Hey! Dan Wrote a Guest Post on the Happy Ass Ranch Bluegrass Festival

The 4th Annual Happy Ass www.happyassranch.com Ranch Bluegrass Festival and Jam recently filled the hills with good music at Happy Ass Ranch, up highway 24 and west of Lake George, Colorado.  Two to three hundred people made it out to the festival, with most camping out at the ranch for the music.

Headliners at the fest, Grass it Up www.grassitup.com and Creating a Newsense  Creating A Newsense - Hard Rockin' Barn Stompin' Psychedelic Porn Funk

www.creatinganewsense.com capped off a raucous Saturday Night.  Creating a Newsense brought the crowd to a frenzied fist-pumping climax with an unidentified, but crowd favorite anthem.  As well, Grass it Up sparked the crowd with electric renditions of crowd favorites "Carr Jack Blues" and "Nadine".

Music continued on Sunday, with the festival wrapping up Sunday afternoon.
Things got started Friday, with the Ackermans www.theackermansbluegrass.com (from Colorado Springs).  In fact, almost all bands performing at the ranch were from Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and Pueblo.

According to one Festival originator, David Jeffrey, organizers set out this
year to put the focus on local bands.  As a result, the Bluegrass Festival
excluded out-of-state bands that play bluegrass music in exchange for local
bands that play other types of music.  Good news for music fans and the odd,
eclectic group Edith Makes a Paper Chain www.myspace.com/edithmakesapaperchain2. 

Paper chain (as dizzied festival goers dubbed "Edith") does not play
bluegrass.  Not intentionally, anyway.  Paper chain's work is described as,
among other things, gypsy folk and "haunted circus music".  While slightly
more accessible than Denver's Bela Karoli www.belakaroli.com (the band, not the coach), Paper Chain did deliver an assortment of oddity Friday night.  The most moving

moment came during a cover of Radiohead's www.radiohead.com  "No surprises".  Serious music fans are not supposed to like covers.  However, this was not a case of one local group imitating another, much more famous group.  This was a case

where the newer group hijacked the material.  They made it their own. It was
impressive.

While Paper chain supplied the highlight for Friday night, a collected group
of local songwriters did so for Saturday afternoon.  Talent from Creating a
Newsense, The Haunted Windchimes www.myspace.com/thehauntedwindchimes, The Jack Trades www.myspace.com/thejacktrades, and The Genuwines www.myspace.com/thegenuwines were

assembled for an all-star party that made it clear that their individual
bands are worth checking out.

Although the Happy Ass Ranch Bluegrass Festival and Jam is over for this
year, YOU can make its effects live on by seeing any of the new (and long
established) bands that it has brought out. Do that.

YOU HAVE TO BE SMART TO BE FUNNY - THAT'S PETE BARBUTTI

 Watch out Pueblo, comedian Pete Barbutti’s on a roll and he loves to tease you.  

  Barbutti's in town for a Denver fundraiser called The Italian Open, benefitting Children's Hospital.  He donates his time to it every year, even though he doesn't golf. 

  When a woman in the audience says she’s from the Steel City, Barbutti pats the baby grand and says, “This here’s a piano.  You folks usually don’t see stuff this size without John Deere written on it."

  Pete Barbutti is the guy you remember making Johnny Carson laugh.  If you want a refresher, go to YouTube or click on  www.barbuti.com.    He appeared on the Carson show many times, and was a well-loved visitor to the shows of Jay Leno and David Letterman.

  But comedy is only half the act.  Barbutti is a well-respected pianist.  He'll be appearing in a jazz cruise that sails the Caribbean in November thejazzcruise.com.  In addition to the regular type of performance, he has the unusual ability to play the piano with his nose.  It looks painful but it's funny.

  Half Irish and half Italian, “Napolitan,” he says, his comic routine can cover everything from his heritage to the over-dramatic drummers magicians use.   

  We talked over coffee at the open and I asked if he still kept up a regular performance schedule.

