There's plenty of perks living in the beautiful Hudson River Valley, in upstate New York. To name just one, I live 20 minutes from Woodstock and Levon Helm's house and his recording studio were just about every Saturday night they hold The Midnight Ramble. I was lucky enough to attend last nights Ramble in the Barn, it was filled with surprises.
For starters, my favorite little "Blues Man",Little Sammy Davis opened the show with his unbelievable harmonica sound. I have seen him several times in the past, and I love him!, he usually stands in place, shuffling his little feet back and forth to the music, last night he sat rather still in his chair, playing the Horner and singing the blues like no other. He proved once again, that he's still got it! I'm not sure how old he is, but he's got to be at least 80-plus years young.
The bold music of Mitch Rider and The Detroit Wheels provided the perfect warm up for Levon to follow. Rider, most notably remembered for is hit 'Devil With The Blue Dress On', rocked the doors off the barn! I have seen many of musical artists from yester-year, and let me tell you, Mitch hasn't lost a beat! his voice is as powerful as it ever was, and his talented band rocked right along with him. Mitch brought a special guest of his own, Jeff Miller. Jeff, a singer and song writer him self, jammed with Mitch and the wheels for an added little bonus for us.
Next up, Levon and his unbelievable cast of performers, I like to call them the baker's dozen. This talented group of musicians love what they do, it's evident in the sound that they put out, all you have to do is look at there smiling faces. Each of the musicians while individually terrific, together are inspirational. Levon was silent last night,recovering from throat surgery this past June, he's on strict orders from his Doctor to rest the vocals. However,the lack of singing didn't hold him back in the least. The GREAT news is that his prognosis is good, and there is NO SIGN of cancer. He proves him self on the drums, as one of the best of all time, but he also plays other instruments as well. During one number, he did a little hip gyrating dance number with his mandolin as his partner. His super talented crew was his voice last night, but he will be back and I'm sure better than ever!
The Ramble always proves to be a magical evening,you never know who might just show up. In walked Robbie Dupree, I thought we might get lucky enough to hear him, but something must have come up because he never did take the stage.
Another big bonus for us was, Grammy Award Winning,singer and song writer, Rodney Crowell just happened to be visiting a friends farm down the road,he thought what the hell, I'll go check out Levon's and see what's going on. Rodney once married to Roseanne Cash from 1979-1992, collaborated with his father-in-law, Johnny Cash, on the hit song 'Walk The Line'. Johnny Cash wasn't a fan of how Rodney changed the song around a bit, but ultimately was happy with the end result. Rodney ruled the country charts, and in 1988 he had five #1 hits,and in 1989 he had two #1's.
It's not called the Midnight Ramble for nothing, Levon and his guests ramble, and rock till the end, and the end didn't come last night till Jim Weider took the stage. Weider was lead guitarist(replacing Robbie Robertson)with The Band from 1985-1999. Jim is a native of Woodstock and while a teenager,he met Levon Helm. He has preformed and recorded with such musicians as, Bob Weir, Keith Richards, and Dr John.
It's not just any ones house that you can go to were the living room is filled with legends. If you have never been to a Ramble you had better check it out, and give yourself plenty of notice because it sells out fast.
www.levonhelm.com
www.rodneycrowell.com
www.jimweider.com
e-mail Jeff@esientertainment.com
for Little Sammy Davis go to Levon Helm's site
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment