Cosmo's was packed with older folk and local musicians, all of whom seemed to know Dardar personally. The date was billed as a CD release party for Dardar's latest, Fool for Love, cut live over two days in Los Angeles, produced by Tony Braunagel and featuring most of Bonnie Raitt's backup band.
But tonight was vintage Sheetrockers. Sax player Gerald Gray took lead on the classic Bill Doggett song "Honky Tonk" and played two instruments at the same time. Guitarist Sam Dunlap delivered tasty solos on "Going Back to Louisiana" and "Love Me with a Feeling." Let it be known that few artists can cover Freddie King successfully, but Dardar did it compellingly on the latter. His vocals were lush with a distinct gritty bottom. Dardar both pleaded and threatened his way through the song. And his harp playing was peerless, particularly on "Let the Good Times Roll." Dardar even performed a blues version of "Happy Birthday" for two ladies in the audience.
Amy Spangler
On Saturday, Harry Sheppard and Bill Miller celebrated their 25th year of making music together.
Amy Spangler
On Saturday, Harry Sheppard and Bill Miller celebrated their 25th year of making music together.
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The evening can be summed up in the words of Dardar's "Louisiana Country Blues": "Turn it up all night long / Gonna dance until the break of dawn / Wear a hole right out of my shoes / With those Louisiana country blues." -- Aaron Howard
Beenie Man
Garden in the Heights
Sunday, April 23
After audiences endured a full day of sparse seating arrangements, stepping over discarded turkey legs and listening to reggae renditions of such Top 40 hits as "Believe" and "Bug-A-Boo" blaring over loudspeakers, they still hung in there to catch the headlining act of Reggae Supa-Fest 2000.
As the accompanying band, the Blaze Men, provided the bass line from Kool & The Gang's "Jungle Boogie," this lean Kingston-born brotha stepped to the stage, decked out in a red overcoat with matching fedora, shoes and socks. He kicked off his performance by doing something that can only be described as boogie-woogie reggae, flowing one song into another as the band delivered a roots rock canvas for his swinging wordplay.
Much of his act consisted of his schooling the kids, who were rustled up an hour beforehand and strategically placed on stage and in the front row. Apartheid comprised the brunt of Beenie Man's subject matter.
For the first hour the Man had the folk in the crowd jumping out their draws, but near the last half hour the audience began to thin. Beenie Man's spiel started to turn into a ramble. A barely endurable hour later, Beenie Man finally left the stage. An uneven performance at best, it was still better than listening to some wack-ass reggae band cover Savage Garden. -- Craig D. Lindsey
