L. Kent Wolgamott: Unforgettable music moments make Zoo festival a success
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There were three special performances at the Zoo Bar’s 35th Anniversary Festival last weekend that won’t come close to being repeated again.
The first came Friday night after a fast-moving thunderstorm blew through and shut down the outdoor stage.
It took some fast talking and an even faster setup, but Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit moved inside the bar in time for an hourlong set.
Playing songs from his solo debut, “The Sirens of the Ditch,” and a couple of songs he wrote while a member of the Drive-by Truckers, Isbell captured the packed club even though the majority of those who were in the bar were unfamiliar with him and his songs.
One of the best young guitarists in rock, Isbell was even more impressive instrumentally than in his previous local appearances at Knickerbockers, and the 400 Unit keeps getting tighter and better.
One of the best ways to judge a new band is by its covers, and Isbell and the 400 Unit nailed three — a rock ’n’ roll version of the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” that I like better than the original, a greasy Muscle Shoals take on the Rolling Stones’ “Sway,” and the shout-along encore of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “American Girl.”
It’s too bad the outdoor stage was shut down — Isbell would have a few hundred more converts if he had been able to play for the larger crowd. But it was very cool to see him inside. Very, very cool. And you’re not going to see him in a room as small as the Zoo again anytime soon … if ever.
The second special show opened the festival Saturday.
That’s when Dave Gonzalez and the Stone River Boys played a Zoo event for the third time in three days. It again showed that what started out as tribute to the late Chris Gaffney by playing already booked Hacienda Brothers dates has, in two weeks, become a terrific band.
Doing a mix of Hacienda Brothers songs and tunes by Gonzalez and new singer/acoustic guitarist Mike Barfield, Gonzalez and the Stone River Boys delivered the goods, mixing country with a little bit of soul, funk and rock ’n’ roll.
Barfield, who used to come through here with his band The Hollisters, is a Texas country James Brown, a dancin’ machine who brings the funk on songs like “The Struggle.” The band, made up of some of Austin’s best, can really play, and it’s always cool to hear pedal steel in the middle of a soul song.
Gonzalez also paid tribute to his friend and Hacienda singer Gaffney, who passed away earlier this year, and hats saying “GAFF Via Con Dios” were big sellers.
The Self-Righteous Brothers provided the final memorable performance and the festival finale.
Plagued by Spinal Tap-ish wireless microphone problems early on, Mister and Sonny Righteous (aka Brian Johnson and Mike Keeling) persevered and, as the mikes got better, so did the show.
Having not played together for eight years and with one week of rehearsals, the reunited SRB really pulled it off. Mister and Sonny’s dance moves looked just like the old days — not 10 years older — the band was tuxed-out cool and tight, and the SRB songs are still hilarious and show-band rockin’.
I could go on raving, but if you’re an old SRB fan and didn’t make it downtown, you missed the last show ever by one of the most entertaining bands Lincoln has ever produced. If you were there, you certainly don’t need me to tell you about what went on.
The biggest crowd of the two-night affair packed 14th Street to see E.C. Scott, who was in fine form Saturday.
A perfect festival act, Scott’s a sassy soul singer in the mold of Irma Thomas, and her material is popular and diverse — an Eric Clapton song here, Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” into the soul classic “Stand By Me.”
Beyond Charlie Musselwhite, there were no “big names” on the Zoo Festival lineup. But wide public notice isn’t a measure of quality, a truism confirmed by the performances Friday and Saturday.
Perhaps the best thing about the festival was the fact that it took place. Fourteenth was packed from P to O streets for the only big music event here this summer.
“This is good for Lincoln,” said Doug McCleese of O’Rourke’s, one of the festival’s organizers Saturday night as he worked his way through the crowd.
Indeed it was.
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
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