Geoff Muldaur, Jim Kweskin, Cindy Cashdollar, Bruce Hughes, Johnny Nicholas, Eric and Suzy Thompson took the stage at Berkeley’s new Freight and Salvage. Their record was inspired by a desire to lift the spirits of Stephen Bruton then beginning his fight against terminal illness.
The 25 tunes they played over the course of two sets represent a segment of American regional folk music of the 20’s and 30’s. The repertoire of this septet ranges far into the realms of hokum, jug band, country blues, western swing that collectively has become conveniently referred to as “Old Time”
Bonnie Raitt sat in for “Sittin on top of the World”, “Women be Wise” and the encore “Careless Love”. Her connection to Geoff and Jim goes back to the Cambridge MA folkscene of the late 60’s.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGCNp6cPXZg&feature=related
A live performance on KPFA during the Bonnie Simmons show boosted ticket sales and all advance ducats were gone by noon the following day. But as usual, all comers were welcomed in on a cold rainy Saturday night.
We can only hope that the group returns from time to time as they are just too fine to let go after only two live shows.
