Winter Storm

Ugh...

From NJ.com's continuously updated storm watch:

1:50 p.m. The most-affected regions of Hurricane Sandy along the New Jersey coast are about to take another hit. With defenses already weakened, coastal communities could see major impacts from coastal flooding, with the worst coming Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

"I'm really worried about the areas worst hit by Sandy," said NWS meteorologist Gary Szatkowski. "Time is starting to work against us...We could see substantial beach erosion. I know people have been working hard, but there's less to erode. We could easily see waves and water coming into areas you typically wouldn't."

Szatkowski said he is concerned about the Raritan Bay shore in particular, where a three foot storm surge is possible at high tide Saturday morning, with five to seven foot waves breaking over top of it.

Let's hope things don't get too bad.  If they do, though, be there for your friends and neighbors again. 

This all made me think of one of the songs that Steve Earle did with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band as part of the On The Beach concert earlier this year.  Here they are doing "This City" at New York's City Winery:

If You Want Something Done...

On the Beach -- A Sandy Relief Concert at The Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ, January 2nd, 2013

While John Boehner was canceling, then postponing, a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on the first 9 billion dollars in relief funds for Sandy-devastated areas, the Jersey Shore came out to do some fundraising of their own at The Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park.  On the Beach -- A Sandy Relief Concert brought together bands and artists from the Jersey Shore and across the country to celebrate and to raise some much-needed money for several non-profits engaged in the hard work of rebuilding following Superstorm Sandy.  The theme echoed throughout the night was that, while no one ever wishes for a tragedy like Sandy, it's sometimes through events like the storm that communities come together and grow stronger.

Organized by three guys from Jersey -- activist Tim Donnelly, original Asbury Juke and concert promoter Tony Pallagrosi, and photographer, filmmaker, harmonica player Danny Clinch -- On the Beach was roughly 6 hours of music headlined by My Morning Jacket from Louisville, Kentucky.  Throughout the evening, host Matt Pinfield brought out representatives from the various non-profits benefitting from the event -- RebuildRecover, Coastal Habitat for Humanity, The Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, Waves for Water, and Food for Thought by the Sea -- to discuss the work they do.  Each painted a picture of some hard work ahead, but Waves for Water's Jon Rose summed everything up when he called the Jersey Shore a "shining example" of a community coming together in a time of need.

Originally slated to start at 7pm, the start time for the concert was pushed up to accomodate some late additions (Steve Earle, The Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon) to the bill.  The Tangiers Blues Band, with Danny Clinch on harmonica, opened the show at around 6:20 as much of the audience was still arriving.  They played an energetic set that included some blues-style covers of well-known songs like "Fight for Your Right to Party."  The sound was great, as it would be all night.  The Tangiers Blues Band were followed by Toms River's River City Extension and Shark River Hills' Nicole Atkins.  Despite playing abbreviated versions of their sets to less than a packed house, River City Extension and Nicole Atkins were each just as good as they were when I saw them last year.  As locals affected directly by Sandy, each expressed their happiness at being included on the bill and their heartfelt appreciation for the outpouring of support.  "It means a lot to us that you're here tonight," said River City Extension's Joe Michelini.

The house was starting to fill when Akron, Ohio's Joseph Arthur took the stage, delivering an excellent set marked by some serious guitar heroics.  The Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon did a short, acoustic set that included "National Anthem" off of the band's latest album, Handwritten.  It's a song that's developed an association with Sandy and its aftermath.  Fallon mentioned his excitement at being able to see Steve Earle who followed.  Earle made a quick reference to Speaker Boehner as he began his set, intentionally mispronouncing the congressman's name for effect.  And then it was time for The Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

The theater was full as The Preservation Hall Jazz Band took the stage, and they got the crowd moving wildly to their Dixieland jazz.  They were joined by Jim James of My Morning Jacket for two rousing songs.  One of the most moving moments of the evening had to be The Preservation Hall Jazz Band's performance with Steve Earle of his song "This City" with its lyrics of "This city won't wash away / This city won't ever drown."  Ben Jaffe, the band's director and tuba player, stepped to the mic to say how important the band felt it was to pay back the support New Orleans received following Hurricane Katrina.  He spoke, again, of how the hard work following a tragedy strengthened the bonds of community.

Finally, at around 11pm, most of the fans in attendance got what they came for as My Morning Jacket took the stage.  I'll admit to being a My Morning Jacket neophyte, but their live show -- especially in a small space like The Paramount Theatre -- is something to behold.  Their psychedelic, 1970's inspired rock brought the entire crowd to its feet for the duration of their more than 90-minute set.  For the encore, the band was joined by The Preservation Hall Jazz Band.  There was a nod to Asbury Park in the form of a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart." Nicole Atkins and Danny Clinch joined both bands on stage for a song in another of the evening's memorable moments.

