Warped 'n' Woofers

He heard that. He's decided to play on. Allez, Dimitri! Just reach into your crate and grab any record. Of course, these aren't just any records, are they? Where did you find this wonderful version of Black Masses' "Wonderful Person"? And quit joking -- you knew from the beginning the Cleptomaniacs' "All I Do" (stolen from Stevie Wonder, of course) would be the last record, because it's too damn perfect for a crowd that wants to go away singing. "All I Do/Is think about you . . ." A great final hour, considering that his track selections up until then were often typically hard Saturday-night beats; somewhat missing were the disco breaks and le funk of his Respect sets, and the breezy Brazilian melodies and rare garage cuts of his Playboy Mansion notoriety. Mixing was topnotch, though, and so was the flask of Ketel One that easily recouped the $30 cover. (Tommy Nguyen)

Dimitri from Paris (Photo by Gregory Bojorquez)

JORMA KAUKONEN & BLUE COUNTRY
at McCabe's, July 6

There's a crossroads, not far from the one where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for supernatural musical prowess, where blues, country, ragtime, classical and Tin Pan Alley meet to create the quintessential American music from which sprung jazz and rock. It's a democratic music in its heart if not on the surface, and immune to race, with universal themes of love, loss, death, oppression and depression. Jorma Kaukonen is a master of American music who's worked chronologically backward. The pioneering psychedelic guitarist of the Jefferson Airplane returned to his roots in Piedmont and Rev. Gary Davis­style acoustic blues with Hot Tuna. His new album, Blue Country Heart(Columbia), is a collection of blues songs originally performed by white country artists.

At the early show at McCabe's, Kaukonen & Blue Country (dobroist Sally Van Meter and mandolinist G.E. Smith) tore through a set of songs from the new album as well as black blues classics to which the guitarist has given his signature over the years. Without changing style or technique, Kaukonen proved there's no substantial difference between the Delmore Brothers' "Blues Stay Away From Me" (white country blues), Rev. Davis' "Death Don't Have No Mercy" (black blues) and "Good Shepherd" (traditional gospel arranged by Kaukonen during his Airplane days). Kaukonen's warm, unflashy voice conveys heartfelt sentiments with no regard for purism. His fingerpicking is simultaneously deft and as roaring as the trains he so often sings of.

"I don't think anyone can bend a note like that guy can," commented Van Meter after one particularly gut-wrenching Kaukonen string-wringer. "It hurts," was Jorma's mock-annoyed retort. Van Meter and Smith held their own. Though sans rhythm section, when all three were riffing at once, the music seemed to rise and hover in midair while never losing the tightly locked groove. More than a flag or a pledge ever could, it reminded one of the authentic heritage that makes America great. (Michael Simmons)