Monday, March 14, 2011

Jack of Hearts (Bob Dylan Tribute) take AZ


The Jack of Hearts band erupted in Arizona this past weekend with two explosive shows performed at two completely different venues. The first set was performed in Chandler, Arizona, a neighbor of Tempe and a part of the larger urban area of Phoenix. The boys took the main stage at the Ostrich Festival, a great family event put on by Universal Fairs and including: Live music, Ostrich racing, Medieval Jousting, Pig racing, a Seal show, local venders, rides, and more. The sound set-up was as good as one could ask for at such a large outdoor event and the band was in top form performing an hour set of Dylan's best tunes from '65-'76. Standouts included "Tangled up in Blue," "Quinn the Eskimo," and "Like a Rolling Stone," which frontman Jamie Israel has become accustomed to introducing as "The greatest rock-n-roll song of all time." The crowd was a mixture of older folks standing and sitting to enjoy the Bob Dylan song repertoire and a large group of young tweeny-boppers lined up in front of the stage to have good seats for the next act, The Ready Set. While, the youngsters up front weren't really there for us, they did cheer (or scream and pull out their hair) enthusiastically and yell out about which band members were the cutest. The two bands couldn't have really been farther from each other in style, but it did make for a nice mix of patrons and the overall size of the crowd was definitely a big positive for the group and Universal Fairs.


Next it was a trip further south to Bisbee, Arizona, a beautiful little town nestled in the mountains near the border. Bisbee is an old mining town, which changed into more of a tourist attraction and artist's haven in the 70's and is now a melting-pot of extremely eclectic and artistic people who love their small community and it's rich history. Local, Dylan Charles, set the boys up at the Old Bisbee Repertory Theater and together with Nowhere Man and Whiskey Girl he performed Pink Floyd's The Wall in it's entirety. The pull of Bob Dylan helped boost that of Dylan Charles and The Wall and together was enough to pack the house and leave a few fans to listen outside. The crowd was insanely attentive for the entire program and gave both band's standing ovations. At one point I commented from the drums that they were a great crowd to which a kind lady yelled, "You're in Dylan country." Perfect. Post show we went down to the Grand for wonderfully cheap and stiff cocktails and then back to the house of local DeadHead musicologist "Steve" where we traded songs and harmonized over tequila, beer, and conversation. Thanks again to everyone involved with everything....Dylan, Universal Fairs, Jamie and Ali, Mr. and Mrs. Israel, K. Kerfoot, Nowhere Man and Whiskey Girl for the crash pad, Steve, and Uncle Dave. Possible vids and audio to come.....

No comments:

Post a Comment