett says that years ago people didn’t know as much about how music was made. “Now with MTV and Youtube, people know more about the mechanics of someone playing music.” In the past it was easier to fake it. Any lip synch that was even close was accepted. The actor’s musical motions didn’t have to make sense.

We see some more clips. They show the song mentioned from “Gilda.” Rita Hayworth sings and plays guitar. There’s a clip from “To Have and Have Not.” Hoagy Carmichael plays piano and Lauren Bacall joins him on “Am I Blue?” “There’s a lot going on in that scene.” Conspirators are lurking and “Bacall is trying to seduce Bogart.” “Hoagy wrote one of the greatest songs, 'Stardust.'" Elvis Mitchell says that Lauren Bacall’s voice was dubbed by Andy Williams in the movie.

We see a rare clip of Elvis Presley in “Loving You.” “This is one of the last looks at the ‘real’ Elvis. He still wore blue jeans!” Elvis is performing onstage in a small theater. Most of the crowd are teenyboppers, but there are some middle aged frumpy chaperones who show their disapproval. Elvis works his magic. Even the chaperones are won over and rocking by the song’s end. It is Elvis in his prime. The lights come back on. Elvis Mitchell says, “I’m a Black man named Elvis, but I’m not going to try that.”

The influences question comes up again. “I liked ‘One Eyed Jacks,’” Burnett says. “Marlon Brando was great in that.” “And ‘Giant... There was so much going on in that movie.”

Burnett says, “I’m not at my top game tonight.” He did sound a bit hoarse. Maybe he was a bit under the weather. “You’re doing great!” Mitchell assures him and the audience agrees.

It’s time for questions from the audience. “Would you collaborate with Ry Cooder? A lot of what you do sounds like Ry Cooder.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that!” Burnett says quickly. (Cooder has accused some, especially The Rolling Stones, of borrowing from his work.) Burnett praises Cooder, and says he’d love to work with him, but says it’s unlikely.

The next person doesn’t really have a question. He says he wants to give something to Burnett. A vinyl record is brought onstage. Does Burnett remember it? “I made this when I first got to L.A.” We couldn’t see the record. Burnett says he’ll autograph it. “It’s going on E-Bay,” Mitchell cracks.

What movie really inspired him to make music for movies? Burnett mentions “American Graffiti” again. Another film that influenced him was “The Last Picture Show.” “It was shot in North Texas, where I’m from... Before I escaped and joined the smart people in California.” Burnett talks about “the water tank scene.” In the scene three characters are hanging out on top of a water tank. The camera slowly pans across the desolate landscape. It’s in black and white. Ben Johnson says, “Isn’t it beautiful?” Burnett again says he’s glad he escaped Texas.

Burnett says you could always hear the drone of B-52s from the nearby air base. They were always circling the area. He “recently learned” that bombing sorties were flown from there during the Vietnam War. The planes would refuel somewhere over the Pacific, drop the bombs in Vietnam and then come back to Fort Worth.

Question: Why wasn’t Colin Farrell in the advertising for “Crazy Heart?”

If they used Farrell’s name in the advertising, it would be very similar to the clip we saw where Colin comes onstage behind “Bad.” The film makers were afraid that if Colin Farrell was mentioned in the advertising, it would have sent the wrong message. “It would have become a Colin Farrell movie. We didn’t want that to happen.”

Question: Can you tell us about the album you just made with Willie Nelson? “Fantastic! Willie is the best!” Burnett says they tried to bring Willie in to help promote the soundtrack for “Crazy Heart.” The studio executives said they couldn’t see how Willie Nelson could help sell Country and Western music. Everyone has a good laugh at that one. “Idiots!”

“Does anyone remember the song 'Glow Little Glowworm'" by Johnny Mercer?” Burnett asks. He says again that the Folk process takes place over time. “Bob Dylan is the Homer of our time!”

Question: Was he influenced by the “Bonny and Clyde” movie? “Yeah, I should have been there!” Burnett says. He wishes he had done it. He loves Peter Bogdanovich, “Especially that movie he made in North Texas, ‘Paper Moon.’” Maybe Burnett is a little under the weather, but he corrects his mistake. “Bonnie and Clyde” was made by Arthur Penn. “You can’t do chase scenes anymore,” Burnett says. “Bonny and Clyde” had the best combination of music and chase scenes. “It doesn’t make sense to try and do them better.”

Elvis Mitchell asks: How about “Deliverance?” Did Burnett like it? “You had to like Ronny Cox playing live.” Burnett didn’t like it. He feels the music was “co-opted” or “bastardized.” “I loved Ralph Stanley and Bill Munroe.” “The music was used.”

There’s a question from the back. It’s a young woman with a heavy French accent. “First of all, thanks for not wearing zee glasses. You look very elegant and dreamy.” Was her question going to be what hotel he’s staying at? “How did you get so beeg in Texas?” A few audience members laugh. Burnett rolls his eyes. “I spent a lot of time by myself in Texas.”

Question: What kind of musical education does he have? “Did you go to school for this?” Burnett says he has no formal musical education. “It was fifty years of listening.” He was lucky because his parents were big music fans and had a great collection of 78s including Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. “I remember listening to 'Begin the Beguine.’ That was one of my favorites. Does anybody remember that song, ‘Naughty Lady of Shady Lane?’”

Time is up. The conversation has covered a wide range of music and film history. The two get up to leave the stage to a standing ovation.

Timothy B Schmit at the Great American Music Hall

Peter B. Schmit at the Great American Music Hall 12/13/2009

We got the call. Any interest in using tickets for Sunday night’s Great American Music Hall? Sure! It was a good excuse for a night out. Who’s playing? One of the Eagles. The bass player, Timothy B. Schmit, was doing a show to promote his new CD.

We showed up early. We had dinner tickets and the web site said to be there at 6:30. We stood in line with some excited Eagles fans. They talked about Eagles shows they’d been to. There was some kind of mixup and the doors didn’t open until 7:40. If we’d known what was going on, we’d just have gone somewhere and come back, but no one explained anything. The staff seemed to be avoiding the front door area. Two guys carrying instrument cases showed up, and pounded on the front door until someone finally answered. Great. Now we’ll probably have to wait for a sound check.

We finally entered the venerable building. It’s great to go to this storied club. It’s ornately decorated with Baroque flourishes and Rococo furnishings. This room has a great history. There are friezes in the ceiling and a big chandelier. It was built to be THE place for extravagant night life and entertainment in old San Francisco. Sally Rand of fan dance fame was one of the first owners. You can just tell there where some wild nights here. It’s a temple to San Francisco nightlife of the past. There are stories that staff members have heard and seen a ghost who wanders the club after closing.

Prohibition worked out all right for the Great American Music Hall, and it was popular with servicemen during World War II, but things change. The place did fall on hard times during the Fifties. It was a bordello at one time. It was a restaurant for a while, but that eventually closed and the building was abandoned. The building was condemned by The City, but it was saved by the Rock and Roll club that opened there in 1972.

Tonight there will be tables on the dance floor. They expect a more laid back, older audience. It’s a small, but enthusiastic crowd. The balcony will be closed tonight. It is a Sunday night. It looks like there are a lot of comp tickets for family and friends in attendance.

