Hi everyone!
Today I read that Michael Franti is coming to Northampton this autumn. He'll be appearing at the Calvin Theatre. Checking the prices on The Ironhorse's website ( www.iheg.com ) I saw a price of $32.
Now in the broad scheme of things that's not too bad a price these days. My wife Linda and I have debated this subject relentlessly. We both love listening to music and we were once DJ's on Valley Free Radio.
It's always interesting to see what acts charge. There are times, in our opinion, when you see the price some so-called "acts" charge and you think to yourself ( or at least this Brit does ) "how the bloody hell can they justify charging that price???!!"
We've heard that there are still tickets to see Cyndi Lauper at Look Park available for this Sunday's gig. She's a big following still so you'd think she'd sell out the joint - right? Guess not - price really IS the determining factor these days.
That's been our mantra. We've found that if you box clever and stay relatively "local" ( I'm thinking The Ironhorse in particular ) you can get real value for money. One of the best nights we had there was when we saw Ian McClagan last November. There was just him and his guitarist. In case you don't know, Ian McClagan played keyboards for the Small Faces, The Faces, The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt and a whole host of people.
To our sadness, The Ironhorse wan't very full indeed. There hadn't appeared to be a great deal of promoting. However, those who did come were treated to an intimate night of solo music and classics from yesteryear. We met him afterwards and he posed for pictures and even signed his autobiography. He was and is a true gent!
In June we saw a man Van Morrison called "Britain's best kept secret" in action - the legend that is Mr James Hunter. It's the 2nd time we've seen him here in the Pioneer Valley. We've not been disappointed. We got to meet him once and quite honestly you couldn't meet a nicer bloke if you tried. He signed a poster for us - it's on the wall here in the spare bedroom at the Kennedy Compound - and his music is wonderful. It's classic soul of the highest order.
Fellow Brit and long term resident here in the Valley and Big Bad Bollocks lead singer John Allen said to us at the gig that he once thought when all the classic old soul singers of the 60's started to "pass over" who'd take their place? James Hunter that's who! John had never seen the man in action and was blown away. The music certainly wasn't "samey" as the reviewer from the Gazzette called it. Well, Linda, Bev,John and I don't think so - neither did a packed "Ironhorse"!I'll post pictures and a little video soon.
Talking of that establishment, one of the barmen is a friend of ours. He is a DJ on WMUA and used to be on before me on a Wednesday afternoon on WXOJ 103.3FM. I refer to S.J.Mack. His band "Stewart James and The Memphis Flyers" played at The Ashfield Lake House. What a great night. I'll post pictures on here soon.
So, stay local, choose wisely and you'll have a good night out! Trust me on that one!
Have fun,
Eddie
