anthologysd.com

By T. Loper | NBC San Diego
Anthology bookers had to scramble this week after folk legend Richie Havens canceled both shows on Friday because of a viral infection that affected the singer’s voice, but the local music landmark thinks it found a way to keep Havens’ fans happy.

The club rescheduled both show for Oct. 23rd, 2010, and all May 15 tickets will be honored for that performance, the venue said via a news release. Ticketholders can also get a refund at the box office.

In the place of the Havens performances Friday, Anthology booked 4 Way Street: A Tribute to Crosby Stills Nash & Young for a single performance from 7:30-9:30 p.m Ticketholders for both shows can attend the 4 Way Street performance for free, according to Anthology.

Before the show was canceled, SoundDiego’s T. Loper had the opportunity to chat with Havens, a down-to-earth kind of guy who said he doesn’t have to go looking for a song, the songs find him — Ed.

SoundDiego: How did you first get into playing music?

Richie Havens: I think I inherited it from my father, who was a pianist. He could hear any song and play it back to you. He did that not for a living, but for his own joy

SoundDiego: You started out in the Greenwich Village folk scene.

Havens: I played folk songs and spiritual songs — songs that educated me. I couldn’t call it anything but Mixed Bag (1967) at first, but I continue to learn like that. [Music] is a place to be educated about the world around you.

SoundDiego: How did you end up playing the opening slot at Woodstock?

RH: By a freak of nature! There wasn’t one person there who went on when they were supposed to.

SoundDiego: When you went up there, did you know that Woodstock was going to be a household name for the next forty years?

RH: No, the interesting thing is that most of the people who were there on the stage, were there by contract. It blossomed, and everyone saw that they were a part of something. There were grandparents who brought their kids the week before it all went down because it was going to be like the Newport Folk Festival. [Woodstock] had something for every one of us.

SoundDiego: Can you tell me a little about your writing process?

RH: I actually don’t go looking for songs. They absolutely find me.

SoundDiego: You’ve been pretty prolific. Do songs come to you often?

RH: Now they do. A sound comes through: the melody. And then if I just sit and watch it, and just listen to that sound over and over again, the next line is written for me, and then I know exactly what I’m going to be singing.

SoundDiego: Are you working on anything new that might make its way into the setlist in San Diego?

RH: It’s possible. Because wherever I go, I either get something or I don’t. That’s the way it works. I don’t go looking for it. It has to pop out.

T. Loper is a writer for the San Diego music blog Owl and Bear.

We regret to inform all Richie Havens fans:

Richie Havens has cancelled his performances because he is suffering from viral infection that has affected his voice. We have rescheduled his show to Oct 23rd, 2010 and all May 15th tickets will be honored for that performance. Refunds can also be obtained from the box office.

In the place of Richie Havens performance we will be presenting “4 Way Street a Tribute to Crosby Stills Nash & Young” for one show 7:30p to 9:30p. Ticket holders for the original show are invited to enjoy this performance at no charge.

There will be no 9:30p show.

Tickets for the 7:30p show will be $5 to the general public.

By Thomas Zizzi | examiner.com

Richie Havens is remembered by many as the spirited folk singer who took the stage early at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 and captivated the crowd with his song “Freedom.” His impassioned vocals and explosive guitar may have set the tone for the performances that followed at that historic event, documented in the film, “Woodstock,” directed by Michael Wadleigh.

His career actually started a decade before Woodstock in New York City and he’s been touring and recording ever since. In the sixties there may have been some conflict between the generations, but these days Havens enjoys playing to a multi-generational crowd. “I’m feeling really good, still out on the road, every weekend, year-round” and Havens says, with a touch of bewilderment and gratitude, that lately it’s not uncommon for fans from age 7 to 70, who, for instance, have been waiting to get a CD signed, to ask him, “Can I have a hug?” For Havens, it’s a source of inspiration.

Richie Havens returns to the stage at Anthology (anthologysd.com) in San Diego’s Little Italy, on Friday night, May 15. Havens musical style goes well beyond folk music these days and takes him at often into the improvisational style of jazz, which is why Anthology will welcome him to San Diego this Friday. Havens says, there will be “grandmothers bringing grandkids and fathers bringing mothers,” so he knows he will be playing many of his familiar hits. Like George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun,” which helped put his his album “Alarm Clock” on Billboard’s “Top 30” Chart.

His musical output has been steady through the years, and he has always been a forward-thinking artist. In the 70’s, Havens attached his name to environmental issues and educational programs in a time when much of main-stream America saw “save the earth” as a radical and dangerous notion.

He appreciates how the business has changed and how the musical efforts of new artists, working without a recording contract, can now find an audience because of technology and the internet. “I marvel at the fact that in the 1970’s Warner Brothers gave me a label. I didn’t even know what to do with a label — but I learned fast.”

Haven’s most recent release is “Nobody Left To Crown,” (Amazon.com) includes a rousing version of The Who’s, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” as well as new originals. Always thoughtful and thought-provoking, Haven’s says this album includes “songs of believing, and songs of disbelieving … this is the back end of something and the beginning of something else.” He senses that the folks that come to his shows want to be inspired. It’s not unusual to see people in the crowd who are “crying after a set …and I look at them and they look at me and we laugh, and there’s been a real contact there.”