The opening act is Jim Bruno. He plays acoustic guitar and is accompanied by John Koontz on mandolin and guitar. They’re the guys who were trying to get into the club earlier. It’s a small but vocal crowd that greets Bruno with applause and cheers. They’re definitely fans. The music is crisp and the sound is great.

“Blue Love”

“Here’s a song of regret,” Bruno says, “We Were Blind.”

“California Rain” “A Matter of Time”

A couple of years ago Bruno read about Ray Davies getting shot in New Orleans. Ray had witnessed a purse snatching and played the good samaritan. He chased the guy and got shot for his trouble. What is this world coming to? Bruno thought when he heard the news. Ray Davies getting shot! So he wrote a song about it: “Ray Took a Slug in the Leg.”

Bruno invites everyone to a songwriting event he performs at. It’s at Biscuits and Blues on Wednesday night.

“We’ll Always Remember Tonight” “I Do It For You”

All the songs are on the new CD (On sale at a table in the back!) except the last one. Bruno is the opening act and only gets about a half hour onstage. He and Koontz give us a great warm up.

We had the dinner package. We had to chase down a waitress to get our order in. The upside with the dinner package is that you get to go in first and get the best seats. A couple of staff guys kept the seats reserved. The food was great, but it was a little awkward eating at the small cocktail tables.

A couple joined us. Mike and Kathy risked the wrath of staff by entering the green “dinner ticket” zone. They had good timing. They were a nice couple and big Eagles fans. Mike wondered about some of the great shows here the past, “Can you imagine seeing the Grateful Dead here?” It is a bit mind boggling. I wondered how they fit everyone onstage.

Its time for the main attraction: Timothy B. Schmit. We can see a good Rock setup: Drums, keyboards and a lot of guitars. He gets a great greeting from the crowd.

He reminds me of Jorma. He has very long hair and wears blue jeans. This guy has to have a lot of touring miles on him, but he still has a youthful look.

“I’m from Sacramento,” Schmit tells us. “This is what we used to call ‘going to the City.’”

“Stir the Wind” “Friday Night” Song titles are an approximation.

Schmit has a wry sense of humor. “I’m the guy who isn’t Don Henley.” He says there will soon be a tour by “That other band I’m in.”

“One More Mile”

Schmit says it’s great to play in at the Great American Music Hall. Schmit admits he’s lucky. “I got to play The Fillmore, Winterland ...” “You should come to Modesto!” A female fan yells from one of the front tables. Comments from the crowd can easily be heard. “I’ve played Modesto!” He starts rattling off Valley towns he’s played in: Lodi, Truckee, Tracy. My wife grew up in the Valley and got a big kick out of this.

“Because of poor management” there are no CDs for sale! Schmit says, “You can buy it from the aether. There’s no stores left anymore!” This gets a laugh from the Baby Boomer crowd. The music business has changed since he started.

Schmit changes guitars every song. He picks up a bass for the first time for an Eagles song: “I Can’t Tell You Why.” It’s his big Eagles song. There’s even a little dry ice smoke with some laser lights shining on it coming from the back of the stage for this one. The keyboard player stands out on this song. He’s playing a synthesizer and makes it sound like a big church organ.

Three black female backup singers come out for the next song. Schmit calls them, “The icing on the cake.” Schmit was a music business veteran before he joined The Eagles. He said that often questions of hipness would be brought up, “As would happen in those days.” He would just say, “What do I know, I’m just a white boy from Sacramento.” They do the song: “I’m Just a White Boy from Sacramento,” a very funny song. The backup singers seem amused and are certainly having a good time.

Schmit talks about being in the band Poco. He does a Poco song: “Keep On Trying.” Schmit mentions Richie Furay and the crowd applauds. He thanks Furay for getting him into Poco. When Furay joined The Eagles, he brought Schmit along.

Schmit was going to sing this next song, written by Richie Furay, when it was recorded: “What Am I Going To Do?” He says that Furay lived the lyrics on the next tour they were on and Schmit deferred to Furay, letting him sing the now autobiographical song on the album.

They rock out on “Parachute.” It features guitarist Hank with a big solo by him. “I Don’t Mind”

Schmit’s wife is in Hawaii. She’ll stay there longer than expected. She does album cover art on Expando. “Have I mentioned the CD yet?” He sings about missing his wife, “Ella Jean.” “I Don’t Like It When You’re Gone.”

The female backup singers come back for the finale. They ham it up and again look like they’re having a blast onstage.

“Something is Wrong” and then, “A Good Day” The last song on Expando.

“I Don’t Want to Feel Anymore”

“Love Will Keep Us Alive”

A great show on a Sunday night! Thanks to Al Cooper for the tickets.

West Fest

West Fest

If the spirit of the Sixties still survives anywhere, it had to be in Golden Gate Park on October 25, 2009. West Fest was a celebration of the Fortieth Anniversary of Woodstock. There had been events commemorating the epic counter culture event across the country in 2009. There was an event on the exact anniversary dates at Bethel, New York, the site of Yasgur’s farm.

In August the media had gone nuts on Woodstock. During the week of the anniversary there was a Woodstock story in every newspaper and nightly features on TV. Remember the couple wrapped up in a blanket that were on the cover of the Woodstock album? NBC tracked them down. They were a local couple who got married shortly after Woodstock, and still live there. It seemed every angle was covered.

Now it was October. This should be the last commemoration. It was a good excuse to have a gathering in the Park. There have been some legal battles over having music events, or any big events, in the Park. The locals hate the disruption. Outside Lands, a huge music festival that charges admission, was held in August. The San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks got about two million dollars from the promoters. One argument is that if you live in the City, you’ve got to expect events like this to happen near your neighborhood.

The Chet Helms Tribute and the celebration of the Fortieth Anniversary of the Summer of Love had both been held at this time of year. Both events had been extremely lucky with the weather, and it happened again. It was a beautiful day in the Park. There’s got to be some kind of Hippie good Karma at work here. It was sunny and clear, almost a perfect day.

B21 records and Boots Hughston would be running the event. They did a great job running the Chet Helms tribute and the Fortieth Anniversary of the Summer of Love. Posters said that the event would be dedicated to the memory of Jimi Hendrix.

The event opened with various incantations and prayers. I had heard it would be streamed online for free. We were still at home, so I checked it out. There was a $15 fee to see it live. There would probably be free footage online later.

Narada Michael Walden was leading an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. They were trying to get a record number of guitars to play “Purple Haze.” Jimi Hendrix’ brother Leon was there to add some familial legitimacy to the event. The attempt at the record was originally planned to close West Fest. They expected 3,000 guitar players to join in. They encouraged players to register on the B21 Records web site. They must have figured out there wouldn’t be as many guitar players as expected or needed for the record, so it was held earlier in the morning. Sounds like it was a bust.

We got there about 11:30 a.m. We parked and hiked in. Loud psychedelic music was coming from Speedway Meadows. We could smell weed on the way there. There was a huge crowd at Speedway Meadows already. It was filling up. This is where many of the big free shows were held in the Sixties. We spread a blanket far from the stage. There was another stage at the other end of the meadows. (Where the Banjo Stage was, for you Hardly Strictly Bluegrass fans.) Eventually the crowd filled Speedway Meadows and reached all the way to the “East Stage.”

