Oracle and the Mountain

The Whigs

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Iconoclastic bluesman Richard Johnston is, in a way, responsible for the Southern Comfort Blues Shack being introduced at this year’s Beale Street Music Festival. Last year, the one-man band who plays anywhere he can around town, found a spot at Tom Lee Park during the 2007 festival and did his thing. Memphis in May didn’t get mad, it got creative and put up the SoCo shack to provide music between sets at the Tennessee Lottery Blues Tent.

Buddy Guy jumped on stage in full patriotic garb and proceeded to wow the crowd with energy and personality. Santana showed up backstage to watch the prolific bluesman work the crowd. Watch this video on how Mr. Guy does it.

Backstage at the Blues Tent, the venerable bluesman Pinetop Perkins sits quietly and somewhat luminously as Watermelon Slim goes through his sound checks. Mr. Perkins dispenses conversation and autographs as those who know who he is stand a bit away, shyly, somewhat in awe. This is the way it went.

 

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I would like to officially apologize to the Memphis Police Department for speeding here to catch Oracle and the Mountain. I’m sorry, but I only break the law when it’s really, really convenient for me.

I had to catch the only band here who is from Memphis, who is not a rap group, who is somewhat representative of what currently, really goes on around here. (In my tiny head/world anyway.)

I mean seriously, where is all the Memphis music?

(I’m not talking about the Jerry Lee Lewis kind.)

We didn’t have 40 minutes for the Noise Choir? or Vending Machine? or even Lucero or Snowglobe or The Glass or whatever? Adios Gringos maybe? Joint Chiefs? Mouserocket? The Warble? The Subteens? Arma Secreta? I’m nothing that even approaches a music critic, but come on!?

In my head its early Saturday afternoon at the Tom Lee Park BSMF, most people are waiting around on the headliners, and this is the best time to wander and discover something. Preferably from Memphis. We have such an amazing, diverse music scene and it’s lame for it to just lie here dormant at our big “showcase.” I guess Muck Sticky and Saving Able is what the kids want to see.

But I’m not so sure. Maybe I just don’t get it.

Anyway Oracle and the Mountain was great.
We should have more acts like that.

Now that I’ve gotten my single, solitary gripe out of the way; I’m going to have some fun.

Maybe wander over towards the Buddy Guy, Lou Reed area. You guys should come hang out. I hear the draw today is 60,000, but it doesn’t really seem that crowded to me…

(I have pictures, but this computer is bobo… you’ll have to wait. I know you can hardly stand it.)

A corn dog is calling my name.

Cheers.

The rap master whooped that trick for the crowd Saturday afternoon at the Budweiser Stage. And afterward he dutifully thanked the Good Lord for keeping the light on him. Amen to that.

Feel-good troubador Muck Sticky kicked off the BSMF doings at the Cellular South Stage on Saturday. Here’s a personal message just for you and a bit of his show, about as much as we could publish on a responsible family Web site.

What is sticky muck? So I’m this old dude trying to figure out the music festival. Last time I was at something like this the Grateful Dead was playing and everyone was doing a field of wheat dance - arms waving kind of mellow in the breeze like Kansas on a good day. Something tells me times have changed. But when I check out this act called Muck Sticky, the first thing that happens is two giant reefer torches start smoking on stage. That looks familiar, but it’s been a long time. Muck Sticky comes on stage between the monster joints looking like an annoying leprechaun who got into his kid sister’s wardrobe. I asked around about him. Listen to the audio. Click here. What is sticky muck?

Here’s some of the Turkish band Duman blending Turkish folk and modern rock Saturday afternoon, but it sounds more rock in this take.

I just caught some of the first of two Music Fests by Turkish rock band Duman. The Memphis in May honored country’s musical representative attracted a smallish but fast-growing crowd as the chilly evening began, drawing appreciative cheers from the throng that included at least a couple dozen people singing along to the Turkish-language lyrics.

A Mediterranean melancholy pervades many of Duman’s tunes, and some of the dueling guitar lines have a distinct Middle Eastern flavor. But, reflecting Turkey’s position as a bridge between East and West, they also are heavily influenced by ’90s American alt-rock bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins. Front man Kaan Tangöze is a brooding yet charismatic figure along the lines of Bono, but his dynamic vocal style has the range of Jeff Buckley or Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson.

If you missed Duman today, you can catch them at 4 Sunday on the Sam’s Town Stage, warming up for Jerry Lee Lewis.