There will no doubt be some some of that kind of contact and inspiration in the air when the soulful Havens takes the stage Friday at Anthology (anthologysd.com) in San Diego’s Little Italy.   Richie Havens says he is certain the show will be a lively one, because he knows the first and last songs he’s going to play, What happens in between is sure to make for a spirited evening of music.

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Via examiner.com

By Mike Hall | examiner.com

Richie Havens is usually described as a folk artist, but that hardly scratches the surface of who he is as a performer and a person. Best known for his rousing Woodstock folk anthem, “Freedom,” there are elements of rock, blues, world music and classical guitar in his repertoire.

He grew up in Brooklyn in the ’40s and ’50s, and he speaks fondly of “crossing the bridge” to another world in Greenwich Village in the ’60s. There he hung out with beat poets and artists, teaching himself to draw portraits on the street and play guitar. He frequented coffee shops and small clubs and listened to folk music into the night. He got to know Jack Kerouac, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Peter, Paul and Mary.

And it was there he developed his love of live performance, of connecting personally with the crowd, and improvising. So when he found himself at Woodstock, he was fine with taking the stage first instead of his scheduled fifth spot. Instead of walking out from backstage, he rode in a helicopter for the first time, getting a bird’s eye view of the half million strong (and growing) crowd. And instead of his scheduled twenty minute set, he was asked to keep playing. Six encores later, and at almost three hours, he improvised ”Freedom” from the old spiritual “Motherless Child.” He said he felt like his grandmother was with him that day, helping him find the words.

Havens described the whole Woodstock experience as “beautiful chaos.”

When Richie takes the stage this Saturday at Anthology, you can expect the unexpected. He never has a set playlist, other than choosing the first song and the last song ahead of time. He prefers to take things as they come, and have one song inspire the next. To feed off of the crowd. Drawing from his deep library of original music or one of his uniquely realized cover songs, he’s never at a loss for words.

When we spoke on the phone, I was struck with how open and personable he was. He came across as unassuming and almost quiet, in stark contrast to his powerful, booming singing voice. He’s quick with a story, and in talking to him it becomes very clear that peace and harmony aren’t just lyrics to him, they’re a way of life. As I tried to steer the conversation to reveal something more about him and his talent, he always seemed to drift back to his audience, creating a common bond with the crowd, and the magic of Woodstock:

“Everybody calls it Woodstock, but it wasn’t actually in Woodstock. It was in Bethel, New York. And Bethel means ’sacred place.’”

Richie has never stopped performing, but he’s been rediscovered by a whole new generation of fans due to last summer’s 40th anniversary of Woodstock and the Ang Lee film, “Taking Woodstock.”

You can expect to hear ”Freedom” Saturday night, and most likely his hit version of George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun.” And there’s also likely to be at least one Dylan song in there, whether it’s “All Along the Watchtower,” “Just Like a Woman” or “Tombstone Blues.” Nobody knows, including Richie. Expect beautiful chaos.

Richie Havens will play two shows, 7:30 and 9:30, and he sold out the place last year. If you’re a fan of folk, rock, the blues, Woodstock, social causes, peace or harmony, don’t miss this show.

http://www.anthologysd.com

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Via examiner.com

A Toast to Family Winemakers’ First Del Mar Fairgrounds Tasting
By CONNIE LEWIS

San Diego Business Journal Staff

For those who weren’t old enough or couldn’t afford the fare and didn’t want to hitchhike, the Woodstock Festival — the opening act, anyway — came to San Diego recently.

Forty years after Richie Havens opened the landmark concert billed as the Aquarian Exposition at a dairy farm near the village of Woodstock, N.Y., the soulful folk rocker sports a white-tipped beard and is slightly hunched over.

But his distinctive voice is still rich. His guitar strumming is still faster than a speeding bullet and he can still pack a house.

Both his early and late performances on Jan. 23 at Anthology, a concert hall and supper club on India Street, were sold out.

Also impressive is that Anthology, which offers an eclectic array of music, including top-name jazz artists and fine dining, is beating its pro forma, said co-owner Marsha Berkson.

She declined to cite financials, but it’s obvious from the sold out performances that she and her husband, developer Howard Berkson, have a hit on their hands.

The club opened in June 2007 and many in the entertainment business expressed doubt that local audiences were sophisticated enough for “high-brow” jazz. Berkson admits that Anthology has stepped up its effort to inform them on the topic.

Its Web site offers information on various musicians’ credentials, and the wait staff is also prepped to answer customers’ questions on who’s who.

“We send e-blasts to highlight artists and upcoming shows, and they have brief intros on who’s coming, what their albums are and the artists they’ve played with,” she said.

Musicians listen to each other about the best places to play, and Anthology’s ability to draw top-notch acts has benefited by good word-of-mouth publicity among the ranks.

“The buzz is that Anthology is not only still here, but we’re packing them in,” Berkson said. “We’re recognized in the industry as doing great business. The fourth quarter was our most successful ever.”

Judy Collins is scheduled in late February and Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis’ brother, appears on March 31 and April 1, followed by Leon Redbone on April 10-11.

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Thanks for making the celebration memorable and terrific. The opportunity to meet Richie Havens before the show was a special treat we will always remember. He is a warm and extraordinary person. The concert was awesome. Wonderful seating, wine , service and company.We loved it all. Thanks again. We will be back soon! - Best regards, David