WEDNESDAY, JULY 9 Thompson Gunning – Once a frequent visitor to Sings Like Hell at the Lobero and the Live Oak Music Festival, the great English guitarist/singer-songwriter Richard Thompson hasn’t played in town for too many years. One of the founders of Fairport Convention, the band that fairly invented British folk-rock, Thompson went on to form a duo with his then-wife, Linda, that put out several classic albums, including Shoot Out the Lights, which appears on many a critic’s list of all-time best LPs. He has been even more prolific as a solo artist, though, releasing dozens of records over a 30-year span. A terrific songwriter able to dig into hard-toaccess emotions with sensitivity or rock out with the best of them, Thompson’s songs have been covered by the likes of Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, REM, Bob Dylan, Del McCoury, Bonnie Raitt, Los Lobos, David Byrne, and Don Henley. His prowess on guitar is even more legendary – no wonder Rolling Stone lists him among the Top 20 ax-men of all time, capable of shredding hearts with his intricate acoustic finger-picking or simply shredding on an electric guitar. We’ll get to see both sides at tonight’s concert, hot on the heels of his two latest CDs, Electric, featuring a slew of fabulous new songs, and the forthcoming Acoustic Classics, due later this month: Thompson plays solo acoustic before returning after intermission for a full electric set with his trio. Buckle your seat belt. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: 33 East Canon Perdido St. COST: $42.50 ($154 Meet & Greet Package includes seating in the first five rows, a personal photograph with Thompson at the post-performance reception, and an autographed lyric print; $79 Tour Package includes seating in the first 12 rows, the signed lyric print, and an exclusive tour merchandise item) INFO: 963-0761 or www.lobero.com “Project Fiesta!” features vintage posters, artwork, restored costumes, artifacts, and historical photos from the cultural celebration’s past nine decades, plus a sneak preview of the performances via flamenco dancers from the Linda Vega Dance Studio.... “Summer Impressionists” settles in a Sullivan Goss with today’s opening reception featuring some of the most important American painters in history, an annual tradition at the gallery. Also on view, exhibitions of work by: Ken Bortolazzo, Susan McDonnell and Richard Haines. WHEN: 5-8 pm WHERE: Lower State
Street and environs COST: free INFO: www.santabarbaradowntown.com/ about/1st-thursday SATURDAY, JULY 5 Music from Moshav – The Ojai Concert Series taps into more world music this evening with an outdoor concert from Moshav, a progressiveleaning jam-band from Israel with intelligent swirl of alternative rock, funk, reggae, and folk. The band was originally formed by three brothers and their friends who grew up in Moshav
SUNDAY, JULY 13 Slack Key Master – Ledward Ka’apana has been one of Hawaii’s most influential musicians for four decades, a master of many stringed instruments known for an exceptional picking style on slackkey guitar and ukulele. He’s also stands out for his voice, which ranges from a deep baritone to leo kiekie (falsetto). So-called Led Heads also love him for his easy-going style and kolohe (rascal) charm, which extends past the Big Island of Hawaii to around the world. Ka’apana was honored with an NEA National Heritage Fellowship back in 2011, and has won three Grammys for his work on slack key compilations and has been nominated for four more in his own right, not to mention winning multiple Na Hoku Hanohano’s, Hawaii’s equivalent. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: SOhO, 1221 State Street, upstairs in Victoria Court COST: $14 in advance, $18 at door INFO: 962-7776 or www.sohosb.com 3 – 17 July 2014
Meor Modi’im, a musical village in the hills between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and while the personnel has changed, the group now has released eight albums over a 20-year career that has brought its members to stages around the world. Although Moshav’s music stems from intensely personal places and address terrorism, suffering and war, the group’s harmonies, joyous and uplifting rhythms and organic sounds have drawn comparisons to Pearl Jam and the Dave Matthews Band. The band’s original songs sometimes lift phrases straight from religious texts from around the world, while Moshav also play Hebrew-sung Jewish standards all in the service of the power of peace, love, and never letting go of your dreams. Sabrina Lentini, a finalist on American Idol, opens the show. As with all Ojai Concert Series summertime shows, the performances are only part of