Well, I was right! I loved the Billy Joe Shaver show at B Side Ballroom in Oneonta, and I love the B Side Ballroom! What a cool venue! The owners, Wayne and Rebecca, are lovely, as is Billy Joe Shaver! I’m gonna tell you a story. I met Billy Joe once in Austin. When he told me he was glad to meet me, I really believed it, because he said it like he really meant it! I was impressed with his vibe, too. He was glowing with something, not sure what. Love, maybe. After the show at B Side, I went over to say hello. Billy Joe immediately greeted me warmly and asked how I’ve been. He remembered me from a 15 minute meeting, once, ten years ago! See what I mean? The man is an amazing character, who’s LIVED! He told stories about his son dying, about shooting a guy at a bar in Texas, about Willie Nelson, music, you name it! Billy Joe Shaver is a wellspring of stories and music! I guess that’s what happens once you’ve been to Georgia on a fast train!

He brought his band with him, which was a pleasant surprise, and they rocked! Great playing, guys! Former Georgia Satellite Keith Christopher was there, and sat in on guitar, and I spotted some Horseshoe Lounge Playboys in the crowd, as well as my buddy John Madeo, who hosts The Little Delaware Jamboree on WIOX, 91.3 FM on Monday nights, and on whose show I am a frequent guest. Also on the web at www.wioxradio.org.

So, it was a fun night rockin’ out with Billy Joe, and I hope to return to the B Side frequently. Please support this place if you can. It’s awesome, and we need it to keep on doing what it’s doing for live music in Oneonta!

This week in the city, the second annual CBGB Music and Film Festival takes over the town from Tuesday through Sunday, with over 500 bands at almost 200 venues all across Manhattan and Brooklyn, and over 200 speakers and films, for a total of over 700 live events, culminating in a free concert in Times Square (see below) with My Morning Jacket, The Wallflowers, Grizzly Bear, and more bands and DJ’s! More info at www.cbgb.com!

Now for this week’s live music picks!

Wednesday, October 9 – The immortal GINGER BAKER and his new band, JAZZ CONFUSION, with saxophonist PEEWEE ELLIS, starts a 5 night run at Iridium in Manhattan. It looks like the former Cream drummer has put together a Jazz band, and has threatened to perform classics by Monk, Bird, Miles, and Trane! Well, he really always was a Jazz drummer! Nightly through October 13. Also at Leftfield on Ludlow Street, Hudson Valley resident GENYA RAVAN, formerly of Ten Wheel Drive and Goldie and The Gingerbreads, will be holding court with former Dead Boys guitarist, CHEETAH CHROME, who Genya produced for the debut Dead Boys album. Should be a great reunion! RODRIGUEZ is an artist with an amazing story! The Mexican-American singer/songwriter was signed to a major label and released two albums at the beginning of the 1970’s. Both albums stiffed and he was dropped from the label, after which he dropped out of the music business and lived on the brink of poverty for the next thirty years, doing demolition work and attending Wayne State University, where he earned a BA degree. Unknown to Rodriguez, during this time he became a platinum selling artist in South Africa and also very popular in Australia. In 1998, two South African fans discovered Rodriguez alive and well and living in Detroit. This started a musical comeback the likes of which has never been seen in the music business! In 2012, a documentary was made called “Looking for Sugar Man”, which won numerous awards around the world, including the Academy Award for best documentary! Rodriguez is now enjoying a resurgence of his career and is playing at The Barclay Center in Brooklyn tonight, and Radio City Music Hall tomorrow night! Radio City is sold out, but you can still snag tickets for the Barclay Center. Google him, visit his websites, and check him out on YouTube. Even if you don’t go, it’s an amazing story that will brighten your day!
Thursday, October 10 – If you can’t get a ticket for the sold out RODRIGUEZ show at Radio City, try STEVE KIMOCK AND BERNIE WORRELL at Brooklyn Bowl. Kimock is a veteran of numerous jam bands and Worrell is a member of the Parlia-Funkadelicment Thang, AKA The Parliament Funkadelic Musical Collective, and a former member of Talking Heads.
Friday, October 11 – The weekend starts with a bang, or several bangs, to be more precise! PUSS N BOOTS, a little Americana trio put together by Norah Jones, ex- Grace Potter and The Nocturnals bassist, Catherine Popper, and former Ryan Adams and The Cardinals member, Sasha Dobson, (and who my band, The Cheating Hearts, shared a bill with last year at Hill Country Barbecue in Manhattan), will be at Bowery Electric in Manhattan, with three other bands, all of whom will probably be good! (BTW, Norah listened and danced through the entire Cheating Hearts set, and then told us we were “great”)! Also tonight in Manhattan, the reunited Buena Vista Social Club, now known as ORQUESTA BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB, is at Jazz at Lincoln Center for the first of two nights, counter-culture demi-god, JOHN SINCLAIR (Google him) at Cutting Room, and the last surviving master of his style, TONY BENNETT, is at Radio City Music Hall! Up in the Catskills, RICKIE LEE JONES will perform at a breast cancer benefit at The Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, and The O+ FESTIVAL kicks off a 3 day weekend in Kingston. More info at www.opositivefestival.org.
Saturday, October 12 – We’re all about Manhattan tonight! Woodstock local hero, SIMONE FELICE is down in the city at Rockwood Music Hall, mega influential rock band, THE MEAT PUPPETS are at Brooklyn Bowl, FUZZ, who I never heard of, but have been favorably compared to Blue Cheer, are at Mercury Lounge, and MY MORNING JACKET, THE WALLFLOWERS, GRIZZLY BEAR, and several more bands, are at a place called Times Square!??? Outdoor show? Yup! It’s part of the CBGB Festival. It’s a free, all day show, so, enjoy!
Sunday, October 13 – RICKIE LEE JONES at Towne Crier in Beacon, DIANA KRALL at UPAC in Kingston, BEARSVILLE SESSIONS 8 will focus on ONE HIT WONDERS at The Bearsville Theater, and in the city, awesome Americana rock band, RECKLESS KELLY, is at Bowery Ballroom, and HAWKWIND, who were sort of the British version of The Grateful Dead, are at Gramercy Theater!
Tuesday, October 15 – MARK LANEGAN, of the fantastic grunge rock band, Screaming Trees, at Gramercy Theater, and an odd coupling of Rock Royalty, JEFF BECK AND BRIAN WILSON at The Beacon Theater!
Wednesday, October 16 – GLENN TILLBROOK, late of the band, Squeeze, at Stage 48 on, where else, 48th Street.
Thursday, October 17 – CBGB’S FILM makes its Hudson Valley premier at Bearsville Theater.

That’s it for another one! See you next week!

Fred Perry is the owner of Reservoir Music Center on Route 28 in Kingston, and founding member of Alt-Country supergroup, The Brooklyn Cowboys, is from a 3rd generation musical family and lives in the Hudson Valley, where he does what he can to promote live music.