It isn't every day that you're treated to music crafted by one of the Rolling Stone-certified best guitarists in the world, but that's exactly what Houston got Saturday night. And damn it all if we weren't all moved beyond words.
Despite a crackling speaker as Robert Randolph & the Family Band began their set, Randolph sang of good times and freedom, keeping a smile on his sweaty face for an entire hour and a half while he strummed his sacred steel.
They played "The March," a five-minute instrumental that had the crowd dancing, for the first time since before the Sept. 11 attacks. It was a fitting time to play such an upbeat, joyous melody.
Randolph began bringing people, including a young boy who couldn't have been over 15, out of the crowd and onto the stage, where they were given a guitar and a chance to play alongside this former Eric Clapton opener.
Those of us close enough to the stage may have permanently damaged our hearing, but we were all smiles doing it. Having already restored our faith in music, Randolph & the Family Band still came out for an encore as countless Houstonians chanted, "One more! One more!"
Even after the encore, it seemed clear that everyone in attendance would have been more than happy to listen to the Family Band for at least another hour or so. But any displeasure of Randolph leaving the stage was short-lived, because it wasn't even 30 minutes before Michael Franti & Spearhead came out.
"Everyone deserves music," Franti sang as bright lights lit up the night sky. "Even our worst enemies, Lord. They deserve music, sweet music."
From rhythm-and-blues infused rap music set above and rock-and-roll guitar riffs to reggae in its truest form, Spearhead covered it all, getting a rise out of the crowd with every song.
The audience's favorite line of the night must have been in "East to West," when Franti said, "Life is too short for just one decision/ Music, too large for just one station/ Love is too big for just one nation, and God is too big for just one religion."
How would one define Spearhead's music? Franti put it best himself in just a few words: "It's rock and roll with a whole lotta soul."
Meanwhile, on the 29-95 stage, Emory Quinn was impressing a much smaller crowd with his raspy vocals and Southern-rock backbeats. This was the tone of the 29-95 stage all weekend: Underappreciated and overly talented.
Tyagaraja, Grandfather Child and Buxton are all far too talented to be playing for so few people. But that didn't stop any of the performers from putting on strong showings, keeping old fans and familiar faces happy and garnering the attention of at least a handful of passers-by. And when it really comes down to it, isn't that what every local and regional band is striving for?
They're baby steps, but triumphant ones nonetheless. As the current godfather of rap, Jay-Z, once asked, "Which would you rather be, underpaid or overrated?"
For the time being, we're content with these overly talented musicians being hometown heroes. And we'll enjoy the hell out of them before the rest of the country wises up and begins to love them the way we do. Matthew Keever