Berkeley. November 4, 2008
I had my recorder rolling at a few different points on Tuesday night when Obama won the election. The six clips with this entry are chronological starting at around 9:30pm.
Ramona and I were driving toward the Starry Plough for the open mic victory party. We came on a mob of people dancing in the street outside Guerrilla Cafe and parked the car to get in on the celebration. People had spilled off the sidewalk and blocked one of the two lanes on Shattuck, others were standing on the grassy median dancing and shouting. Cars were able to pass through slowly, blowing their horns.
Listen to the crowd
We got back in the car and drove a half a mile an hour through the crowd. I was leaning out the window slapping hands with the folks on the median, caught up in the shouting and laughter.
Listen to it here
When we got to the Starry Plough it was Girl George's turn to perform. I took my recorder on stage when I went to sing backup for her. We were three backup singers, three conga players (including Tony Mayfield who George gloats is Curtis Mayfield’s son, and Jack who used to be a bartender at the Plough), and Guy Michelle on guitar. Girl George’s act is unrehearsed, abrasive and poignant. She’s a sixty four year old punk rock radical with a million stories that she’ll tell you without you asking.
Listen to Girl George celebrate
Next up was Tony Mayfield. He spoke a few words about the momentous occasion of Obama's election and shared some of his memories as a long time Berkeley resident. In the clip I posted below he introduces a song that he and D'Wayne Wiggins recently released called Be Thankful for What You Got. I cut off the clip before he launches into the song but Tony's warm up is a nice taste of his sound.
Listen to Tony Mayfield on conga
It was my honor to close the show after midnight when hardly anyone was left in the venue except for Guy Michelle talking about the bass player in his band and a handful of other stragglers. I played a song I'd started writing earlier that day when it looked like Obama was going to win and Prop 8 was going to pass. Highs and lows. Girl George held my lyric sheet for me and Tony played the congas. The recorder was on Guy's table.
Listen to my song, partly written partly improvised
When they finally locked the front door at the Plough I was walking to my car when this fellow named Victor walked up and started talking to me about the open mic. He told me that he was living in his truck and had just moved to Berkeley from Delaware. I asked him if he'd play a song right there on the street. He started spouting some good old radical left wing politics soon as I got the recorder rolling, criticizing Joe Biden for the credit card industry in Delaware in a monologue about corporate America. Then he sang a song his brother wrote. It was the right amount of far left skepticism to end a night of liberal euphoria.
Listen to Victor
Ramona and I were driving toward the Starry Plough for the open mic victory party. We came on a mob of people dancing in the street outside Guerrilla Cafe and parked the car to get in on the celebration. People had spilled off the sidewalk and blocked one of the two lanes on Shattuck, others were standing on the grassy median dancing and shouting. Cars were able to pass through slowly, blowing their horns.
Listen to the crowd
We got back in the car and drove a half a mile an hour through the crowd. I was leaning out the window slapping hands with the folks on the median, caught up in the shouting and laughter.
Listen to it here
When we got to the Starry Plough it was Girl George's turn to perform. I took my recorder on stage when I went to sing backup for her. We were three backup singers, three conga players (including Tony Mayfield who George gloats is Curtis Mayfield’s son, and Jack who used to be a bartender at the Plough), and Guy Michelle on guitar. Girl George’s act is unrehearsed, abrasive and poignant. She’s a sixty four year old punk rock radical with a million stories that she’ll tell you without you asking.
Listen to Girl George celebrate
Next up was Tony Mayfield. He spoke a few words about the momentous occasion of Obama's election and shared some of his memories as a long time Berkeley resident. In the clip I posted below he introduces a song that he and D'Wayne Wiggins recently released called Be Thankful for What You Got. I cut off the clip before he launches into the song but Tony's warm up is a nice taste of his sound.
Listen to Tony Mayfield on conga
It was my honor to close the show after midnight when hardly anyone was left in the venue except for Guy Michelle talking about the bass player in his band and a handful of other stragglers. I played a song I'd started writing earlier that day when it looked like Obama was going to win and Prop 8 was going to pass. Highs and lows. Girl George held my lyric sheet for me and Tony played the congas. The recorder was on Guy's table.
Listen to my song, partly written partly improvised
When they finally locked the front door at the Plough I was walking to my car when this fellow named Victor walked up and started talking to me about the open mic. He told me that he was living in his truck and had just moved to Berkeley from Delaware. I asked him if he'd play a song right there on the street. He started spouting some good old radical left wing politics soon as I got the recorder rolling, criticizing Joe Biden for the credit card industry in Delaware in a monologue about corporate America. Then he sang a song his brother wrote. It was the right amount of far left skepticism to end a night of liberal euphoria.
Listen to Victor
posted by Odog at
10:28 PM
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