We were far enough away that the people onstage were dots. Maybe it’s better not to see these guys? There were two big video screens on each side of the stage, and that was a help, but it was still hard to see what was happening onstage. The screens also flashed psychedelic light show patterns and designs like the old light shows.

We arrived to hear most of Barry “The Fish” Melton. “Love Machine” “I’ve Got a Love.” I’m not sure of the song titles. The band had a rougher, Rockier sound than I remember The Fish having.

The MC for this portion is Paul “The Lobster” Welles. There was the first of several “Don’t take the brown acid!” jokes that would be heard today. I didn’t see or hear Wavy Gravy all day. He has been having health problems. It would have been great to have heard him onstage: “New York State Freeway is closed, man!”

The Nick Gravenites Band is announced next. Gravenites is on the list of performers who will appear today, but he’s not on the schedule that has been handed out. It’s our first hint that the printed schedule probably won’t mean much today. Many musicians will be shuffled on and off the two stages.

Gravenites is seated through the set. He’s been in bad shape physically for some time. He did a song about his home town, Occidental, Ca. “When the Gas Station Left Town.” “Hamilton Camp wrote this one,” Gravenites growls before, “Pride of Man.” It’s one of the first recognizable classics from the Sixties played today. Some of the crowd rises up and does some Hippie dancing.

Gravenites tells the story of the next song. He wrote it for Janis Joplin. She had called him asking him to write her a song. He came up with “Buried Alive in the Blues.” She died the night before she was going to record it.

There were short speeches during the equipment changes. It sounded a little like the old days, but the speeches were shorter. With all the acts scheduled, there wasn’t enough time for too much ranting and raving. Rabbi Joseph Langer prayed for peace. Robert Perela from United Light spoke.

Artie Cornfield comes onstage. He was one of the promoters of Woodstock. He’s seen in the Woodstock movie looking extremely chemically altered and giddy, even though he’s just learned the festival is a financial disaster. The young promoters are ruined, but they don’t look too concerned in that old reckless Sixties way. Cornfield still makes some money off Woodstock. He’s asked if he ever thought the festival would still be celebrated forty years later. “I can’t believe it!” he says. They never imagined the spirit of that weekend would last for forty years. They didn’t expect anything to last for forty years.

West Fest is not as massive as the Bluegrass festival held here a couple of weeks ago, but it’s still a huge crowd. There is great sound all day. There wasn’t long delays between acts, an accomplishment in itself with all the musicians and equipment moving around. I noticed a few more police in attendance than the Bluegrass festival, but that may have been because they weren’t spread out all over the Park. They did keep a low profile.

We could see many people in the backstage area, especially where it came close to the stage. Through the day, people crowded close for a great view and became part of the backdrop.

Country Joe McDonald is next. “Are You Ready.” They did the song: “Entertainment Is My Business” with some hand clapping participation by the crowd. Country Joe leads the F cheer and then sings “Fixing to Die Rag.” That one always gets the crowd going. They play an odd combination of the music from the Donovan song “Season of the Witch” but with the lyrics of “For What It’s Worth.”

The guy next to us has a tarp spread out with a cart on it. He’s got long gray hair and a beard and looks like an old traveler. When Country Joe comes onstage he starts yelling, “Look how old he is!” He keeps yelling about how old Country Joe is. This guy yelling looked like he could have been seventy. Country Joe didn’t look as old as he did. It made me wonder what the guy expected.

You’ve got to expect some smoking at this event, and for the first time I see an attempt at enforcement of the ban on smoking in San Francisco parks. Some women next to us are burning about a cord of sage. A woman in a Park Ranger uniform came by and made them put it out. She threatened other evil doers with a ticket, “No smoking of ANYTHING in the Park!” Park Rangers do have some authority in the Golden Gate Park, but it was still a little weird. She wandered away and after she left and half the crowd she passed through lit up.

Michael McClure and Ray Manzarek brought their combination of music and spoken word. Manzarek played great keyboards while McClure recited his poetry. I had to think that if Morrison was alive, this might be what he’d be doing. McClure sounded like Morrison at times, but he is a Beat Poet, not a Rock Idol. The last poem ended with a line that he repeated a couple of times, “Silver and Blackishness .... Silver and Blackishness ...” Who would have thought, Michael McClure, a Raider fan?

We went for a walk. At the other end of Speedway Meadows there was a smaller stage, The East Stage. We passed the army of vendors who were set up in long rows of booths. This must be the big one. If you sell Sixties stuff you have to make an appearance at this event, even if it’s just for the advertising and word of mouth. The possibility of future events could depend on if the vendors make money. Just about anything Peace and Love related is for sale. There are the usual trinkets: jewelry, beads, clothes. Many booths offer posters. There are at least twenty posters for today’s event. The Leather and Lace booth offers an interesting diversion. Stanley Mouse is autographing posters at one booth.

The scene at the East stage is much different from “the big stage.” It’s easy to walk up close to the stage. There is a smaller, more laid back crowd here. There aren’t too many big names appearing on this stage, but it would have made a good event by itself.

The group onstage has an interesting sound. There is a guitar player, a bass, drums and a cello. It’s Mitchell Holman from It’s a Beautiful Day. The cello player uses his bow on the cello like Jimmy Page. After a spacey jam, Holman tells us his two sons are with him onstage today.

People are crowded on top of a couple of buses on the road to stage right. One of the buses has “Furthur’ on the bus’s destination sign above the windshield. People are dancing on top of the bus. It really does look like a scene from the Sixties.

We thought of staying for Peter Kaukonen, but there was some kind of delay or schedule mixup onstage. The MC made odd threats that if any in the crowd left, “You’ll be zapped by bolts of Sixties energy.” Well, isn’t that what we came here for? Then he promised us “a lot of percussion” would be coming up with Soul Medic. We started wandering back. The percussionists did sound good. They were a professional group that sounded much better than the impromptu groups that hang out at Hippie Hill.

We headed back to the main stage. There is an odd combination of musicians onstage. We could hear the surviving Chambers Brother, Lester, belting out “Time Has Come Today.” Ronnie Montrose came out for “Bad Motor Scooter” and then led a version of “Child In Time,” a song from the Deep Purple In Rock album. It’s one of my favorites, but the music did seem to stray from the Woodstock theme as the day went on.

David and Linda LaFlamme were among the group onstage and played “White Bird” another anthem from the bygone era. LaFlamme’s violin soared during another highlight of the day.

Again, the schedule means nothing, but it’s strange. The acts are not running behind schedule, everything is happening ahead of schedule!

David Hilliard of the Black Panther Party speaks. He says the Black Panthers were at Woodstock. Most of the political speakers point out that things look worse than forty years ago. Now there are two wars that people don’t want. There’s unemployment, and the effects of the economic meltdown. “But we did elect Obama.” Maybe it’s the start of better things, Hilliard says.

Harvey Mandel and the Snake Band. He plays two greasy Blues instrumentals and then “Wade in the Water.” The set brings a bit of edge to the event.

Between acts Bettina Aptheker speaks. She is a radical feminist from Santa Cruz. She spoke at our daughter Anita’s graduation. It’s hard to hear her. It’s one of the few times the sound gives out today.

“Kantner and Family” will represent the Jefferson Airplane sound today. It’s another group whose name has been tied up in legal battles. They toured the country this summer in package groups celebrating the Woodstock anniversary.

