About this time last year, Jessie and i were grumbling all the way to Vegas. We were on our way to celebrate the combined birthdays of some dear friends with some college-style shenanigans, drinking, costumed theme nights, and general foolishness in a neon-lit adult playground in the desert, but we were ALSO missing Jack Johnson playing literally down the street from our home at Locally Grown 1. So this year, with the bill of Perla Batalla and Brett Dennen to lure us, we had our brown paper tickets nice and early. Vegas can wait (and it helps to have a newborn).
We arrived just in time to hear MC Claud Mann welcoming everyone, and Battle-of-the-Bands fourth place winners The Imaginative Clams took the stage as we found a good spot to sit in the elite (as designated by the colored bracelets and plastic chains) "Front Lawn" section. i gazed sadly backward at the row of faces that made up the front of the "Back Lawn" section with the Five Man Electrical Band's "Signs" playing in my head over whatever Avant Garage or The Philosophy were sharing from the stage. And then it happened: Emy Reynolds began to play.
i didnt know that i'd come that night to hear Emy - alone, with just her guitar, the same way she won Battle of the Bands against four-, five-, and six-piece ensembles. With a carefully tuned voice that sounds like it may either cry or laugh at any moment and skillfully clean guitar-playing to match, she was part Jack and part Brett with just the right amount of Alanis. i jumped up and ordered the Battle disc, then filled my brand-new stainless-steel made-in-China Klean Kanteen bottle at the free water station (but forgot to get a raffle ticket for doing so...i hope whatsername enjoys my electric bikes).
The daylight dimmed, the plastic chains eventually came down, and my family and i ate, slept, danced, and sang while local favorite Perla Batalla lit up the stage with music, wit, and heartfelt storytelling. The highlight for me was the crowd-raising "Guantanamera" that she finished her set with - the video is featured on the Ojai News home page in the Ojai Video section at the top right. Brett Dennen brought a softer energy, though no less poignant with its dextrous guitar hooks, nimble vocals, and honest lyrics full of razor-sharp introspections and sensual imagery. Between songs there were jokes and light stories, but the climax was probably the impromptu hula-hooping in the middle of a song. It must be seen to be believed, so watch for that video soon. Brett closed the show down by inviting the youth volunteers and Battle bandmembers onstage for a sing-along of CSNY's "Teach Your Children". As we left, Mr. Mann told us that LG2 would fund Food for Thought Ojai's programs - to bring locally grown fruits and vegetables, nutrition education, and agricultural literacy to the children of the OUSD - for the next year. That feels really good, especially since for me "Healthy minds, bodies, and environment" are also key ingredients for the Peace i want to see in the world AND what i want for Noa.
In a year's time, Las Vegas will probably still be the most power-hungry city-in-the-sun with the fewest solar panels...an image that fits less and less with my values. Maybe i can get my friends to celebrate their birthdays the green way at LG3. Eat well, kids.
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