Panida to host rock legend Jim Messina

Tickets to go on sale March 10

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

When a summer concert with rock legend Graham Nash was announced recently, almost every seat in the house sold out within two hours. Get that credit card out because Too Far North Productions and Nightlife Network Northwest are again announcing a huge show on the Panida stage this May. Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee and founding member of the band credited with creating the genre of country rock, Jim Messina will play with his band to perform music from his days with Buffalo Springfield, Poco and Loggins & Messina. The iconic rocker will play at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 21 at the Panida Theater.

Reserved seating tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, March 10.Tickets will start at $39 and can be purchased online at panida. org. There are also a limited 30 VIP packages available with front orchestra seating and an after show “Conversation with Jim Messina.” the band’s third and final album in 1967, Messina replaced bass player Bruce Palmer and toured with the band up until the completion of the album Last Time Around

After Buffalo Springfield disbanded in 1968, Messina and fellow band member Richie Furay formed the band Poco, whose debut album received a perfect rating from Rolling Stone, laying the blueprint for a new musical genre that would thereafter be known as country rock. Let’s put it this way: before there was the Eagles, there was Jim Messina.

In 1970, Messina opened up his living room to record for an up and coming young songwriter named Kenny Loggins. Because the songs Loggins presented leaned more toward folk, Messina sat in while recording to incorporate a more upbeat sound into the album.

Jim Messina in concert

Sunday, May 21; 7:30 p.m.; tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 10 at panida.org. Panida Theater, 301 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191. For more information about Jim Messina, visit jimmessina.com.

Messina began working with the legendary band Buffalo Springfield in 1966 as a recording engineer on their second album Buffalo Springfield Again. After producing

Messina led the way as producer, arranger, vocalist and guitarist, contributing to signature songs that eventually found their way onto the album Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin’ In. The accidental duo was born, and over the next few years a series of albums would follow in rapid order. Loggins & Messina released in 1972, followed by Full Sail a year later, both the double-live On Stage and Mother

Lode in 1974, So Fine in 1975 and Native Sons the following year. In 1977, Loggins & Messina produced the aptly named Finale, culminating one of the wildest rides to the top by this unlikely duo. When the dust had settled, Loggins & Messina had sold 16 million albums and became one of rock’s biggest live draws. After his split with Loggins, Messina recorded four critically acclaimed solo albums, later reuniting with Poco for another album in 1989 before reuniting with Loggins for a series of live shows in 2004 and 2009. In recent years, Messina has released a couple of live albums that contain both video and audio from his musical body of work. Now, nearly half a century after first stepping into the studio with Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Richie Furay to engineer Buffalo Springfield Again, Messina is hitting the road with a band of acclaimed musicians to tour the country and play sold out shows, telling the stories and singing the songs that forever made him an iconic figure in music.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint

Headwaters, Matchwood Brewing, March 10 Way Down North, Eichardt’s Pub, March 11

Formerly known as BareGrass, local “multi-genre mountain music” outfit Headwaters packs a lot of artistic talent into its mix of acoustic guitar, upright bass, three-part harmony and drums.

John Edwards on the stand-up bass, Jared Johnston on guitar, Mick Taylor on drums and John Firshi on lead guitar lay down the bluegrass sound with a little mix of Grateful Dead and a hint of the blues. As Mattox Farm Produc- tions founder Robb Talbott told the Reader before Headwaters’ show at the Heartwood Center last summer, “They are about as tight as you can get bluegrass without it sounding artificial.” True that — they really are the real deal.

— Zach Hagadone

6-8:30 p.m., FREE. Matchwood Brewing, 513 Oak St., 208-7182739, matchwoodbrewing.com.

Just over the border in northwest Montana, Tina Bertram and Cory Chopp reel out Americana originals and covers as the duo Way Down North. Now they’re making the short trek out west to bring their mix of instrumentation — with Chopp on mandolin, guitar and vocals and Bertram on banjo, keyboard and vocals — to get way down at Eichardt’s Pub for a Saturday, March 11 show. And just in case you needed an- other recommendation, remember that Way Down North has opened for the likes of Railroad Earth, The Last Revel and no less than Shakey Graves. That’s what you call keeping good company.

— Zach Hagadone

7 p.m., FREE. Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St., 208-263-4005, eichardtspub.com. Listen at waydownnorth.band.

I watched the movie Room before reading the book by Emma Donoghue. I’m bummed I did, because even though the film was excellent, Donoghue’s book is a uniquely written novel about survival and the important bond a mother shares with her son. The story is told from a young boy’s perspective where he lives with Ma in Room, the 11-foot by 11foot space where they are both held captive. It’s a brutally honest book that will rock your emotions before uplifting your soul.

Read Listen

With the Panida Theater hosting rock legends like Graham Nash and Jim Messina (see left), it’s got me listening to some of my old favorites that have taken me miles down country roads over the years. One of my absolute favorite songs in the world is “Natural Beauty” from the seminal 1992 album Harvest Moon by Neil Young. The drop-D guitar and piercing harmonica are paired perfectly with Young’s high lonesome voice, culminating in one of the best songs you’ll ever listen to for more than 10 minutes.

Watch

The Academy Awards will air Sunday, March 12, but I will not be watching. After last year’s spectacle featuring Will Smith brutally slapping Chris Rock in the face because of a joke about Smith’s wife, I have grown tired of the elite continually getting away with things you and I would likely go to jail for. It was an assault — there’s no other way to frame it. But, a short time later, Smith was given the highest award an actor can attain — all while the audience applauded as if nothing had just happened. If you want to see a great take, google “Jim Carrey talks about Oscar slap” and be prepared for raw truth that stings.