I suppose that congress will eventually do what needs to be done to get relief to those affected by Superstorm Sandy.  A few people, through a single rock concert, could never hope to raise funds on a scale similar to that of the U.S. government.  Though, if what I saw last night from the organizers, the non-profits, the staff, the bands, and the audience -- people from all over the country -- is any indication, it won't be for any lack of trying.

Happy Birthday, Woody

WoodyFest at City Winery, New York, NY, July 13th 2012

I don't know how much I really want to get into this, but let's just put this out there.  I am, unapologetically, a lefty.  That aspect of my personality also means that I have always been a huge fan of Billy Bragg.  And it was Billy Bragg, along with Wilco and Nora Guthrie, who introduced me to the  whole, fleshed-out person of Woody Guthrie through the Mermaid Avenue project.

When I bought the tickets for Billy Bragg's July 13th appearance at City Winery, I knew he'd be playing a bunch of Guthrie's songs.  Volume III of Mermaid Avenue came out on this year's Record Store Day, after all.  I didn't know, though, that he'd be just one of several performers on the third night of what City Winery was calling WoodyFest in honor of Guthrie's 100th birthday.  The rest of the bill would consist of Joe Purdy, Amy Helm, and Steve Earle.  Earle emceed each of the three nights.  I'm going to admit, I was a little apprehensive about the new development.

City Winery is an easy trip for us Jersey folks.  It sits right outside the Holland Tunnel on Varick Street, so it's almost like you just poke right into and out of the city when you attend a show there.  We'd been to a few of John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders shows as well as a Billy Bragg solo show there, so we knew what to expect:  very tight seating, a good view of the stage, Mediterranean accented bar food, and expensive drinks.  Our tickets put us right up against the stage.  We shared a table with a nice couple from Westchester who were sweating the offer that they had recently placed on a house in Asbury Park.

The show began with all of the performers on stage for a rendition of "This Train Is Bound for Glory."  It was one of those everybody-take-a-verse hootenanny type things, and it was fun.  I felt like an idiot for never realizing until that moment that Bruce Springsteen's "Land of Hope and Dreams" is basically a mash-up of that song and "People Get Ready."

After that, Earle introduced each of the performers in turn for their solo sets.  Up first was Joe Purdy.  I'd never heard of Purdy before.  Bearded, thin and very soft-spoken, he did a nice set of Woody songs along with some of his own.  His rendition of "Worried Man Blues" really brought out the desperation in that song.  Amy Helm followed, accompanied by Elizabeth Mitchell and Dan Littleton.  Littleton ripped it up on his beat-up, old Gibson acoustic, and Amy Helm sang beautifully.  "I Ain't Got No Home in this World Anymore" sounded great and amazingly current.

I enjoyed both sets, but things were getting a little reverent for me.  Then Earle introduced Billy Bragg.

Bragg, who often speaks as much as he sings during a set, opened with a story, from early in his career, about when he was asked to sit on a Woody Guthrie panel that included Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie.  When the time came for the "This Land Is Your Land" sing along, Bragg had to confess that, being from England, he didn't know the words.  He said, and I agreed with him, that he thought that Mermaid Avenue worked out so well because it needed somebody who didn't know the words to "This Land Is Your Land."  It needed somebody who didn't think of Woody Guthrie as some sort of saint.

Bragg's set included his usual comic banter along with "All You Fascists," "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key," "Guess I Planted," his own rendition of "I Ain't Got No Home in this World Anymore," and "Dry Bed," during which he had the audience sing the chorus.  That was it.  The Billy Bragg portion of the evening did a nice job of turning Woody Guthrie into a real person, but it was way too short.

Steve Earle closed out the performances.  He did a moving rendition of Guthrie's "Deportee" along with some of his own material, including "Christmastime In Washington" with its chorus of "Come back Woody Guthrie / Come back to us now."  I felt the reverence beginning to creep in again.

For the finale, Earle brought everyone back on stage along with Woody's daughter, Nora Guthrie.  Nora then did a really nice thing and introduced the Woody Guthrie archivists, who I'm sure have had a busy year helping to put together centennial celebrations and compilation albums.  "You know how this is gonna end," Bragg said, and they all, archivists included, closed the show with "This Land Is Your Land."

All in all, it was a good evening.  Those protest songs can get my lefty blood pumping, and I can honestly say that Woody Guthrie makes me proud to be an American.  I would have enjoyed about another hour's worth of Billy Bragg doing his own material and, maybe, a slightly less worshipful atmosphere.  But it isn't every night that CoolMom and I can spend an evening out pretending that we're sticking it to the man.