Santana

I came across this the other day… My first concert experience, on September 23rd of 1975, was Santana, with the opening act Earth, Wind & Fire(!!!!). For Christmas that year I received Santana’s 1974 triple LP ‘Lotus’, recorded live in Japan. This is one page of the LP booklet, signed by Carlos in the Fall of 1996, when my band toured with Santana for three months. The red guitar pick was used by Carlos during the Lunar Eclipse at the Phoenix concert on September 26, 1996.

Link to Instagram Post

San Francisco in March

I was scheduled to do five solo performances at the Rrazz starting today, through Sunday. Yet I am writing these words at home in Santa Fe. What happened?

The Rrazz called my agent on Monday and cancelled my performances. The club is currently closed due to a San Francisco noise ordinance. Here is a statement the club made in February, and which, as of today, is no longer linked from the homepage of the Rrazz website – maybe it will get updated later today:


At this time, through March 5, 2013 only, the SF Entertainment Commission has required us to pause our performances while we investigate a possible sound issue at our new home on Van Ness Avenue and rectify it as needed.  Since RRAZZ has always been considerate of our performers, audiences and neighbors, we stand to right unjustness whether on a broad spectrum or a narrow one.  Therefore, we feel obliged to postpone any performances through March 5 while we tend to the matter.  We are so very sorry for your inconvenience.

This is a temporary situation through March 5, 2013 only.

I assume the club had to delay re-opening to finish noise-related renovations.

Apparently the new home of the Rrazz – they moved from the Nikko Hotel location to a new room at 1000 Van Ness at the beginning of the year – is next door to an AMC movie theater. That proximity creates a two-way sound problem: loud R&B or Rock & Roll acts at the club might disturb quiet movies in the cinema and action movies at the cinema could disturb softer performances, such as solo guitar concerts. It is not an easy problem to tackle and I hope the Rrazz will find a solution.

Believe me, I would have enjoyed a few days in March in San Francisco: the city culture, the coffee, great audiences and so on…

I will, however, perform in San Francisco later this year, with the band, at Yoshi’s in the Summer.

PS: just noticed this statement that was linked from Twitter:

Unfortunately, there will be no Rrazz Room shows until May as the new club does construction. All March and April dates are officially cancelled.

If you’ve purchased tickets, you’ll be getting a full refund directly from the club shortly.

We look forward to opening the new club on the first Monday in May!

Reading

This time I am taking real books on tour with me. Peter Hoeg’s “Das Stille Mädchen” – I already read the book in English a couple of years ago. Jorge Luis Borges’ “Spiegel und Maske” (Mirror and Mask) – I read another book of his in English, on tour in Germany in March, and kept thinking that German might suit his writing, since I can’t read the original Spanish. “The Quantum Universe” by Brian Cox and “A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson.

Canada

Update:

I had been given a couple of the dates backwards. This here is the corrected schedule:

Apr 25 – Peterborough, Ontario – New Market Hall
Apr 26 – Port Hope, Ontario – The Capital Theater
Apr 27 – Hamilton, Ontario – Hamilton Studio
Apr 28 – London, Ontario – Aeolian Hall
Apr 29 – Toronto, Ontario – Hugh’s Room