June 26th, 2009 04:41pm
by Beck
Yes, it’s easily the cheesiest vestige of the ’80s. Yes, it’s the focus of hopeless nostalgia the world over. Not to mention an endless drain on Bic lighter fluid (and a nasty source of ozone depletion?) for over two decades.
But this is indisputable: Two of the biggest-selling power ballads ever written are being revived at this weekend’s Sonoma-Marin Fair.
Last night, every diehard fan in the house sang along as …
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June 25th, 2009 05:52pm
by Beck
When I heard a Bollywood film crew was invading Healdsburg, I had to laugh: Could there be a more unlikely setting for the typical Mumbai movie masala than Alexander Valley?
Just as I was conjuring nightmare visions of the dapper, landed gentry of Healdsburg breaking into song and dance (another lame wine auction skit?), former Healdsburg council member Lisa Schaffner called to confirm that she’d opened up her house for filming …
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June 24th, 2009 01:56pm
by Beck
Ever since the Poison singer got clotheslined (and nearly beheaded) by a massive set change at the Tony Awards a few weeks ago, questions have lingered….
Will he sue the Tonys?
Will he go after host Neil Patrick Harris for cracking on him immediately after getting flattened?
When the bandages come off, will he be worth fighting over anymore on VH-1’s “Rock of Love” craptastic reality show?
Will people ever stop watching this video?
And, …
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June 19th, 2009 12:59pm
by Beck
You can already smell the fumes. The heat’s rising off the track. Over at Lakeville Highway and Stage Gulch Road, Ernie’s Tin Bar is setting up the folding chairs in the adjoining garage and lining up the PBR in the bottle (fyi: the “$1.75 Cold Beer” is Hamm’s in the can).
And hundreds of RVs are descending upon 50 Acres Campground across from Infineon Raceway, gearing up for the infamous “NASCAR …
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June 17th, 2009 03:41pm
by Beck
Dunno bout you, but every year one of my favorite moments at
the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival is when Emmylou Harris emerges at dusk,
her silver mane glowing, her plaintive vocals blanketing Golden Gate Park
in a spellbinding fog of their own.
Festival founder, financier Warren Hellman, originally named
it the “Strictly Bluegrass” festival as a way to entice Harris to tap into his
favorite genre.
It didn’t work. You don’t tell “Emmy” (as her friends call
her) …
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June 15th, 2009 05:08pm
by Beck
I never rocked the holistic hooping or the crystal therapy, but, man, what a weekend:
Big air (and no major slams) on the MegaRamp. Pierre Luc Gagnon nailing a few 720s and winning the $10k skate duel with X-Games gold medalist Bob Burnquist.
K’naan sitting down for an interview on the bus, pointing out once and for all what we’ve always known about Grace Pavilion: “The sound last night (@Techno-Tribal) …
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June 14th, 2009 03:02pm
by Beck
I don’t wanna get too sappy, but this video says it all about the power of music, the innocence of childhood and the words of freedom.
We hopped aboard the super-plush Gibson Guitars bus and sat down with Somalian singer K’naan after his second performance at Harmony Festival Saturday evening.
After seeing him play Techno-Tribal Friday night, I’d decided not to shoot any footage of his Saturday concert. But then I noticed …
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June 14th, 2009 12:28pm
by Beck
Sitting on the bus an hour before he takes the main stage at Harmony, Michael Franti looks out the window overlooking the gathering crowd and reflects: “I’ve been living on a tour bus for the last 20 years and it used to be you’d stop at a truckstop in the middle of the night and there was nothing to safe to eat. Now you stop and there’s bio-diesel everywhere. For …
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June 13th, 2009 02:08pm
by Beck
I got a chance to chat with X-Games gold-medalist Bob Burnquist between skates on the mini-MegaRamp Friday afternoon and asked him about the NASCAR factor, the fans just dying to see a nasty spill.
“As long as it’s not me, I don’t mind,” he said with a laugh. “The reality is, you have to take risks to have this much fun. The higher the risk, the higher the reward. You can’t …
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June 13th, 2009 10:44am
by Beck
Singer Jon Mcrea was talking about giving up the occasional worldly possession or taking a break from consumption or at least doing your part, when he posed this Harmony conundrum: “Can you live without your marijuana?”
Don’t worry, all he really wants you to do is sing along:
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Your Daily Dose. Whenever. Whatever. Wherever. Trolling Sonoma County and beyond, John Beck looks for cracks in the pop facade.
