*(All videos are from YouTube. They're not my own).



Never too old to rock and roll... and dig the blues....
     If you ask, I'll tell you.......and so will all the people we saw at the Doheny Blues Festival @ the end of May. Even the weather cooperated, lending us the best of both worlds...clouds and sunshine. Temps were in the 70's - perfect, considering there was hardly any shade in the general admission area. This year, we chose something a little different. We opted for both days, Sat and Sun with general admission versus one day in the VIP area. We were running a bit late and had to follow the "overflow" parking signs to a vicinity two miles away. We grumbled about it a bit, but then re-considered that we were probably better off after all, because we would be able to ride the shuttle at a much less cost than it would have takenfor us to park at the venue. Also, we wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of all the cars leaving the P/L all at once. What a nightmare that could have turned out to be. And so, it was a blessing in disguise...we rode a nice, comfy bus and let someone else deal with the traffic. We liked the idea so much, we chose to do it again the next day.
     The 14th annual festival is held at Doheny State Beach. There are always vendors of clothing and jewelry and other miscellaneous sorts, and our favorite-the booth where they sell the event clothing (Doheny Blues t-shirts, jackets, hats, etc). We settled for two t-shirts. The first day, we munched on polish sausage smothered with all the goodies, and I got super greasy sweet potato fries that I was unable to finish. It was like, have some potatoes with your grease. Ugh. Oh. And then there was our favorite of all time- roasted corn on the cob. 2nd day, we opted for huge burgers and fries.
    The first day was a bit disappointing, as the main act, "Experience Hendrix" came on stage and basically tried to emulate Jimmy - and nobody does that. Nobody. No matter how spectacular....maybe it's psychological, but it's difficult to accept that anyone could be as good as he was.
     The prior statement is said with mixed feelings, because one of the pieced-together band members of the "Experience" was none other than Jonny Lang, who is one of our very top favorite blues performers. I suppose if anyone could come c-l-o-s-e to "awesome-ness", he would have to be one of the top contenders, in my book.
     I will state for the record, however, that Ernie Isley was pretty darn cool playing the guitar with his teeth.....see above YouTube video....
     It seemed to be the year for "pieced together" bands (and when I say "pieced together", it's a band comprised of individual performers that all come together and share the stage under a pseudo name-ie; "Experience Hendrix". Another such band called itself the "Wyland Blues Planet Band". Wyland's main redundant message was 'save the planet'. My opinion: it's good to take care of the planet, yes, but .... does every single song have to be about the environment? Every single one? Really?
     Included in this band, was another of our favorites,"Rod Piazza and The Mighty Flyers", and they were, in my opinion, the main reason we stayed and listened to the entire performance of the Wyland band. We know that the Mighty Flyers are always on the top of their game.
     Our guy, Taj Mahal was supposed to be included in the "Wyland" band, but he was a no-show due to health reasons.
     Susan Tedeschi. Her electric blues band teeters on the edge of blues and rock...she and her husand, Derek Trucks formed their own band they call the Tedeschi Trucks Band. And they're good. I came, I saw, I liked.
     Big Head Blues Club was another "pieced together" band. I had never heard of any of the members that comprised this one, but their mantra was playing music from the legendary Robert Johnson (said to have traded his soul to the Devil at the crossroads in exchange for expertise in playing the electric guitar).
     Walter Trout was awesome. It was the first time we saw him in concert, and we soon understood why he was so popular with the crowd. He's a definite recommendation.
      We were disappointed we missed Doug Mcleod. We remember him as a host on XM radio for Bluesville. It's been a while since we've had XM, and don't know if he still hosts, but we sure would have liked to have seen him perform.
     Mavis Staples entertained in the realm of soul/gospel/blues. Her musical background comes from her family who, in 1959, had a big hit called "Uncloudy Day". Mavis paid tribute to her father by saying, "Pops, you laid the foundation, and I am still working on the building".
    All in all, the entertaiment was great. On the way home, I asked Doug what his favorite performance had been. He wasn't sure. I was. My favorite performance was................from the living legendary band, CCR, John Fogerty.
    John played last on Sunday night. I have always considered him to be rock more than blues, but have always enjoyed his music. He played all the popular well known songs as well as a few unknown (at least to me). I can tell you, for his age, he still rocks the house! And he still has a great voice!
    In short, a good time was had by all. Looking forward to the 15th Doheny Blues concert. Maybe we'll even get a camp site. All I have to do is remember to reserve 5 months ahead......