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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2007)
Alfonso Maya Modern Troubador The Secret is Out It’s summertime, and the livin’ is easy, especially when music, wine and food sam- ples are involved. And a kids’ craft and play area to keep the little ones happy? And kids 15 and under are free? Sign me up, bro. The first annual Summerfest at Secret House Winery promises all this and more as it highlights some of the best local food, music, wine and beer in a daylong celebra- tion. Organizer Darrel Kau says he and the owners of Secret House decided to do “something different from the commercial concert venue.” Summerfest stemmed from a desire to counter the proliferation of summer concerts with high ticket prices. Kau envisioned an affordable “best of” event for the whole family. “This is the first time we’re doing this, and we’re hoping it breaks even so we can do it again,” Kau says. “It’s in a vineyard, it’s not as formal- ized as an amphitheater . . . so you just come on in and walk around. There’s lots of space to lounge and fields to play in. It’s very inviting.” Kau targeted some of the area’s best music. The fest starts at 2 pm with The KoKo Lovetet, representing with slightly funky cool jazz. It gets hotter as the day goes on with the spicy salsa of Eugene’s fa- vorite Latin musicians, Lo Nuestro. After that, sampling time starts at 3 pm! The $10 ticket is a small price to pay for the ample samples coming your way: the wines of Secret House, of course, plus the local brews of Ninkasi Brewing Company and the foods of Mario Bros., Three Forks Wok & Grill and Larson’s Fine Chocolate and Ice Cream. The day could end there, and I’d be happy, but it’s just getting started. Norma Fraser will perform soulful roots reggae, sung in her warm Jamaican patois that makes any event seem like a tropical holi- day. You get a little gritty in the mix with Justin King and the Apologies, who kick out rock and roll with King’s virtuosic gui- tar. Disco Organica follows, with “trip hop lounge that grooves the soul.” No Eugene “best of” celebration would be complete without the blues, and you can hardly do better than The Vipers with Deb Cleveland. They’re known and loved by blues fans everywhere, and they draw this celebration of what’s great about sum- mertime in Eugene to a close. Summerfest begins at 2 pm Satuday, June 23, at Secret House Winery (88324 Vineyard Lane, Veneta; for directions see www.07summer- fest.com). $10, youth under 15 free. — Vanessa Salvia Stereotyping of Mexicans isn’t limited to Republican congressmen; it’s easy to as- sume that a troubadour from Cuernavaca must be playing norteño or ranchero or any of the various varieties of Mexican pop/rock. But Alfonso Maya’s warm, inti- mate tunes appeal as much to straightfor- ward folk music fans as world music types. Maya’s songs emerge from the trova tradition spawned in eastern Cuba. The similarity of the trovadores name to “trou- badours” is probably no accident: As part of the socially conscious Nueva Cancion movement that originated in the 1960s, these traveling singer-songrwriters con- veyed news, political satire and social con- cerns around the is- land. Borne on breezy bossa nova, son and other Latin American rhythms, the style migrated to Mexico, finding a sympathetic home in the now bustling arts capital of Lightning Dust Cuernavaca. Sometimes melancholy, sometimes im- petuous, Maya’s loping trova ballads can evoke Gilberto Gil’s early sound. From sly digs at commercial music (couched in hook-laden melodies) to cheerful celebra- tions of the underground scene to wistful songs of lost love, Maya’s memorable melodies leap across language barriers to the hearts of listeners. Alfonso Maya plays at 7:30 pm Saturday, June 23, at Cozmic Pizza ($8), and at 7:30 pm Sunday, June 24, at Green Salmon in Yachats. — Brett Campbell sound like Black Mountain. And The Cave Singers don’t sound like bassist Derek Fudesco’s old band, Pretty Girls Make Graves. Far from it: The trio’s spare tunes, which hover around old-timey but some- times suggest classic rock done up acoustic style, are haunted by their singer’s scratchy, impassioned voice. Lightning Dust creates moody, often bleak, relatively slow tunes, with the excep- tion, on their new self-titled album, of the almost disconcertingly jaunty “Wind Me Up.” Amber Webber’s voice is sweet and thick and dark as molasses, winding stickily through songs that are grounded in Joshua Wells’ gracefully straightforward piano lines and occasionally, as on the melancholy and gor- geous “Castles and Caves,” layered with just the right amount of cello. “Jump In,” on which Wells shares the vocal lead, has a carnival-like piano bit that might snag the ears of Jason Webley fans. Wells has a conversa- tional delivery that adds to the peculiar sideshow vibe that sparks some of the songs, but Webber’s tremu- lous, powerful voice is the star here. At her most plaintive, Webber brings to mind PJ Harvey; the band’s more dirge-like and dreamy tunes suggest Cat Power replacing Nico with the Velvet Underground. Lightning Dust creates hymns for empty rooms with rain-struck windows; their music calls up images of cobwebs in bright corners, clean clothes in the dirt and other such contradictary visions. Lightning Dust and The Cave Singers play at 9 pm Sunday, June 24, at Sam Bond’s Garage. 21+ show. $5. — Molly Templeton Light on Dark Pieces of other bands from farther north arrive in town this week in the form of Lightning Dust and The Cave Singers. But don’t be fooled: Lightning Dust, the new project of Black Mountain members Amber Webber and Joshua Wells, doesn’t THE Musical Complexities The members of The Walton Complex have been struggling for years to get the band organized and find a sound that’s co- hesive and represents who they are. The LANDMARK An Ocean view from every table 111 Hwy 101 in YACHATS • 541-547-5459 www.landmark-yachats.com Live at the Coast • Open Jam every Thursday 6:30pm • FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 9PM The Co-Stars Indie pop and rock from Eugene SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 9PM Papaw’s Blue Jelly Band we like to party. thirteenth and oak | twenty one and up visit indigodistrict.com for more details. 28 JUNE 21, 2007 Rockin’ blues from Corvallis veterans. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 8PM Widower An almost country band from Brooklyn, New York Fresh Fish/Italian - Authentic Oregon since 1911
