CalPerformances presents Mavis Staples
2014-10-30
Zellerbach Hall Auditorium
U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA
8:00 PM, Thursday, October 30, 2014

Back to the previous event ☸ Up to the 2014 yearbox ☸ Up to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[8:01 PM seated; 8:08 PM lights down, announcements]

1. [8:10 PM] Come Go With Me
2. [8:14 PM] For What It's Worth
3. [8:17 PM] Slippery People
   [long break while Mavis talks about her day on campus]
4. [8:28 PM] I Like the Things About Me
   [sister Yvonne off for the rest of the show]
5. [8:32 PM] Respect Yourself
6. [8:36 PM] Can You Get To That
7. [8:40 PM] Holy Ghost
8. [8:43 PM] the Weight
9. [8:49 PM] Freedom Highway
10. [8:58 PM] We're Gonna Make It
    [all off but the trio]
11. [9:03 PM] ? (unidentified blues, sounds kinda like St. James Infirmary) $
12. [9:07 PM] ? (instrumental)
    [all back but Yvonne]
13. [9:13 PM] Let's Do It Again
14. [9:23 PM] I'll Take You There
    [set ends 9:37 PM]
     
    Encore
15. [9:39 PM] Eyes on the Prize
16. [9:45 PM] Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round
    [show ends 9:51 PM]

• Donny Gerrard: harmony vox;
• Stephen Hodges: drums, harmony vox;
• Rick Holmstrom: guitar
• Vicki Randle: harmony vox;
• Mavis Staples: vox;
• Yvonne Staples: harmony vox;
• Jeff Turmes: bass, $ slide guitar.

Friggin' Andronoter/Simplenote handshake issue (and my own impatience) caused me to lose my notes on this gig… lessee what I can recreate at a few week's distance…

First off, I was really pleased to have this show on my calendar because I enjoy hearing Mavis sing, and I knew I was going to miss her set at HSB14 due to the inevitable conflict of too many good things happening at the same time. One of these days I need to check and see if an archived video stream of her set is available from the HSB website.

Secondly, I was surprised to note that Yvonne Staples, only a year or three older than baby Mavis, didn't seem to be doing all that well. She was leaning heavily on an attendant when she walked out with the other performers at the start of the show, and left after a couple tune, never to return. Mavis said something about it that made me think Yvonne has diabetic foot pain, so I can sympathize that standing for an hour or two performance would be uncomfortable.

Mavis was unusually talkative tonight, but she was also kind of incoherent – she kept interrupting herself or drifting from one storyline to another. As best as I can tell, she'd spent part of the day participating in some sort of panel discussion regarding popular and folk music of the civil rights era with Chris Strachwitz, Linda Tillery, and other local celebrities. Mavis may have also been awarded an honorary doctorate, but I couldn't tell for sure; the main takeaway was that she was in a good mood and had enjoyed a great day in Berkeley.

The band and performance were totally awesome, but one weird thing to mention is that it seemed like the guitar and bass weren't directed through the PA. So we got really full, rich sound from the singers, with good fill from the drums, but then relatively small sound from the guitar and bass. During the band's “solo” section when the singers were offstage, this was accentuated by the performance of relatively slow, quiet blues tunes instead of scorching burners. In fact, Rick Holstrom graced us with what had to be one of the quietest guitar solos ever during his star turn, hamming it up with great facial expressions as he caressed the strings ever the less, diminishing the volume until there was only motion without sound. Interesting, but bound to be somewhat dissatisfying to folks sitting further back in the house!

So it was another fun night. Whew! I'm glad we went!

Back to the previous event ☸ Up to the 2014 yearbox ☸ Up to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!