  "There's not that much work out there," Barbutti replied.  "The supper club circuit has disappeared.  It used to be, every city would have two or three places where there would be a band, dancing, and a comic.  I’m most comfortable in night clubs. Comedy is best in a smaller venue. It belong in rooms where they can see you.  The laughter can reach you immediately."

  For a kid who grew up in Pennsylvania, he became quite a scientist on the subject of comedy.  Barbutti teaches a class on it.  There are rules that hold true, he says, no matter where you're playing.

  "That's why everybody likes Vegas," he observes, " because it's a wide variety of people.  Homogenous audiences are difficult for comedy." 

  Would he ever play Pueblo?  This question was too easy to resist another jab.

  "Pueblo's where elephants go to die.  I would love to play Pueblo."

  I vote we start a supper club.

I wanted so badly to get tickets to the Earth Wind and Fire www.earthwindandfire.com/ Chicago  www.chicagotheband.com concert, coming up at Fiddler's Green  fiddlers-green-amphitheatre-formerly-coors- amphitheatre.  I have to tell you, I'm so glad I couldn't afford them.  I heard the bands together on the CBS morning show this week - Oh My God.  As much as I love these guys, they stank! Here's the video link.  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/id=5097294n&tag=contentMain;contentBody  

They may be in good spirits but they're not in good voice.  I know they've already been touring for a month but if you can't hit a note on national TV, you can't hit a note.  The EWF gang couldn't hit a note with a hammer.  There's nothing more frustrating than sitting in an audience thinking you could sing better than the guys you came to hear.  (I always wonder, "Do these folks think we're deaf, or that we simply can't remember?)  The two horn sections together are skin-tingling, but with the best seats selling at better than a thousand dollars, I'd say, wait until the bands record an album together, then buy the finished product.  

OK, SO DID YOU SEE OUR FORMER HOMETOWN GUY ON STEVEN COLBERT?

I'm talking about General Ray Odierno (great Italian name) formerly at Fort Carson. He visited Steven (here's the link to the video clip) http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/230466/june-11-2009/stephen-gets-his-hair-cut on the show's trip to visit the troops in middle east and announced that if Colbert wanted to play soldier, he needed to look the part, i.e., a military haircut.  As Colbert protested, the Commander in Chief was beamed in via satellite, saying, "I heard the general say you need a haircut."  

Colbert said, "Are your spy satellites really that good?"

The president responded, "No, my ears are really that big."

SOME GREAT THINGS ARE COMING TO THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY

This year's Academy Concerts schedule has some great stuff.  The academy is not going to make is easy to buy tickets unless you're a season subscriber but you can get information on:  www.usafaservices.com or by calling 719-333-4497, where, in my experience, they're always very nice.  I'm not being facetious, they really are.

So, the first performance of the year is August 23, the Air Force variety show, Tops in Blue www.topsinblue.com. This is certainly a screamin' deal - it's free, no tickets required.  First come, first served until the Arnold Hall Theater fills up.  The range of music is wide - everything from Latin to country.

Next, on September 19,  comes one of my favorite comedians, Dennis Miller www.dennismillerradio.com. Miller's known for a whole body of work. In addition to stand up and his own talk shows, he was part of the ABC "Monday Night Football" team and before that, anchor of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. You know you're in for a good time when a disclaimer at the bottom of the Academy's advertisement says, "This is a political satire show and not intended to offend anyone."

October 16, it's the big band theatrical swing review, In the Mood www.inthemoodlive.com.  Love big band music.  This has both singers and dancers.  It includes favorites from Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Harry James, among others.

Then comes Camelot www.broadwaymusicalhome.com.  You'll know a lot of these scores, "If I Would Ever Leave You," for instance.

The Ten Tenors www.thetentenors.com sounds like a snoozer until you learn these guys are from Australia.  Apparently they're not above singing "Rawhide" or dancing in a Rockette-style chorus line.

Country music darling LeAnn Rimes www.leannrimesworld.com      plays January 22.