They blast into “Somebody To Love” and sound like The Jefferson Airplane of old. Cathy Richardson sings and she does sound like Grace. (We had seen Richardson as Janis Joplin in the play “Janis.”) They keep the Airplane vibe going with “Three-fifths of a Mile in Ten Seconds.” There’s a Starship tune, “Jane” and then back to vintage Airplane with “The Other Side of This Life.”

They sound great, sharp. They’ve been touring so there are no cobwebs, there’s no struggling to get to know each other. Most of the crowd is standing and rocking. It’s hard to see what’s going on onstage, but I do spot David Freiberg. He’s been joining in throughout the day. (He was onstage during both Barry Melton and Country Joe.) Slick Aguilar is playing guitar. It’s another great appearance by the Airplane/Starship in Golden Gate Park. Speedway Meadow has always been their stage. Most acts get about twenty minutes stage time today. “Kantner and Family” gets double that.

They start “White Rabbit” and there’s that knowing recognition of the song from the crowd. Heads nod. This song always gets the psychedelic nostalgia going. “We’ll leave you dancing,” Kantner says and they rock “Volunteers.” We always depend on the Airplane/Starship or at least Kantner to put on the great Rock show in the Park, and they don’t let us down. The crowd rocks out to the spirit of “Volunteers.”

“Kantner and Family” ends at about three. It’s early but some people do start leaving. I hear some people say, “That’s what we came for,” as they pick up. It’s getting a little windy but it’s still sunny in the Park.

I’ll quote the schedule for the next act: “Alameda All Stars (Gregg Allman’s Band) Denny Laine (of Paul McCartney, Wings, Moody Blues); Leslie West (Mountain)”

They do a version of “All Shook Up” followed by “a new song” called “Street Talking.” Denny Laine is announced. He sings “Go Now.”

There’s a little introduction to the next song. “Forty years ago Joe Cocker appeared in front of that huge crowd and did this song.” “A Little Help From My Friends.” It’s not Joe Cocker singing, but it does have the Woodstock feel and spirit to it.

“How many of you were AT Woodstock?” the MC asks. There isn’t much of a response. Woodstock was really just a movie for most of us, or an album you could put on at parties. We didn’t slog in the mud or camp out for three nights, but we did have the three record set that livened up many a party in the Seventies. The Sly and the Family Stone songs were guaranteed to get people up dancing.

Our MC points out the synchronicity that Leslie WEST is appearing at WEST Fest. They do the old Freddie King song, “Down, Down, Down.” West has lost some weight. He doesn’t look as physically imposing as he used to with that big girth and over sized Afro, but he still rips on guitar. The band trades some great Blues licks, but they’re just warming up for the next one. There’s the cowbell count down, and then the opening riff blasts the crowd. “Mississippi Queen!” West rips on guitar and the crowd gets moving. It’s the Heavy Mental highlight of the day!

We decide to walk around again. There are so many vendors it’s worth another look. There are many causes, petitions and smoking accessories. Most of the petitions are for legalizing marijuana. Some of the cannabis activists have rented booths, but many wander the crowd or set up ironing boards or some other kind of table. It’s a worthy cause, but I assume most of the activists are getting paid to get signatures.

There’s a booth selling marijuana candy. There is “Kush” and “Sticky Icky, All Natural Medicated.” There is “Hot Buttered Pot Corn” “Chronic Candy” and “Hemp Iced Tea.” There sure are many ways to ingest marijuana.

People walked around like human billboards, proselyting their favorite cause. There was shopping bag guy. His costume was all shopping bags and statistics on shopping bag abuse. There were people carrying picket signs for many causes including one that said: “955 architects and engineers want new 9/11 investigations. Google A E 9/11” So many conspiracy theories, so little time. People walked around handing out free “California Condoms.” “Spare the Air” cards for free rides on BART were passed out.

One booth offered “Musical Rarities” CDs and DVDs of vintage live performances. The proprietor had some great stuff for sale in his booth, but business didn’t look too good. He was partying though. He was blasting the Rolling Stones appearance on The Hollywood Palace. It’s the one where Dean Martin roasts them during the introduction. Have to give this guy credit. He was determined to have a good time.

We passed two guys at a table getting signatures for the Legalize Marijuana Initiative. They were blatantly smoking a big joint. It looked like something out of Cheech and Chong. It must have been good. They were giggling and laughing it up.

It wasn’t all fun and games though: “Major Catastrophic Earthquake coming September 2010. Severe infrastructure damage to hit! Do not get trapped! Details on 2ww4.blogspot.com.”

Hundreds of CDs were passed out free. “Celebrate the New Age of Earth. “An inspiring, Magical, Mystical, Musical Odyssey.”

There was the Alcatraz Conversion Project. Now was the time to convert the site of the cruel prison to “The Global Peace Center.” There were drawings of the future utopian institution.

A booth offered small ads that looked like U.S. Currency. The bills drew attention to the government’s complicity in 9/11. George W. Bush was on the face of the bill. “Unmask State Sponsored Terrorism.” 911blogger.com. Towers of Deception, New World Order. It’s all here.

The Eco Dome is a large geodesic dome set up a bit away from the main stage. It had room inside for small performances. There was some bell ringing and singing going on in the crowded Dome. Flyers were passed out: “Join us for Global Peace and Love Meditations at The Ecodome. “WITH SACRED HARMONIC INSTRUMENTS IN A CRYSTAL AMPLIFIED SETTING.” Outside the Eco Dome was The Bike Stage. It’s a smaller area for local younger bands. We passed through later in the day and people were rocking to a young group.

I usually lurk while Kathy shops. I spotted these guys setting up a small table in the aisle formed between the rows of vendors. They set up some portable pig nose amps and started blasting. It was some kind of guerilla musical attack. You could hear music from the other stages until these guys set up. They were loud, and they were terrible. (Even to my high tolerance.) I’m not sure what motivated these guys. We wandered off one way. They went the other.

Another interesting booth was the Daly City chapter of the Hell’s Angels. I don’t think they were actively recruiting, but they had paid for a booth and the privileges that come with that. It looked like it enabled them to bring in supplies easier.

The event was a big opportunity for many vendors. There were many who wandered the crowd without having to pay for booth space. People sold bongs, cookies, brownies and other baked goods. No beer or alcohol was sold at the event. This set up the giant BYO situation. Entrepreneurs wandered the crowd selling cans of beer.

Aaron “Pieman” Kay spoke from onstage. He was a member of the Yippies. He told us yes, he’s the guy who smashed cream pies in all those politicians faces in the Sixties! I vaguely remembered his antics, but I don’t think many in the crowd knew who this guy was.

We get to the East Stage to hear Joli Valenti sing the Hippie anthem, “Let’s Get Together.” The act is listed on the schedule as “Valenti and Tony Saunders.” The crowd is getting into the Peace and Love classic. “C’mon people now, smile on your brothers.” There were rare, almost quaint good vibes during the song. Maybe they should have been on the main stage.

The whole crowd was well behaved. I never saw anything close to a fight all day. Things were still a lot more relaxed at The East Stage. We could not only see, but we could walk up to the front.

