Wow, Great New Shows Just Added

Got the weekly notice from Kathy at the Narrows that in a few weeks we'll be hosting the New York Dolls' frontman David Johansen January 13. You may know him as Buster Pointdexter or his solo song "Funky But Chic."

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Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson February 11.

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Robert Cray February 23.

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Ralph Stanley March 5.

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Tommy Castro March 19.

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Chely Wright March 26.

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Neil Innes (remember The Rutles?) May 14.

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All the other great performers already scheduled like Judy Collins, Eilen Jewell, Aztec 2-Step, Rodney Crowell and many more.

Visit www.ncfta.org.

Good Cookin' with a Camino

Congrats to the Narrows' new fave Elizabeth Cook for having one of Rolling Stone mags top songs of 2010, "El Camino."

The track is from her Welder recording, and tells the story of a liaison with a mulleted guy who drives a 1972 El Camino, a guy who wears shirts "trippin' on LSD," and whose car "is creepy man, not in a gangster kind of way, but in a perv kind of way."

She and her group played the Narrows special show for donors in November. On the right is Ms. Cook with Narrows treasurer Tom Murray during the show's intermission.

See the Rolling Stone brief write up.

Yule Grass for Y'All

Darol Anger's Republic of Strings brought the season's cheer to the Narrows on Friday night. Mr. Anger, on the right in the photo, and his ensemble melded bluegrass and classical and spun it into a Christmas "yule grass" show.

Mr. Anger was a longtime member of the acclaimed Turtle Island String Quartet, and played in the David Grisman Quintet and other groups. If you've listened to NPR's "Car Talk," you've heard Mr. Anger's music. He plays on the theme song.

Rock's Greatest Generation

A representative of what is arguably rock 'n' roll's Greatest Generation, Ian Hunter, made his Narrows debut Saturday night.

Hunter, 71 years young, was Mott the Hoople, the glam rock band from the 1970s. Their hits include All the Way from Memphis ("You look like a star but you're really out on parole"), a cover of Lou Reed's Sweet Jane ("Standing on the corner, suitcase in his hand"), and David Bowie's All the Young Dudes, which gave Mott the Hoople a career after they were on the verge of being the next big thing that never was.

After Mott, Hunter went on to a solo career and songwriting. His greatest commercial successes were his Cleveland Rocks (the theme song of the Drew Carey Show, recorded by the Presidents of the United States), Ships, sung by Barry Manilow, and Once Bitten Twice Shy, covered by Great White. Did I miss anything, fans?

Saturday night he was in great voice, with plenty of energy, spurred on by former Wings member Steve Holley on drums and guitarist extraordinaire Andy York.

Hunter is one of the oldest of Rock's Greatest Generation, but Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, Paul McCartney, David Crosby, Dan Hicks, Steven Stills, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, John Sebastian,Pete Townsend, Ray Davies, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Jeff Beck, Leon Russell, Van Morrison, Judy Collins, Donovan, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, etc. aren't far behind. And many still pack venues, despite being on the scene for 40 or more years. To put that in perspective, if you were living in the 1960s, it would be like performers from the 1920s still competing in the concert halls and on the record charts. With the exception of Louis Armstrong, I don't think that was happening much if at all.

So Hail! Hail! Rock's Greatest Generation. Long may you live. Hope to see you, like Ian Hunter, at the Narrows soon.

Nanci Griffith Makes Her Narrows Debut

What can one say? Nanci Griffith warmed us on a frosty December night.

Top Shows of 2010

It's getting to be that time of year again.

What were your favorite shows at the Narrows?

Some of mine in no particular order:

J. D. Souther

Ralph Stanley

Ralph Stanley II

Hapa

The Holmes Brothers

Paula Cole

James Hunter

Hot Club of Cowtown

Shelby Lynne

Carolina Chocolate Drops

How 'bout you?

Tickets Moving Swiftly

Hmmm...let's see...

Last I checked there were 25 tickets to the Nanci Griffith show left.

Several dozen for the 7 Walkers/Bill Kreutzmann, George Porter etc. show.

And we're starting to run out of tickets for Ian Hunter and Johnny Winter, but there should be some available if you move pretty soon.

Be sure to check out the 2011 schedule, and maybe get a Christmas present or two. Marshall Crenshaw, Eilen Jewell, James Hunter, Buckwheat Zydeco, Leon Redbone, Steve Forbert, Dave Mason and many more.

www.ncfta.org.