the events, as a huge potluck (bring a dish to share if you want to join in the good eatin’) precedes the music, and a bonfire starts raging in the fire pit at the break. WHEN: Gates open 5 pm, Lentinie at 6 pm, Moshav at 7 pm WHERE: Dancing Oaks Ranch, 4585 Casitas Pass Road, Ventura (off Hwy. 150) COST: $20, free for kids under 15 INFO: 665-8852 or www.ojaiconcertseries.com SATURDAY, JULY 12 All-Star Band at Bowl – It’s been a pretty good time to be Ringo Starr over the last 12 months or so. Not that it’s ever a bad thing to be an ex-Beatle, the sticks-man for the most legendary band in the land. But he’s been having even more fun recently, including performing his song “Photograph” on the Grammy Awards last January and then joining Paul McCartney for his number – the performances celebrating The Beatles’ Lifetime Achievement Award – followed the next night by the two doing it all over again with a whole host of guest stars for the taping of The Beatles Tribute on CBS celebrating the 50th anniversary of their first U.S. visit and appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. That all comes on the heels of The Grammy Museum exhibit “Ringo: Peace & Love”, which opened last June as the first major exhibit to focus on a drummer. In February, Simon & Shuster published Octopus’s Garden, a children’s book based on his Ringo’s lyrics. The All-Starr Band, Ringo’s fluctuating traveling outfit, is touring again, this time around featuring Toto’s Steve Lukather, former Mr. Mister lead singer-bassist Richard Page, ex-Santana and Journey keyboaristsinger Gregg Rolie, wunderkind pop producer/singer-songwriter Todd Rundgren, and drummer Gregg Bissonette. WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: 1122 North Milpas St. COST: $39-$99 INFO: 962-7411 or www.sbbowl.com
That English characteristic for which there is no English name: esprit de corps. – Frank Adcock
New Kirtan Hero – Kirtan, the Sanskrit call-and-response chanting performed in India’s bhakti devotional traditions (the word means “praise”), has found a modern Messiah in Dave Stringer, a trained filmmaker and jazz musician who discovered the tradition when video editing work brought him to an ashram in India back in 1990. Stringer’s blend of the transcendent mysticism of traditional Indian instruments with groove-oriented sensibility of American gospel and R&B has given him a pseudo rock-star status in the world of kirtan, where his innovative approach, heartfelt inclusiveness and lighthearted humor makes the music in a sort of participatory theatrical experience accessible to all. Stringer has released seven albums under his own name, and his music is played in yoga studios worldwide, while his voice also appears on numerous soundtracks, including the blockbuster film Matrix Revolutions and the video game “Myst”. All of which means you won’t feel out of place at all if this is your first experience with kirtan, and you’ll likely walk away with a strange sense of euphoria – and community. WHEN: 7-9:30 pm WHERE: Yoga Soup, 28 Parker Way COST: $15 in advance, $20 day of show INFO: 965-8811 or www.yogasoup.com They Can-Can... Can You? – The Santa Barbara French Festival returns to Oak Park every second Saturday in June to celebrate Bastille Day and the French culture. Francophiles and others can enjoy fabulous wine, mimosas, crepes, delicious pastries, music, dance, arts and crafts, and, two true annual Santa Barbara traditions in the Poodles Parade and the Femme Fatales Drag Revue. One of the few surviving ethnic festivals, the community event draws huge crowds from near and far to the midtown park in our little berg known as the American Riviera. Dance and music from more than 30 different artists take over the three stages both days, including such acts as cancan dancers, French Polynesian dancers, African belly-dancing, the French Johnny Cash, French vocalists, jazz combos – and, in a first this year, an entire stage devoted to accordion music. The poodle parade, complete with costumes and doggy topiary, is actually open to other French four-legged breeds in a canine cavalcade that expands this year to include a promenade through the park leading up to the presentation on the main stage. Beyond the food and entertainment, there are also dozens of booths offering everything from face painting and henna tattoos to vacation adventures. The profits from the event go to support Center Stage Theater and Speaking of Stories, which took over the festival from its founder a couple of years ago. Ooh la la! WHEN: 11 am-7 pm today & tomorrow WHERE: Oak Park, 300 West Alamar Avenue COST: free INFO: 963-8198 or www. frenchfestival.com •MJ
MONTECITO JOURNAL
47