There were still weirdos here. Every bohemian, beatnik, Hippie low life in the Bay Area had to be in Golden Gate Park today, wearing their strangest getups. Everybody is a star. Get your craziest tee shirt out of the closet. The crowd was mostly aging survivors of the Hippie era, but there were a good number of young people here too. It was good to see that the entire crowd was not all Baby Boomers.

Glitter Guy was walking around. He’s hitting these free events almost as often as Frank Chu. Glitter Guy is covered head to toe in a costume of silver and glitter. He has a metallic mask that makes him look like some hybrid of high tech and tribal. He speaks through a synthesizer that makes his voice robotic. What is he? A robot? An alien?

People take his picture and he wants donations for that. It is a great costume and it looks like he’s making some money. He’s arguing with a black guy. I’m not sure if the brother wants a picture for free or is suggesting some kind of collaboration. “I’m not about that,” says Glitter Guy.

A group had started a Peace Garden. They had supplied stones, flowers and other things to add to a big peace symbol. Kathy got into it and decorated a small part of the growing garden. It reminded me of the sand paintings Tibetan monks made. It was a nice, spontaneous piece of art that would have a short life.

There had been strange combinations of musicians playing onstage all day. Ronnie Montrose was joined by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads for “Candy” and “Bad Motor Scooter.” Not all the music today was from the Sixties. They did “Life During Wartime,” The Talking Heads song. “This ain’t no disco!” It’s another song the crowd really got into and sang along to.

Some young people have been handing out a small newspaper all day. It looks like another Woodstock tribute on the cover, but inside the articles point out how we lost the way. The Hippie dreams of Peace and Love had been subverted and perverted. We can learn more on their web site. “The Twelve Tribes of the Commonwealth” will show us the way back with our Lord and Savior. There’s an ad for a book in the paper about fighting “deprogrammers.” “Don’t be confused by the 'Cult Scare!'" “Call us toll-free, 24 hours a day!” It reminded me that ’69 was also the anniversary of the Manson murders.

“The Original Low Rider Band (with Lee Oskar)” Most of the original members of War are in this group. Another legal battle was lost, and they can’t bill themselves as “War.” The MC doesn’t care, “They can’t say it, but I can,” and he introduces them as “War!” “Cisco Kid” “Low Rider” “Why Can’t We Just Be Friends.” They get a great reception. Forget the Woodstock old Hippie stuff. It’s party time! Most of the crowd is up and dancing.

We knew there was more to come, but we left at about 5:00. It had been another great event in the Park run by Boots Hughston and the 2B1 Records people. Kantner and others have lobbied for a yearly event like this. The locals lobby against it, but free music in the Park is a part of San Francisco History.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is an event that continues to amaze. I’ve been to eight of the nine held. There was only one stage at the first one and about ten thousand people. It was a nice event, but how long would it last? How many people would show up for a Bluegrass Festival? Even for free? It has exploded, and it’s hard to believe it is getting bigger. I can’t remember what year it became “Hardly Strictly” Bluegrass. That opened the door to having acts that attracted a wider range of fans, especially younger fans. Music fans across the country plan their vacations around going to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. It’s usually held on the first weekend in October.

And it’s free! It’s all bankrolled by Warren Hellman. He says it’s a gift to himself. The crowds are huge. Locals complain about the effects on traffic, parking and the Park itself, but it’s become a huge event for the City. The San Francisco Examiner estimated that 800,000 people attended this year. It also reported that there were two arrests for public drunkenness. Some in the crowd may be oblivious to what’s going on onstage, but it is amazing that there aren’t a lot more of the problems that come with a crowd of that size.

This August had been the Fortieth Anniversary of Woodstock. The media had been going nuts with stories about the counter culture milestone. Network news had a Woodstock story every day for a week. NBC tracked down the couple pictured hugging on the cover of the Woodstock album. There was the usual debate on the effects of the counterculture. Hardly Strictly is like Woodstock every year, without the camping out.

The festival goes Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday is turning out to be the best day to go. There’s only one stage going, The Banjo Stage. It opens with a morning show for school kids. MC Hammer makes an appearance. When people see him on the schedule they have to wonder, MC Hammer at a Bluegrass Festival? Well, it is “Hardly Strictly” Bluegrass.

I arrive early. Volunteers at an Information Booth are greeting people by yelling: “Happy Hardly Strictly Bluegrass!” like it’s Christmas. It is Christmas for Bluegrass and music fans.

Warren Hellman comes onstage to open the festivities. There’s a big ovation for the man who pays for everything. “You guys are going to make me cry,” he says. He introduces Poor Man’s Whiskey. They had to be announced as “PMW” at the kid’s show. They didn’t want to use the W word.

We had just seen Poor Man’s Whiskey at Cafe DuNord. Kathy had won tickets from radio station KPIG. They’re one of the bands that brings in a younger crowd. They do a funny song about their parent’s adventures in the Sixties, “Easy Come, Easy Go.” It’s an odd song about life in the Haight forty years ago. The keyboard player had a great long psychedelic solo. “Shanghai” is “A song that has everything ... Whiskey, women and the Barbary Coast.”

They have a CD “Dark Side of the Moonshine” that is a Bluegrass version of “Dark Side of the Moon.” They do each song from the album note for note with banjoes and fiddles. It’s an amusing recording. Two of the singers met at Hardly Strictly last year. They just got married! “This means they can now discuss issues like the one that will be covered in the next song,” “PMS.” Two female singers come onstage to help with this one. They close with “Good Friends of Mine.”

The MC tells us that he was just in Jacksonville, Kentucky. He noticed that everyone there seemed to be a bit depressed. Everyone was “a bit hang dog.” What was going on? “All the Bluegrass has gone to San Francisco.”

The music they play on the PA during the break sounds familiar. It takes me a while to figure out it’s a Bluegrass version of Led Zeppelin’s arrangement of “Hangman!” Then there’s a version of “Whole Lotta Love” with banjoes and mandolins wailing.

There are many Rage Against the Machine and “The Nightwatchman” tee shirts in the crowd. Tom Morello has a lot of fans here to see him. He is very active politically. He’s alone onstage with an acoustic guitar and plays rebel songs for the Twenty-First Century. “One Man Revolution.” “Guerrilla Radio.” “The Fabled City” (“San Francisco IS the fabled City!”) His whole set is solo. He even does one song while playing only a hand held drum. “This is a song I did for the soundtrack to the movie ‘Sicko.’” “Alone Without You”

Steve Earle and Allison Maurer join him onstage for Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.” “The REAL national anthem!” Morello is sure using the F word a lot. He’s trying to whip the crowd up for some audience participation. “OK, everybody stand up.” (They do.) He wants them to do some call and response. (They don’t.)

We meet my sister Joan and two of her friends. She’s excited to see John Prine. We spread a blanket pretty far in the back, but she goes up for a closer look. Some fans have come today just to see John Prine. He started playing in Chicago and was a member of “the second wave” of Folk music.

“Picture Show” “Grandpa Was a Carpenter” “Whistle While You Fish”

He does a great version of “Angel of Montgomery.” The crowd seems to settle down for a while and are actually listening. It’s a great song and one of the many highlights of the weekend. “Bear Creek Blues.” “Crooked Piece of Tape” “I Didn’t Hurt Nobody” “Souvenirs”

Prine did demand some respect from the crowd, but as the set goes on the crowd around us starts chattering, maybe because we’re so far from the stage. OK, so it is a bar. There were certainly more people here than when Prine started playing at The Earl of Old Town.

