Mayor Willie Herenton, in an exclusive to The Commercial Appeal Video Blog, reveals his plans for the near future. It involves the Queen of Soul herself.

Michael Donahue submits his latest audio blogging from the 2008 Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival. He interviews fans about rubber boots, bright red dyed hair, general impressions of the festival and the best musical moments.

Podcast 1

Podcast 2

Podcast 3

Podcast 4

Podcast 5

I had the honor of having breakfast with the great 93-year-old blues pianist Pinetop Perkins and his wonderful manager, Pat Morgan, today at the Barksdale.

You can read more about it in next week’s Playbook, but a few of my favorite moments include: 1. When Pinetop, while waiting for a table, sat himself on a pile of Best Times newspapers in the doorway. 2. When the lifelong smoker stepped out to have one of this three daily puffs. 3. His insistence on pointing to a head-shaven server and calling him Cleanhead, in reference to his friend, the late blues guitar player Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson.

For the record, Perkins’ set in the blues tent Saturday night was one of the highlights of the weekend. Morgan says it was because someone slipped him a caffeinated cola before going on, but his playing was sure and fast and his creative endurance, exemplified by a 10-minute plus version of the classic “Mojo Workin’” written by his old boss Muddy Waters, would have tested players half his age.

Miss Stacy Ann Ferguson, better known to you as the bubbly Fergie, reveals what gets her ready for a concert in Memphis.

…working …working …working …

Yes. I do like Umphrey’s McGee.

Because they are confused. I like that. I can relate to that.

Bands like them usually pull a few particular hardcore followers, and it was one of those I sought. (The crowd was actually pretty sparse for the Budweiser Stage, for how nice the weather is.)

I was looking for a tour rat, or at least a college kid writing down the setlist. What I found was my 18-year-old cousin Carter Watson, who confirmed what I had suspected as soon as I walked within earshot.

What was going on was pretty much improvised.

You can tell by the changing key centers, general sense of uncertainty, and causal glances among band members. But it sounded like a song.

Click here and you can see for yourself.

“They have kind of been playing ‘In the Kitchen,’ but it’s been going on for at least 20 minutes,” he said.

The jam heavy segments were interspersed with dynamic tempo changes, more melodic vocal sections and some lounge actish goofiness that, yes, reminds me of Phish. There I said it.

But it wasn’t the same bit, Anymore than George Carlin is the same bit as Lewis Black.
Not really even close.
There are just… similarities.

Most of the show was wound up pretty tightly.

It’s not everyone’s bag, but hey, what is?

I was impressed with both the technical virtuosity and multi-layered cohesiveness of the presentation.

See? I like stuff sometimes!

This might be it for me campers.
I’m thinking about bailing on Fergie and the Black Crows.

No offense intended to either.

I’m just about BSMFed out.

Thanks to everyone who helped this go so smoothly this year.

Cheers.

Lest you think Matisyahu’s Hasidic Jewish look is an act, Judy Peiser of the Center for Southern Folklore tells the Commercial Appeal that on Friday the Center, in association with the Jewish Federation, a web community called Jewlicious.com, and the Jewish organization Birthright, hosted a Shabbat dinner for the reggae rapper and about 100 members of the local Jewish community.

“Anytime he goes into a city, he wants to celebrate the Shabbat with the locals because he doesn’t like to stay in his hotel room alone,” says Peiser.

The next day about 100 people gathered in Matisyahu’s suite at the downtown Marriot to perform the Kiddush, a blessing tradition to sanctify the Shabbat. (My apologies to the Jewish community if I am completely misinterpreting their traditions.)

“I actually got to do the blessing over the Torah before he [Matisyahu] read from it,” said music manager Charlie Burch, who was in attendance.

Aretha tells a joke. A friend of hers was staying in a hotel on Beale Street. “I woke up in the middle of the night and there was a man in my room,” says the friend.

“Girl, what did you do?” asks Aretha.

“I called the front desk and told them to call the police tomorrow.”

Halfway through Aretha’s excellent set, playing to what must be half of the day’s attendance, organizers must be breathing a sigh of relief. Franklin has been known to be difficult, and the conditions presented at an outdoor festival are ideal for complaints. Friday there was rain. Saturday there was cold. Tonight is just right. Perfect sunset. Ideal temperature. And the audience is seriously enthralled. From front to back, hands are in the air.

A few sound glitches have irked the Queen of Soul.  Otherwise she’s putting on a great show. Mayor Herenton’s hand off of the Key to the City went off well. He plowed through the boos of his detractors and put the focus quickly on Ms. Franklin. 

She stops mid “Freeway” to introduce her band and tells the crowd she had a good time in Memphis. (Yes!) “I’m going to eat some good barbecue,” she says before taking her leave. No encore…

Test your visual accuity, or just waste a few seconds by playing Where’s Donahue? Click the image below and start searching.

I just heard Finger Eleven play their ultrasupermegahit “Paralyzer” with bits of Led Zeppelin (“Talk About Love” “Trampled Under Foot”*) and Pink Floyd (”Another Brick in the Wall”) songs stuck in there like the balogna inside a headbanging sandwich.

Can they do that? Is that allowed?

Well, the crowd seemed to enjoy it.

So, okay. I’ll let it slide.
edit, 10:40 p.m. * Wow, enormous brain fart there. And no, you cannot have any of what I’m smoking.

Mayor Willie Herenton just presented Aretha Franklin with a key to the city. As soon as he stepped on stage, the crowd booed and hissed. A lot. It’s not altogether a shocking reaction, but still. It was weird.