Video from Jim Kweskin Gig

Ahh yes, my Blackberry has finally outsmarted the iPhone. Couldn't do this with the old iPhone.

Jim Kweskin and Bonnie Raitt!

Jim Kweskin played tonight with Geoff Muldaur and the Texas Sheiks at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, Bonnie Raitt, who was sitting in the audience, got up and joined the band for a few tunes. Here they are during the encore.

Jim Kweskin in Concert

Last night I had the opportunity to see my cousin Jim Kweskin perform live and in person at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley. His performance was a pleasure and I especially appreciated the stories in between tunes. This was my first time seeing him perform except for a few tunes at my cousin's wedding about seven years ago. The set was a mix of blues, folk, jug band, and ragtime. Jim was tight with a fiddler and bass player on either side of the stage.

Also saw some long lost friends and cousins in the audience. Continued to socializing today with a bit of a cousins reunion lunch and it was wonderful to connect. So much to learn about and from each other. Ah yes, we Kweskins are an interesting lot.

Trout Fishing in America

This weekend, looking at the Arion Press website, I discovered a book that I'd never heard of before called Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan. Rene informed me that it was not at all about trout fishing and I knew immediately I had to give it a read. Although it was a trippy set of random incidents, all somehow linked to Trout Fishing in America (as a person, place and thing), it was easy to read, unlike Naked Lunch which worked better as a film.

After finishing the book, which was centered in 1961 San Francisco, I had a realization that Jim Kweskin was probably some how connected to this work. Searching the web I found this fantastic map called Humbead's Revised Map which mentions both Jim Kweskin and Richard Brautigan.

I can only imagine the stories these two men could tell about life in San Francisco in the 1960s. Luckily Jim Kweskin is playing July 11 at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley. We have tickets. This is the first time I'll have seen him perform live.