Six days (nights) what ever; dedicated to MUSIC! Great!
Was Beachjam '99 a good deal? You betcha. Bill Grogan, the Bornns, and all their cohorts should be praised to the rooftops. Beachjam '99 was near perfect. Great weather, Great location, excellent proscenium, super duper crowd, and lively music to quench any pallet. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
I loaded biker mama on the Kawasaki and trundled off to the beach around noon. The crowd was building and the food services were doing a great business. By 12:30 the pates were almost all gone and we were into serious food. The only thing lacking was mutton, beef stew and Chinese. Next time?
The Zydeco Express didn't garner their share of publicity last week, but they were a great choice to lead off the day. Country and Western is simply fun music. There was a guy in the middle of the stage who was committed to scratching his chest off except for some galvanized — hung there by his mother? Good band, good sounds, good presentation. Made my Texas Pit go down smooth.
Next was the Tabou Combo. I never did figure out just how many are in a combo, maybe it is like the Texas Pit Combo, some of everything that's around. Again, good sound with a bit more of a jump up beat. One problem they have is some dude in black who chose to educate us to the Fxxx word. We have enough of our own trash without importing any more from New York. I would suggest the Tabou Combo educate Mr. Mud Mouth to the realities of a family beach outing before they become taboo.
Similarly, there was a trashy woman from New York thrown away by a Jamaican; or something. She obviously has a problem with body parts and sex. Someone who has to stoop to this level looking for comedy obviously lives in a waste land. Not next year!
Finally the band we had been waiting to cap the weekend stormed the stage and warmed up. Then we all waited. Now and then an instrumentalist would blow or twang to keep his fingers/ tongue/ etc. warm. And we all waited. Making people wait is a cheap shot used by immature egoists. Puente shouldn't need that garbage.
When he found the stage, we were treated to bursts of excellent mambo and asides of how good Tito Puente is. Mr. Grandstand made it a point of playing every piece and announcing he didn't need to do encores because he was so great. As I remember it, the audience asks for an encore because the musicians have done a superior job and the audience wants to hear more. Puente's Band I would definitely ask for encore. I love Big Band Music. The only reason I would encore Puente based on today's performance is the fact I think he should work for his money.
As a Senior Citizen proudly sporting my blue band, I have great empathy for the many jazz stars this week who slowed down, took breaks, etc. to overcome the fatigue incumbent with extended performance. Especially at the rate they all played; including Puente. My problem is the performer with a great band who limits the performance to the lowest common denominator his stamina. The Puente Band had three trumpets, two trombones, two saxes, a piano, three percussion and a guitar. Talented musicians most capable of carrying one number after another. Brownie stepped in for the final number and rapped out his own mean mambo. Puente could have let Irvin play several numbers and capitalized on a most talented Virgin Islander who has the respect of us all. In my humble opinion, Mr. Puente would be well advised to headline a special number now and then, letting his most excellent organization carry the show. Seventy to eighty minutes of music didn't cut it.
Beachjam was an almost unqualified success. Next time lets get a less egotistical headliner, one who enjoys playing music for the crowd. Paul Oscher and Danielo Perez are two who come to mind.
