Couple of musical notes this lovely p.m.: Seems yesterday, whilst touting tonight's Bill Callahan gig at the Sons of Hermann Hall, I neglected to mention the local-fave opener -- one Sarah Jaffe, whose MySpace page offers a pretty wonderful sampler of what one might expect tonight at the venerable Deep Ellum joint. In a word: lovely. In several words, here's what our own Jonanna Widner had to say about her last month: "She's awesome because whenever she plays her guitar and sings, beer bottles stop midway to mouths, chatter ceases and jaws drop." Consider her recommended. CDs will be for sale. Buy one. Here's a track from that CD:
Also, as a public service announcement, I did want to point your attention to one of my favorite MP3 blogs: Honey, Where You Been So Long?, where Peter Patnaik every so often posts some of the most astounding and obscure pre-WWII blues cuts you've never heard but need to as soon as you left click here.
And, yes, there are plenty items of local interest: Patnaik maintains a Texas Blues category, where, in recent months, he's unearthed gems by the likes of Arizona Dranes (whose history was properly written, at last, by former Dallas Observer contributor Michael Corcoran), Texas Alexander (whose "Don't You Wish Your Baby Was Built Up Like Mine?" rings a familiar bell) and Will Day, whose "Central Avenue Blues" refers to a long, long-ago Deep Ellum. And, as a bonus, once Patnaik makes the tracks available, they stay available, as most (if not all) are in the public domain, which means these folks won't be forgotten again. --Robert Wilonsky