I had a fascinating conversation with Don Was last night.<\/p>\n
Exiting February’s Grammy tribute to Neil Diamond, we got into a conversation about the new Delbert McClinton record Don was producing.\u00c2\u00a0 He was flying to Nashville imminently.\u00c2\u00a0 It was supposed to be remakes of Delbert’s classic songs.\u00c2\u00a0 I told Don he had to do "Sandy Beaches".\u00c2\u00a0 I ended up e-mailing Don the cut, which was so famous in his catalog, Delbert wasn’t sure if he wanted to remake it.<\/p>\n
So seeing Mr. Was after Taj Mahal’s opening set at the Greek last night, I asked him how it went.\u00c2\u00a0 Don told me the record had just come out.\u00c2\u00a0 I had no clue.\u00c2\u00a0 Which we both laughed about, that in this crazy, fucked up world if even I, a fan, didn’t know the record was out, what chance did any new album have?<\/p>\n
Then, waxing rhapsodically, Don told me he’d done a record in two days.\u00c2\u00a0 Another in a week.\u00c2\u00a0 One for $1500.\u00c2\u00a0 Another for $9000.\u00c2\u00a0 The extra $200,000?\u00c2\u00a0 That would have just squeezed all the life out of it, polished it into oblivion.\u00c2\u00a0 Don was very excited about music, even in these confusing times.\u00c2\u00a0 He said we were in the midst of a revolution.<\/p>\n
And what a revolution it is.\u00c2\u00a0 Wherein, like a Firesign Theatre record, everything we know is wrong.<\/p>\n
We need the fat cat with all the dough to polish our product.\u00c2\u00a0 The company must take the lion’s share of the money. They’re entitled to it!<\/p>\n
Speaking with Bonnie after the show, we were marveling at all the opportunities.\u00c2\u00a0 She’s out of contract, she can follow her will.\u00c2\u00a0 Although now it’s confusing, overwhelming, being on the road, dealing with untold details, it’s oppressive to think of doing even more work forty years in.\u00c2\u00a0 But I told Bonnie she has a luxury, she’s one of a kind.\u00c2\u00a0 A combination folk singer\/blues mama who plays a mean slide guitar and won all those Grammys.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’ve got that kind of profile, you can blaze trails.\u00c2\u00a0 Kind of like the Eagles did with Wal-Mart.\u00c2\u00a0 Not that Bonnie would make a deal with the Bentonville retailer, but the opportunities are endless.\u00c2\u00a0 What company wouldn’t want to piggyback on her fame, get instant access to her fans?\u00c2\u00a0 I’m not talking about selling out, about saying the company’s products are great.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s kind of like signage in the Staples Center.\u00c2\u00a0 Even Neil Young doesn’t demand you remove the ads.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s doing no direct endorsement, those ads are paying the bills of those ultimately paying him.\u00c2\u00a0 A subtle difference, I know, but one the consumer understands.<\/p>\n
And speaking of consumers…<\/p>\n
Last night’s audience was totally different from the one at the Wiltern the night before.\u00c2\u00a0 They were actually watching the show with their own eyes!\u00c2\u00a0 I saw no iPhones photographing, only one camera recording.\u00c2\u00a0 You could say these baby boomers are over the hill, behind the technological curve, but even more important, they grew up on music, music is in their blood.\u00c2\u00a0 They go to shows like lemmings to…\u00c2\u00a0 You may not be able to get them to see the latest blockbuster with explosions on the big screen, or anybody new in concert, but they’ll go see their old faves.\u00c2\u00a0 You’d think just to relive the past.\u00c2\u00a0 But, stunningly, that’s not what happened last night.<\/p>\n
Taj Mahal had those records on Columbia.\u00c2\u00a0 His rendition of "Take A Giant Step" was exquisite.\u00c2\u00a0 Even Ry Cooder played with him.\u00c2\u00a0 But Taj never broke through.\u00c2\u00a0 How many of these people in attendance last night who’d had babies in the nick of time knew his material?\u00c2\u00a0 Few.\u00c2\u00a0 But that didn’t prevent Taj from getting them on their feet, dancing and swaying to the music.<\/p>\n
You see with the oldsters, it’s not about spectacle.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about the tunes, the vibe.<\/p>\n
And when Bonnie ultimately hit the stage and gave them something to talk about, they jumped to their feet, fully alive in their Dockers and white hair.\u00c2\u00a0 This was not nostalgia, this was life.<\/p>\n
Give credit to Bonnie for doing something new.\u00c2\u00a0 The\u00c2\u00a0 BonTaj Roulet is not just another tour, where she plays her greatest hits after an opening act.\u00c2\u00a0 The acoustic segment, the interlude in her own performance, was jaw-dropping.\u00c2\u00a0 As she and Taj worked out on old blues numbers.<\/p>\n
Bonnie’s redefining the nineties paradigm for an older, aging set.\u00c2\u00a0 The BonTaj Roulet is Lilith or H.O.R.D.E. for baby boomers.\u00c2\u00a0 And with a long history of supporting blues legends, of introducing her audience to writers and players they might not know, Bonnie is on to something.<\/p>\n
Even Rena remarked how everybody was on their feet.\u00c2\u00a0 And she sees every show, she runs the place.\u00c2\u00a0 She said it was akin to DMB the night before.\u00c2\u00a0 But, the DMB audience still has its knees, still has its career optimism.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Yes, last night everybody was standing.\u00c2\u00a0 Not by rote, but inspired by the music.<\/p>\n
I’m a longstanding Bonnie Raitt fan.\u00c2\u00a0 But I’m still at the fair.\u00c2\u00a0 Because she includes us.\u00c2\u00a0 Tells us stories, reveals some personal truth, whether it be about hooking up with her honey in a few days or referencing the death of her brother. We’re looking for this humanity, our lives have rough edges, in a world that appears pristine, that is only concerned with winners.<\/p>\n
"Nick Of Time" is now a marker.\u00c2\u00a0 Of that time two decades ago when we finally confronted our age.\u00c2\u00a0 That it was now or never.\u00c2\u00a0 Kids, new career…\u00c2\u00a0 Some of us bit the bullet, others have regrets, disappointments.\u00c2\u00a0 How does one deal with loss, how does one deal with a complicated reality?\u00c2\u00a0 By going to the show!<\/p>\n
In an era where anyone over twenty five is peddling nostalgia, where it’s believed that the young own new music, it was heartening to reconnect with the paradigm that once was.\u00c2\u00a0 An endless blue skyway, where the music took you on a journey, surprised you and elated you.<\/p>\n
Risks pay dividends.\u00c2\u00a0 Turns out the audience is much more open to change, surprise than you realize.\u00c2\u00a0 But you’ve got to have their trust.\u00c2\u00a0 That takes time.\u00c2\u00a0 But Bonnie’s got forty years invested.\u00c2\u00a0 Of never selling out, of never doing what’s expedient, of speaking her mind, defending her causes.\u00c2\u00a0 Short term thinking not only killed our financial system, but our music world too.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to be in it for the long haul, you’ve got to have staying power.\u00c2\u00a0 Bonnie Raitt is built to last.<\/p>\n
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