AmericanaFest Salute To John Hiatt

1

Isn't that Fred Tackett?

Dealing with seating by the side of the upstairs bleachers...

I heard "Slow Turning" in the background. And I sneaked a look forward and...

There was this white-haired guy wailing on guitar and...

I scanned the Troubadour stage and I saw Billy Payne on keys. And Kenny Gradney was on bass. The heart of Little Feat was playing one of John Hiatt's most memorable numbers like they'd been lit by firecrackers. Leads were traded. I went right up to the railing and stared.

And then it was over. And although Billy Payne appeared again, Fred did not.

But maybe you don't know Fred Tackett. Maybe you don't know he composed the second side opener on "Dixie Chicken." Bonnie Raitt did a good version of "Fool Yourself," but it's Lowell George's sweet vocal that puts this over the top.

Lowell George never won a Grammy. And slipped to the other side at 34, but if you were a fan, you were not a casual listener, Lowell and Little Feat own a distinct part of your heart.

Fred is 79, he'll be 80 in August. Billy Payne is a veritable youngster at 75, he'll be 76 in March. They looked like they just walked in off the street, with no airs, but boy could they play.

They might have to play. Then again, both wrote successful songs, hopefully the revenue is coming in.

But one thing's for sure, just like the dear departed Lowell George, they're musicians, not stars. And musicians PLAY!

2

I guess what struck me was how many of the acts on stage were not on a major label, although some were once.

John Hiatt himself... He had a buzz in the early 80s, he played Wong's West, David Geffen was there. The next time I ran into Geffen he told me he'd signed him. To the nascent Geffen Records.

But Hiatt didn't connect there. He was dropped, and ultimately A&M picked up his breakthrough album "Bring the Family" after it was recorded.

Back in the day... You were either on a major label or an also-ran. Today's best musicians don't have a label at all. There's a layer of stars that get reams of press, appeal to younger generations, but those who have aged out, or have been dropped, or were never signed, are no longer demoralized, they're just doing what musicians have always done, write and play. We're back to basics. And seemingly everybody but the media industrial complex seems to know this. Music has morphed. We're in evolution. Sure, avenues of remuneration have jumped the track, however anyone in the world can listen to your music for free, and that's a good thing, no, that's a GREAT THING! You monetize last in tech. And in the attention economy, you're thrilled if anyone's paying attention at all.

3

Now the dirty little secret of tonight's Grammy telecast is so many of those acts are singing to Pro Tools. I heard Questlove talking about his SNL movie on NPR on the way to last night's gig. The Ashlee Simpson debacle. He likes some warts, some mistakes, and he said 90% of what you hear on "The Tonight Show" is live, but ever since Michael Jackson's "Thriller," acts feel it necessary to get it exactly right, because they believe this is what the audience expects, and if the spotlight is upon them, they don't want to disappoint, they want to do their best sales job.

But the funny thing is so many working musicians are no longer selling at all. They're leading with their music. And if that's not enough...

There are all these stories of brand extensions... I'll say if you want to be a Kardashian, why play music at all?

And I'm not saying everyone's entitled to make a living in music, but there are some who are better than the rest, and all of those on stage last night fit that bill.

4

The absolute highlight was Michael McDonald singing "Have a Little Faith in Me." Just him and his piano. I guarantee you if McDonald repeated the performance tonight at the Grammys it would be the pinnacle. Because that's all you need.

And experience, those miles, pay dividends.

"When the tears you cry
Are all you can believe
Just give these loving arms a try, baby
And have a little faith in me"

The lyrics are good, but it's the tune and the delivery that put the enterprise over the top. They call that a song.

"Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me"

Despite his dignified and sometimes debonair appearance, Michael McDonald struggled to make it. He had issues with drugs. Last night he said the last time he played the Troubadour...he'd had to be bailed out of the Van Nuys jail to hit the stage.

That's music. There's no degree that ensures success. It's something that comes from deep inside, that when done right resonates with the listener. McDonald is playing and singing with his deep voice and you're just waiting for a crack... It's so right, naked, he's on the high wire...

But he's a professional.

Utterly astounding.

5

Joe Bonamassa played "Perfectly Good Guitar." And threw off some notes, he wailed.

He didn't sink the track, it was tasteful.

All the genres could coexist. You can play a Les Paul and have a fiddle on the same stage. It's all music. The audience knows this, but not the industry.

Lyle Lovett had a moment forty years ago. But he's still here, sans his large band. He too knows how to sell a song.

As for Los Lobos?

Positively mesmerizing. Los Lobos had a moment, but they never had a hit. But they continue to exist. Albeit worse for wear physically, like all of us from way back when.

But when they laid into "Down on the Riverbed"...

This is the rock that triumphed. A band so well-oiled, so tight, and so powerful that the music itself makes you pay attention, no stage antics are necessary. Once again, it's a thrill to see pros at work.

And then there was Hiatt himself.

6

He's been up and down. And never a household name. I remember seeing him as part of Ry Cooder's band at the Country Club in Reseda back in '81. The supergroup Little Village made a good record, but times were changing and it did not garner a mass audience and its members went their separate ways.

John did play a song he had a writing credit on that is most famous in Cooder's version, "Across the Borderline."

But I'd be lying if I didn't say the highlight of his set was "Thing Called Love," well-known by its Bonnie Raitt cover on her commercial breakthrough, "Nick of Time." Hell, you probably remember the video, with Dennis Quaid.

Now last night it was a duet, with Brandy Clark. Who may not have the fame of Raitt, but who is built in her mold. Then again, like Hiatt, she's more famous as a songwriter than a recording artist.

"Ugly ducklings don't turn into swans
And glide off down the lake
Whether your sunglasses are off or on
You only see the world you make"

Ain't that the truth. You don't count the blessings you have, you build up your weak points, shine up your personality and your soul... That's what it takes to make it in music. It's a long hard road. There might be a detour to stardom, but now less than ever in the post-Beatles era.

Everybody's in their own vertical. And if you're complaining... It's a hard road, but only you are responsible for your success. When you get your moment, you've got to deliver, you've got to capture the crowd.

And there was one moment last night when Cedric Burnside performed "Icy Blue Heart." After looking Cedric up on Wikipedia, I listened as he played a song I do not know by heart and...

My mind started to drift and...

I realized this was the experience. The through thread from then to now, from being bitten by the bug to late age. Going to the gig, not to dance or make friends but to be released into a world you cannot access otherwise. Where your whole personality is in evidence, but you are alone in the room. You can see your past, you contemplate your future, all you know is this feeling...this feeling is what you live for.

And that was the feeling last night.

Setlist: https://shorturl.at/UJVx7


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