The headliner tonight is Lyle Lovett and His Big Band. It’s an example of how great this festival is. I see acts I wouldn’t go out and pay to see. Lyle and the band look very show business. They are all in suits and ties. The band does an instrumental warm up piece “Jump My Chicken.” “Here I Am” “I Will Rise Up” They do a mournful song from the movie Dead Man Walking, “Promises.” Prine comes back and joins in “Loretta.” “She Don’t Talk To Me Anymore”

Friday’s crowd is not as massive as it will be later this weekend, when there will be five more stages. The crowd is pretty laid back. It’s certainly not a Heavy Mental crowd. There are still some characters. If you’re living in the park anyway, you might as well check out the show. I’ll admit I do have a tendency to dwell on the negative members of a crowd. Maybe you just notice the bad kids more.

There was a group of about thirty near a path in the back. Many had the homeless sun tan. Again, most of the crowd is well behaved, but these guys looked pretty crazy. They looked like they lived in the bushes. They weren’t really doing anything, but they did make a point of blocking the path when an attractive woman walked by. Maybe I just noticed people like this more on Friday. They would get lost in the masses during the next two days. You’ve got to expect to see some crazy hillbillies at a Bluegrass festival!

I spotted a lone San Francisco police officer. He was not with a partner. Kind of unusual. One of the homeless group yelled over to him, “Hey, Officer Fat Ass!” Did this guy just want to get arrested? The lone cop ignored him.

There was a lot of smoking despite announcements from onstage. A couple of years ago all smoking was banned in San Francisco parks. It’s one of those laws that is seldom enforced. People are using the safety of being in the crowd to light up.

Some young ladies were living their Hippie fantasy. They wore peasant dresses and granny glasses. People came over and asked, but it was obvious they certainly didn’t mind having their pictures taken.

The crowd’s attention seemed to wander during some of the quieter, slower songs. Inevitable, I guess. Even this seems better than past years. There’s not as much rampant cell phone use. Maybe it’s because they’re texting. I don’t want to be a total grouch about it. Most of this music did start in bars, but sometimes you have to wonder, why did they even bother coming out here? Oh yeah, they have to make the scene.

Lovett closes with some Honky Tonk Texas style Rock that gets the crowd going.

Saturday.

Friday there is one stage going. Today there are six. The dynamic changes. People show up early to get spots. People set up tarps and wander from stage to stage. It looks like people are not being as obnoxious about taking up space as in previous years. Maybe it’s one of those things I accept about Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. I like to wander, but it is good to have a spot for a while.

I was honored to ride and arrive with two members of The Albany All-Stars, long time colleague John Stuber and The All-Stars’ fiddle player, David Rice. (Check out “The Albany All-Stars” on Youtube. Not to be confused with the Roller Derby team.) Mandolin player Joe Risconi didn’t make it today.

I’ll admit that I’m more of a Heavy Metal guy, so many of these song titles are approximations. Corrections are welcomed. Half the fun of doing this is learning more about the acts I see at Hardly Strictly.

I had taken a look at the schedule on the Hardly Strictly web site. One thing about this event is that there are sometimes hard choices to make. I decided to check out the “rare appearance” by Marshall Crensaw at the Rooster Stage. He had been well hyped in the press that week. He’s been called “the critic’s favorite.”

Sleepy John Estes from radio station KPIG is the MC on the Rooster Stage. It’s 11:00 a.m. when Crenshaw says, “I’m not used to being excited this early in the morning.”

“Fantastic Planet of Love” “Stormy River” “Hurry On” “I’m Never Coming Down”

“Live and Learn. (It’s Your Turn)” “Someday Someway” “Someone Told Me” He does a Richard Thompson cover: “Valerie.”

“Here’s one I wrote with Richard Julian,” “Stormy River.” “Hurry On (Just Passing Through?)” One from the oldies bag: “There She Goes Again.” “There she goes with another guy again. Hope she finds what she’s looking for.”

“Somebody has to do a Buddy Holly song,” Crenshaw tells the crowd. “Crying” (Can’t get you off of my mind.) “I’m Never Coming Down”

A guy is carrying a life sized cardboard cutout of Obama. It would be quite a statement, carrying that thing around all day.

Buddy Miller is the first act on the new Towers of Gold Stage. The new stage would honor Warren Hellman’s grandfather, the first mogul in the family. I’d seen Buddy Miller play at past Hardly Strictly Festivals and didn’t want to miss him. So, I crossed John F. Kennedy drive, which was a maze of cyclone fences and got there in time for the first song, “Daisy.”

“Too Far Gone” I hadn’t noticed it before, but his voice sounds like Alvin Lee! It’s time for the first big surprise cameo of the festival. Emmy Lou Harris joins him for “Gasoline and Matches.” She’s the darling of Hardly Strictly and the crowd has a loud warm reaction to her appearance onstage. They do “I’ve Got a Wide River to Cross.”

I’m tempted to go back to The Star Stage, but decide to hear one more. The crowd roars when special guest Robert Plant is announced. He does a couple of Zeppelinesque yodels to warm up. The song sounds a bit familiar. It’s “Movin’ On” the old Hank Thompson song once covered by the Rolling Stones. Buddy Miller, Plant and the band rock out!

Some in the crowd can’t believe it’s Plant. I can hear them asking, “Is it really him?” Plant did appear at last year’s Friday night show.

“Sea of Heartbreak” “Leave My Woman Alone” Kathy says it’s “Whatcha Going to Do, Leroy” by Lefty Frizell.

I have to admit if I’d missed this one, I would have been mad. The two acts I’d seen already were a great start to the day. It was a great opening for The Towers of Gold Stage.

I go back to the Star Stage for “Roger Knox & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts (Presenting the Aboriginal Country & Western Songbook.)” It’s another example of the width and breadth of the festival. Australian Country and Western! The band is carrying on without Roger Knox who was denied a visa. Immigration officials had decided that he’s some kind of threat to America. Jon Langford does appear with The Cosmonauts. He makes a reference to another wild event in San Francisco, The Folsom Street Fair. “You should see the S and M Fair they have here!”

“I Love a Millionaire” “Ticket to Nowhere” “Taking Me Back” “Seminoles”

There are a couple of members of The Sadies with them. “The Sadies are the best group ever!” someone says from onstage. I’m really winging it with some of these song titles: “Looking Good for Radio” “Get Rhythm (When You Get Blues)” “He Needs a Little Love at Closing Time”

Kathy had gone to the Rooster Stage to see Jorma Kaukonen, but I decided to stay put. I already wanted to give the legs a rest. Kathy reports that he played “Come Back Baby” and “San Francisco Bay Blues.”

We stay at the Star Stage for Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women. They had their debut at last year’s Hardly Strictly. It was an experiment last year, and the band worked well enough to record and tour all year. They start with a jaunty Cajun “Marie Marie.” Laurie Lewis has come over from the Banjo Stage to play fiddle. “She’s the Hardly Strictly cover girl!” Dave Allan tells us. “Weight of the World is on Me.”

Dave Alvin says the band has recently lost a member. Amy Farris, their fiddle player, had passed away a couple of days ago after a long illness. It’s a sad moment, but the band plays on. “Simple Way” “Has She Got a Friend?”

