Saturday, June 25 Marta Sanchez Quintet, 7 p.m. Lytton Plaza, free. Sylvie Simmons, 5 p.m. It’s also George Orwell‘s birthday and doubleplusgood that it is either two shows back to back or Sylvie is opening for Marta and or a co-bill and we’ve moved the start time to 5 p.m. not 7 p.m. Being heliotropic we are also timing the event to conclude when the sun goes down.
Thursday, June 30: Femi Kuti at Guild Theatre. (not my show but I did produce a show at Cubberley Community Center in 2000, with the legendary and son of legendary afro-pop Fela).
Friday, July 1: Ben Goldberg at Stanford Jazz Workshop – -not my show but I would pay to see it.
July 10, Mitchell Park Bowl – Tne Waybacks (interestingly, an early version of this band appeared circa 2003 at Cogswell Plaza downtown, on the city budget, by We The People, as part of the Brown Bag series. In that year there were 18 civic shows in Palo Alto, twelve in the Twilight Series — which were on Tuesdays — and six in the nooner series. And most of them played original music not merely covers. The Waybacks features James Nash and Warren Hood but are a full band not a duo.
Monday, July 11: Howard Wiley at Stanford Jazz Workshop.
Wednesday, July 13: Old Crow Medicine Show, Molly Tuttle at Mountain Winery. Pricey but nicey.
July 17, Amendola VS Blades, 2 pm Mitchell Park Bowl. The fifth time that a version of Amendola VS Blades has played Palo Alto earthwise either at The Mitch, the Art Center, Lytton Plaza or Mitch Bowl.
Sunday July 17 evening: Josh Milgrom at Stanford Jazz Workshop.
July 21: Dayna Stephens at Stanford Jazz Workshop – but I recommend going to the jam sessions at CoHo some nights.
July 24 Citta di Vitti band featuring Philip Greenlief and Lisa Mezzacappa, somehow inspired by foreign films. I think the drummer is Jason Levis but not Jason Lewis.
July 26: Counting Crows at Mountain Winery. If I ran into Adam Duritz right now he would not recognize me but there are three ways that I can explain to him how we know each other. And I sometimes tell people that he more than any other act epitomizes my being an 1990s indie rock guy. We got different reasons for all that.
July 27 I would likely be too tired to actually attend this but I recommend Sony Holland at Bird and Becketts in SF. With Jerry Holland on guitar. Doing Linda Ronstadt book.
July 28 Michael Franti at Mountain Winery. I tell people that the FBI or Deep State told Franti that if he switched from revolution to love songs they would make things easier on him.
July 30, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Mitchell Park Bowl, 2 pm; the famous agit prop comedia del arte group has been in and out of Palo Alto in recent years, at either Mitchell Park or Cubberley amphitheatre but Earthwise is proud to be the exclusive producer of this show. The show is called “Back To The Way Things Were”.
Factwino says 9 and 9 is fine
August 7, Native Elements, Mitch Bowl. This is a reggae band led from the kit by my friend Chris Cortez who is also a DJ at KCSM.
August 8, Erik Lawrence, Akira Tana duo or trio.
August 19, ROVA with Thollem McDonas at either The Art Center or Lytton Plaza, or possibly both.
October 7 Marley’s Ghost at Lytton Plaza. This might be the last outdoor show of the season. I will say its “rain or shine”.
THE ONES AFTER NINE + NINE:
Steve Poltz. Tammy Hall. Battle Trance featuring Gunn grad Matt Nelson on reeds. Others tba. My best year as a promoter was 1998 0r 1999 and I did 32 shows and I hope to bust that this year, Lord willing and the crick don’t rise or covid deaths. We are at about 2,341 deaths in a county Santa Clara of two million people and I am sorry for your loss but we will survive this. And music helps.
So that’s nine of mine and nine of the others. Which adds to 18 which means “LIFE”.
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 