Chris Appelbaum presents David Nelson’s Almost Acoustic featuring Banana, Paul Knight, Eric Thompson, & Suzy Thompson
China Camp Living Room
San Rafael, CA USA
4:00 PM, Sunday, December 29, 2024

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2024 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2024 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

• [3:12 PM] Dim Lights, Thick Smoke
• [3:22 PM] Dreadful Snake
  [3:26 PM] {done}

[4:35 PM] {performers gathering}
[4:39 PM] {we have a quorum, noodling; joking about counting how many strings are gathered in the room}

1. [4:41 PM] Rocky Road Blues (DN)
   [4:46 PM] {story from Banana about the next tune}
2. [4:47 PM] Hippie from Olema (B)
   {very brief discussion of plan for next tune}
3. [4:53 PM] Love Call Waltz (B/DN)
   {Banana says you probably can't hear that one anywhere else; DN dissembles a bit about Tracy Schwarz & the New Lost City Ramblers}
4. [4:58 PM] Poor Old Dirt Farmer (DN)
   [5:02 PM] {off mic planning}
5. [5:03 PM] I'm Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail (DN)
   [5:06 PM] {more off mic talk}
6. [5:07 PM] Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (DN)
   [5:11 PM] {general laughter as Nick carries the puppy outside – can't have him raiding the potluck!; more off mic discussion; PG swap to banjo}
7. [5:12 PM] Drifting With the Tide (B/DN)
   [5:16 PM] {DN talks about Reno & Smiley & the Tennessee Cut-Ups; PK lauds DN & B for their choice to support bluegrass music}
8. [5:19 PM] Could You Love Me One More Time (DN/B)
   [5:22 PM] {PG swaps back to lap steel; Banana asks if they're gonna be doing this one forwards or backwards; DN digression into how he got started with his backward singing, starting off with a reference to the tape manipulation of the Flying Saucer, which included a bit of backwards vocals on side B. David followed up by giving us the chorus of Panama Red: “der ramanap, der ramanap, namow roy leats le'hh…”}
9. [5:26 PM] Panama Red (DN)
   [5:30 PM] {std break 5-10-15-20 speech; set ends}

[6:10 PM] {performers starting to convene}
[6:17 PM] {full house!}
[6:20 PM] {false start on the First Whippoorwill – DN wants a faster tempo}

1. [6:20 PM] the First Whippoorwill (DN)
   [6:24 PM] {pause to get ET plugged in again; Banana jokes about rusty filthy buttons; planning for the next tune}
2. [6:26 PM] Two Soldiers (DN/B)
   [6:31 PM] {DN talks about folk songs as a way of spreading the news in the days before electronic media}
3. [6:33 PM] the Girl in the Crossroads Bar (DN/B)
   [6:36 PM] {quick story about John Dawson; segue into lesson swapping between PG & Jerry Garcia}
4. [6:40 PM] Last Lonely Eagle (DN)
   [6:46 PM] {intro next Reno & Smiley tune, story about recording them in Mickey's barn)
5. [6:49 PM] Freight Train Boogie (DN)
   [6:53 PM] {joking about the next tune… Must have been written by an alcoholic}
6. [6:54 PM] I Know You're Married But I Love You Still (DN)
   [6:58 PM] {Diamond Joe story; false start on tempo: rev it up!}
7. [7:00 PM] Diamond Joe (DN/B)
   [7:04 PM] {picking the next tune; PG belated swap to banjo}
8. [7:04 PM] Wicked Path of Sin (DN)
   [7:07 PM] {DN thx}
9. [7:08 PM] Ripple (DN)
   [7:13 PM] {show ends}

• Peter Grant: 9-string acoustic lap steel guitar, 5-string banjo, harmony vox;
• Banana AKA Lowell Levinger: 5-string mandola, lead & harmony vox;
• Paul Knight: acoustic bass guitar;
• David Nelson: acoustic guitar, lead & harmony vox;
• Eric Thompson: mandolin, harmony vox;
• Suzy Thompson: violin, harmony vox.

Today's show was a real treat: an intimate party with a collection of my musical heroes. I might have heard many of David's stories multiple times by now, but it remains interesting to hear him unravel the fractal threads of memory and walk us back to his early days. Somehow we continue to arrive at different destinations!

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

And our host Chris shared his own photo gallery.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2024 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2024 event list! ☸ On to the next event!