“The next song is a song of sorrow and triumph.” “Bury Me In Potter’s Field.”

Krissy McWilson joins for “Abilene.” Alvin sure does look slick, even in a cowboy hat and jeans. He’s a music business veteran. Alvin tells us that anyone thinking of getting in the music business should be warned: “Being a musician can be harmful to your health.”

“Here’s a song that is one hundred per cent true.” It’s about the old music club The Ash Grove in Los Angeles. “Everybody played there.” Alvin reminisces on hanging out at the club with “The Boss of the Blues” Big Joe Turner. The Ash Grove eventually burned down. Allan returns there every time he plays this song.

They close with a strange one. The old Doris Day hit, “Que Sera, Sera.” “Whatever will be, will be.” I remember hearing it on the radio when I was a kid. They do country rock it up.

We go back to The Towers of Gold Stage to catch some of The Old 97s. This year Stuber was looking for acts he hadn’t seen before. Usually we camp at the Rooster stage, but it was intolerable last year. People kept crowding into a limited space. Most of the other stages have room to spread out, but The Rooster Stage is in Marx Meadow. It’s not a big area and people can’t spread out. Even in Golden Gate Park it can be a bit claustrophobic.

We hear The Old 97s do “A Guilty Thing” and then an old Bob Wills song, “The Bedroom Walls.” “I’m Going Over the Cliff” “I need To Know Where I Stand” “Sweet Blue Eyed Darling.” A big crowd has gathered to see this band. Most seem to be younger folks. Exene Cervenka, the singer from the L.A. punk rock pioneers X joins for “Four Leafed Clover.”

We live near Golden Gate Park. Musicians on several of the stages comment on how great it is to perform in a place that is so beautiful. Each stage has a rustic looking screen backdrop, but it is transparent enough to see the trees of Golden Gate Park through it. It’s clear and sunny, a great weather day in the Park.

We go back to The Star Stage for Nick Lowe. At least they are the two stages “next” to each other. It is a little hike each time we go to another stage. Lowe plays most of the set solo and acoustic.

“Simple Way” “Has She Got a Friend” “Heart of the City” “Same Old Man” “I Live On a Battlefield” “Cruel To Be Kind” “Here’s a song I wrote with Elvis Costello,” “What’s So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding”

Elvis Costello had been a presence at this festival in past years. He usually does his own set and guests during the weekend at other stages. He’s not here this year.

We went back to the Banjo Stage. There’s an unbelievable amount of people there. We went around to the side and even found a picnic table where we sat for a while. It was a bit of a luxury after hiking through the crowds. We couldn’t see the stage much, but we were content to hang out there for Gillian Welch. They did a great version of “Novocaine.” Emmy Lou Harris joined for “It’s Too Easy.” Again the crowd warmly greets her. “I’ll Fly Away” (Old Glory)”

Members of The Old Crow Medicine Show join her onstage for “The Dream Locomotive.” They do a version of The Band’s song, “The Weight.” The crowd really enjoys this one and joins in on the singing.

It had been a great weather day, but the wind started picking up, as it will do in Golden Gate Park in the late afternoon. We could see mini-dust devils whirling around. A small tower that held The Banjo Stage’s schedule on a tall sign almost blew over. This year some of the last acts wouldn’t end until eight o’clock! We started heading back to the car, which was parked past the buffalo paddock. We would stop at stages on the way.

Usually seeing the next act alone would be worth going out, The Flatlanders. “Featuring Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock.” “Hello Stranger” “Baby Do You Love Me Still.” It’s a great group of musicians but things are getting more uncomfortable in the wind and it’s getting cold. We reluctantly move on to The Towers of Gold Stage, which is on the way to the car.

We get to that stage and it’s rocking with Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives. It’s another reason for going to Hardly Strictly. I never heard of these guys. It’s real old Rock and Roll. Marty Stuart looks like a crazy show business cowboy. (Reminds me of the old joke: They do both kinds of music, Country AND Western!) Their music has a Fifties flavor. The guitars almost sound like Surf music at times. “I Met My Baby at the Choctaw Fair.”

Marty Stuart has “big” slicked back hair. These guys are the real deal. They sound like they could play the toughest Honky Tonk in the old days. There are crosses on Marty Stuart’s jacket. Looks like he’s been Born Again, but he still looks like one crazy dude. They do “Branded” another rocker. It’s great Rock and Roll as we make it back to the car at about seven o’clock.

Sunday. We get to the Towers of Gold stage at about 11:15 for Marley’s Ghost with special guest Cowboy Jack Clement. Clement was playing at the Sun recording session when they decided to try something a little bit different, Rock and Roll. There’s some hype in the local press about Clement’s appearance at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. It is a piece of music history onstage. He does look ancient.

“The Story of Job” “The Farmer’s Song” “My Love Will Not Change” “Candy Store” (“She worked in a candy store.”) “What’s that picture in your wallet?” Oh, it’s “Just a Girl I Used to Know”

After the set a young guy comes up to us and wants to talk. We should stay for Dr. Dog. “He’s like if McCartney was still really doing his thing!” Great. I’m glad there’s something for the kids, but we’re going to see Booker T. We walked by Elvis In Dearland at The Star Stage. We didn’t linger. We wanted to get to The Arrow Stage for Booker T & The Drive-By Truckers. I’d seen The Drive-By Truckers tear it up at last year’s festival. They make a great combination with Booker T. They have been appearing and recording together. It was full circle for me. Booker T & The MGs played with Albert King at the first big free show I saw in Grant Park in Chicago.

They play at The Arrow Stage which is at one end of Speedway Meadows. The crowd stretches for a long way towards the Polo Fields. They play old Booker T & The MGs classics and some new songs. It’s great to see Booker T onstage. He’s the master of the Hammond B3 organ. Is there any more recognizable iconic riff than the one from “Green Onions?” Where it all started.

“Time Is Tight” The encore is “Dock of the Bay” and it fits perfectly into a Bay Area appearance. There’s some Sixties nostalgia, with The Drive By Truckers providing a link to today’s music.

We went back to The Star Stage to see The Chieftains. How often do you get to see a historic, legendary act like this? We hear an Irish reel as we get there. There are Irish step dancers onstage in traditional costume. Then they play “Wabash Cannonball.” There is a teaser riff of “Satisfaction.” Some of the Rolling Stones have recorded with The Chieftains. They play “The Rocky Road to Dublin.”

“March Across the Rio Grande” The first of several guests joins: Los Centaurus, a Spanish Folk dance act. Rosa Flores sings with Los Centaurus. Tim O’Brien comes onstage for “Sweet Georgia Brown.” They close with some rocking Irish music. The crowd loves them and The Craic is grand!

We’ve been avoiding the crowded Rooster Stage. Stuber’s goal this year is to see someone new, or at least someone he hasn’t seen before. So, we check out Rodney Crowell at The Arrow Stage. Crowell tells the crowd about his brother who was gay and was turning tricks down in L.A. Eventually he was a victim of AIDS. Crowell plays “Rent Boy.” It’s certainly a sad song, and I have to give Crowell credit for singing about something that must have been very painful to him. Rosa Flores guests and they do “Like a River.”