On February 5, it's The Pink Floyd Experience  www.thepinkfloydexperience.net.Yawn.

March 5 is Le Grand Cirque  www.legrandcrcqueshow.com

I do enjoy this stuff - to me it seems like the performers defy gravity.

It's a circus performance with acrobats and gymnasts from all over the world.

YES, THEY DO ATTACT

It's been prom season and the local girls have been gorgeous, but no one has out done these fabulous photos of my friend, Jan Rowe!

Doesn't she look absolutely "Princess Grace" relaxed and regal?  Here's what she wrote when I asked all my friends to send pictures:

"Good morning, buddy! I can find a couple pics of just me in the immortal prom dress, but I

KNOW there is a picture of me and my date (he was a dead ringer for Tommy Smothers) floating around the house. I am still searching for it. It is a hoot, to be sure, especially the hair."

This brings us to the "opposites" issue.

Yes, this would be the lovely and talented James Rowe, better half, er, spouse of Jan.  He refuses to divulge the identity of the lovely seniorita.  We only know it's not Jan and that he adopted a somewhat more reserved wardrobe style in the years after this.  Many of you may remember Jim - he was a fantastically popular piano player at the Broadmoor's Golden Bee.

OK, so I have to show you one more prom picture because I'm proud.  

To the right is my daughter and her terrific boyfriend, Zane Watkins, going to Rampart's prom this year.  They had a wonderful time and reported that the Rampart After-Prom party was just fantastic. Our thanks to the parents that organized it. 

A couple last thoughts - if you have prom pictures of your kids (or yourself!) I would love to post them.

And here's a trick we imported from Georgia last year - they have "picture parties" before prom, where they meet at a location good for photographs.  The kids have soft drinks and the adults have a cocktail party.  They arrange those girls by order of dress hue and it looks gorgeous.  I'm out of prom-goers, but I would highly recommend it. 

FFEELING A LITTLE GUILTY ABOUT THE MOROSE-POST BELOW

So here's a happier note - actually a bunch of them.

Wendy Woo www.wendywoo.com plays at the Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts www.trilakesarts.org tomorrow night and it would be worth the trip.  

Woo is gifted vocally and with her wonderful, acoustic guitar.  It's hard to name her type of music because there's such a range to what she sings.  On Friday, she performs with Robin Hoch, another terrific acoustic musician.

Wendy is from Boulder, Robin is from Denver.  (I love it when Colorado musicians are successful.)

I was introduced to Woo-music by my friend, Heather Hostetler.  Heather's a Wendy fan from way back and she has good taste in music.  On the other hand, when the Wendy Woo Band came on the scene, Heather was a single parent with six small children - those people think anything other than shreiking sounds good.  On this one, she was right.  

A ROTTEN AND WEIRD DEVELOPMENT

We usually focus on local entertainment, but I'm compelled to write something on actor David Carradine www.david-carradine.com being found dead in what appears to be a suicide.

The circumstances are odd.  Carradine was in Bangkok shooting a movie.  Early reports say the 72-year old was found hanging in his hotel room closet.  

Many of  us remember Carradine from the 1970's tv series, Kung Fu.  I did, but not fondly.  I thought his most charming work was in the weird movie my son convinced me to see, Kill Bill.  He was a riot in that, playing Bill, whom Uma Thurman spends the movie trying to kill.  It was a Quentin Tarantino film.  Need I say more?

Among Carradine's other credits were the movies Kill Zone, Dangerous Curves and Brothers in Arms, but he appeared in more than 100 films over the course of his career.  

David was the eldest son of actor, John Carradine.  Keith Carradine, Robert Carradine and Michael Bowen are his brothers.  He grew up in Hollywood and served two years in the Army before going to New York to act.  Carradine was married five times and had two daughters, Calista Miranda and Kansas, both actresses.

Only a year ago, the actor had talked about being proud of still being able to play the type of roles he was getting at the age of 71.  Suicide is so awful and odd.

With files from The Associated Press