It’s day three and we’re starting to drag a bit, but we pour it on for the end. It is only once a year. We’ll do one giant lap and catch acts as we go to the Porch Stage, the eastern entrance to the festival. Then we’ll circle back to the car. We decide to see some of “the old guys.”

Earl Scruggs and a great band are playing “Easy Chair” when we get there. They’re at the Banjo Stage. We go towards the back of the stage. At this point we don’t care how close we get. We can’t get into the backstage area, but there’s an interesting view from a small hill behind the stage. The crowd is huge. We get a bit of the musicians view and the crowd looks Biblical in dimension.

What Earl Scruggs appearance would be complete without “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” the theme song from The Beverly Hillbillies? That song has to be the first Bluegrass many Baby Boomers heard.

Warren Hellman comes onstage and joins Scruggs and Co. for “When the Cold Winds Blow.” Hellman has his arm in a sling, but he plays banjo anyway. He does make cameo appearances all over the festival. He’s an able musician with a love for the music, and he is paying all the bills. They play an odd version of “Lady Madonna.”

“Rolling In My Sweet Baby’s Arms” “All Night Long”

The band really lets loose for the finale: “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.”

We headed to The Porch Stage. It has acts that are not as well known. The crowd and atmosphere is very different here. It’s a small stage with a small crowd and a nice break from the huge crowds that are migrating from stage to stage. Any stage at this festival would be a great event by itself. I tell myself that someday I’m just going to sit at The Porch Stage for the whole thing.

The Brothers Comatose are onstage. They’re a young band. “Way to Reno.” “Keith Richards called me last night and asked us to do this song,” the singer tells us. “Dead Flowers.” They do a good and amusing cover. A red tailed hawk swoops overhead. They play a song called “Time To Go.” It’s bad timing on their part. The song sounds like something they use to finish a set, but then they play two more songs: “Turn It Around” and “Y’All Come.” Maybe they were asked to fill some time.

We leave The Porch Stage and start the long trek back to the car. We’ll stop at stages on the way out again. We’ve learned you can look at the schedule and try to plan, but after a while it’s a crap shoot. You just can’t see and hear as much as you want to at this festival. It’s almost a matter of chance what you’ll see.

Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys are jamming at the Banjo Stage. They’re playing “O Death” as we walk up. We stand behind the stage again and get the musicians’ view. The crowd really is impressive. It seems to go on forever towards the next stage.

People near the side of the stage are content to just sit on their blankets. There is a lot of smoking going on. We’re able to walk up and get a closer side view of the stage. They play “Katy Daly” an old Irish song I remember we sang as kids, “Come down the mountain Katy Daly, Come down the mountain Katy do.” It’s another Bluegrass Irish connection.

“Three Time Loser” “Nature’s Call” “Searching for His Grave” The last songs are long picking classics. Each member of the band gets a chance to solo in the spotlight. Each tries to upstage the others with their picking prowess. It’s a rousing finale!

John F. Kennedy Drive divides the festival in two. It has cyclone fences up so musicians and VIPS can scoot from stage to stage. People are now spreading blankets across the street from the part of the Park with the stages. They’ll take the spot even though they won’t be able to see anything. At least they will hear.

We’re headed to The Arrow Stage to see Todd Snider. He’s another guy I learned about at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. He does long hilarious monologues between songs. He tells us about his short high school football career. “Yeah, I played football.” There are laughs. It’s hard to imagine this slacker Hippie dude in a football uniform. “I was on the team!” he declares. He describes American high school football. You get out of school and change into uncomfortable clothes and then pound on each other. Coaches yell and berate you.

Snider began to notice that some students were slipping away into an area behind the football field. “What’s that?” “It’s The Smoke Pit,” another student informed him. “That’s where The Burnouts hang out and smoke cigarettes. He becomes more interested in the Burnouts than football. One day, one of The Burnouts offers him a hit of LSD at lunch time. Snider didn’t really know what he was getting himself into. He didn’t go to practice that day or ever again. He sings “One Shot At Having It All.”

“This is another song about psychedelic drugs and athleticism.” It’s a funny song, “America’s Favorite Pastime.” Dock Ellis was a major league pitcher who arrived at the ballpark one day not expecting to pitch, so he decided to take a hit of acid. (It was the Seventies.) For some reason he was moved up in the rotation and wound up pitching that day. He did walk about nine batters, but there wasn’t a single hit against him. The crowd loves it and exults when Snider sings the last line, “The day Dock Ellis pitched a no hitter while he was on LSD!” The last song is “White Conservative Christian” in which Snider tells us that he’s “A pot smoking, porn watching lazy ass Hippie.”

I see San Francisco’s demonstrating eccentric Frank Chu marching with his picket sign. He appears at just about every big gathering of people in the Bay Area. The top word on the sign is “Tedford.” It’s an odd, puzzling mention of the University of California’s football coach.

Marianne Faithful was appearing at The Towers of Gold Stage. Her appearance is another stretch for a Bluegrass Festival but it is Hardly Strictly. We were curious, but by the time we got to that stage she was long gone.

Kathy pointed out that The Knitters would be playing at The Rooster Stage. We were a bit cautious. The stage in Marx Meadows had been a crowded mess last year. We figured we’d hang in the back. I did want to see Exene, and it really wasn’t that crowded. Maybe it was because many people crowded to the front leaving gaps in the crowd.

Exene Cervenka is the singer from the Punk Rock band X. She and John Doe drifted into “Roots” and Americana music in the Eighties. Dave Alvin joins them. People are just sitting on blankets in the back. The front half of the audience was rocking though. It was more of a Punk Rock and Roll show with Exene, John Doe and Dave Alvin!

“Something to Brag About (With You)” “Poor Old Heartsick Me” They do a Dave Allan song: “Dry River” with the line: “Someday It’s Gonna to Rain” “Poor Little Critter on the Road”

There is some explanation of the next song. “The day after Obama’s inauguration I started thinking, what’s really different? It’s supposed to be a new world. Has anything really changed?” “This is supposed to be The New World”?

Exene: “Let’s do a Porter Waggoner song!” “Way To Go” “In This House I Call Home.” “Wear Some Lillies In My Hair” The band rocks: Fort Lauderdale has burnt to hell! Marx Meadow becomes a punk rock club for a short time.

That was about it for us. It was getting windy. The weather wasn’t as bad as it had been Saturday evening, but it was time to go. We knew that Malo, and then Little Feat would be playing at The Arrow Stage later. It was hard to pass up, but we kept going to the car. Eight hours was enough. People were streaming past us, headed in the opposite direction for the traditional Hardly Strictly finale, Emmy Lou Harris. We stopped for a break at a park bench near the Star Stage. We could hear Neko Case through the trees, but we couldn’t see anything. The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival was over for us for 2009.

We had heard great music, but we had missed some great acts. I had wanted to see The Austin Lounge Lizards, always a fun act, do “Too Big To Fail.” Boz Scaggs had gathered an all star band including Austin De Lone and James Cotton, but they were playing at the dread Rooster Stage while we were at Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women. It’s just an example of some of the choices that have to be made. At about the same time former Saturday Night Live comedian Steve Martin had drawn a huge crowd to The Banjo Stage. We missed Hazel Dickens, who we had seen almost every year. Clips started to appear on YouTube that night.