AMADOR COUNTY RURAL COUNTRY LIVING: Enjoying Live Music In Amador County And Beyond In Northern California

At one point or another my family and I have been coming to Amador County and the surrounding area of Northern California for about 24 years now. The very first time any of us came to visit this area was when my parents went on a mini getaway by themselves when I was at summer camp all the way back in 1998. Since then, we had come back to visit the area so often and started to like it so much that we eventually decided it was the perfect place for us to move to after my dad retired from his job as an I.T. Specialist with the United States Department of Justice. 

Fast forward to the year 2019 and that is exactly what we did. Looking back to that time, I guess it was a good thing that we made the move up Amador County when we did because it wasn't very long after that when the world was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 

Luckily for us we already had over a full year under our belts as new residents of the area to have new experiences and memories before everything would be completely shut down for a long period of time. One of our favorite activities that we had started looking forward to doing every year since our very first visit to the area was to see the various musical concerts that were held at local wineries and other venues that featured some very famous big name bands as well as some very good local groups and musicians.

During a normal year, the various concert events that make Amador County and other parts of Northern California a fun place to be usually begin in the Spring and go on well into the Summer months. 

One of the first concerts we went to after we first moved to the Northern California area before the start of the pandemic was to see the Quebe Sisters in Sutter Creek. The Quebe Sisters are a western swing band that came to the area in March of 2019 to do a performance at the Sutter Creek Theatre. 

The first time we had ever heard of them was when they made an appearance on the Marty Stuart Show on RFD TV and we really liked their music by the end of that show. By the end of the show in Sutter Creek, it turned out to be another good one and my dad Darryl was lucky enough to get a picture with the band members after it was over.

The next big music event that we found ourselves at was a performance of the Legends of Country Rock concert tour in August of 2019 at Helwig Winery in Plymouth, California. At this concert there was a grand total of three very well known bands from the '70's who were considered legends of country rock. They were Poco, Firefall and Pure Prairie League It turned out to be a very good concert overall. 

Pure Prairie League was the first of the three bands to take the stage. They played a lot of their big hits such as Amie, That'll Be The Day and Let Me Love You Tonight. 

After they finished their set, there was an intermission period during which preparations were made for the next band to take the stage. While all of this was happening, my dad was once again able to get a picture taken with the Pure Prairie League band members. 

After the conclusion of intermission the next of the three scheduled bands to take the stage was Firefall. They are known for the song called Just Remember I Love You, which they played, among other tunes as well.

Since they were the second of three bands to perform that night, that meant we were in store for another intermission period before the performance of the third and final band of the night that was Poco. Up to this point considering that the first two bands put on a very good performance overall we had high hopes that Poco would be just as good or better than the first two bands. We soon found out though however that the last band of the night would fall well short of the standard of excellence that was set by the first two bands. 

If I'm not mistaken, I think there may have been a few concert goers who left the show a little early after Poco took the stage to do their set. I'm pretty sure we stayed all the way through to the end of the concert but that didn't change our opinion on which of the three bands had the best overall performance. Our final ranking for best overall performance at the 2019 Legends of Country Rock concert had Firefall take the number one spot followed by Pure Prairie League in the second position and Poco in third.

With the Legends of Country Rock concert in our rearview mirror, the next big concert on our 2019 live music itinerary took place at Harlow's Restaurant and Nightclub in Sacramento. It was there where we saw a band called Gaelic Storm in October of that year. They are a Celtic music band that was formed in Santa Monica, California in 1996. We were first introduced to their music a few years ago when we started watching one of their performances that was on the AXS TV channel. After we started to watch that particular performance, we started to really like the kind of music that they played.

Fast forward to now where we are now settled into the Northern California area, my dad noticed that they were going to be playing a show in the Sacramento area at Harlow's. Since we now residents of the local nearby area, it was an easy decision to say yes and get tickets for the show. The only downside was that it was going to be quite a drive going from the countryside into downtown Sacramento. The good thing though was that the concert was at the beginning of the week on a Monday night if I'm not mistaken.

When we finally arrived at Harlow's we saw that it was a very small establishment that had the vibe of some other small music venues in the L.A. area such as the Troubador. By the time the concert got underway it looked like there was standing room only with all the people that were inside. 

Before Gaelic Storm took the stage there was a kids dancing group that performed as a warm up act. While it was nice to hear and see them perform the number one reason we went there was the for the Gaelic Storm main event! Once the festivities were underway we were treated to a very good show! Lead singer Patrick Murphy and the rest of the band did a great job of interacting with the crowd and keeping us all entertained. 

Whenever they did a song of their that was a good one to dance to, Mr. Murphy would refer to it as a standy up song or something like that. One of the band's songs that I really like which they played that night is called The Night I Punched Russell Crowe. It is one of the bands funniest songs which was also inspired by a true story in which the lead singer punched actor Russell Crowe in the head while working at a bar in Santa Monica because Mr. Crowe refused to stop smoking a cigarette while he was in the bar.

After the concert was over we made our way back to where our van was parked and made our way back home after another satisfying night of music and fun. Since we made the move to Northern California, the three concerts that I have just described in great detail above are just a small sample size of the bands that we have seen since then. 

The list of the other bands that we have seen perform since then consist mostly of some very good cover and tribute bands. Those bands are After Dark, The Kool Shifters...

...Petty Or Not (a Tom Petty tribute band)...

...On Air...

...The Rusty Rockers...

...and Funky Tim and the Merlots. We have seen all these bands play live at one time or another at local venues such as the Helwig Winery in Plymouth, the Italian Picnic Grounds in Sutter Creek, the Amador County Fair in Plymouth, the Kennedy Mine in Jackson, the Lodi Grape Festival and many more places. Ironstone Winery in Murphys located in Calaveras County also has a big amphitheater where they put on live concerts with big name bands such as Train and REO Speedwagon but we have not yet seen a concert from there up to this point.

Now that we are getting back into the swing of things to start 2022, we are looking forward to going to some more concerts and music events over the next few months as we head into the 2022 Spring and Summer seasons in Amador County and beyond!

Tim Musick
Copyright 2022-All Rights Reserved.       

  

Adventures Close to Home: Riverside, California - Part 2

Farmer Boys is a fast food chain in California and Nevada. Just around the corner from our hotel, the Mission Inn, is their corporate headquarters. Next door to that is their flagship store.

Seems like a fitting place to have a quick breakfast so, armed with coupons we received before leaving home, we have a nice plate of French toast and eggs before heading out for the day.

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We’ll need the energy because we’re climbing a mountain.  Well, mountain might be ambitious…more like a hill…but it’s called a mountain here…Mount Rubidoux.

About ½ a mile due west of the hotel, Mt. Rubidoux has long been a landmark here. Bought by Frank Miller, owner of the Mission Inn at the time, it was used for Easter sunrise services and eventually donated to the city.

Cars used to be able to drive to the summit on a one-way, narrow road.  They’d go up on the north side and descend on the south side. Autos were banned in 1992 but those beautifully paved roads means this is a wheelchair-ready climb.

There are two entrances to the park. The north entrance has no parking so we enter via the south gate which has limited parking and a wheelchair ramp around the gate.

Fellow hikers tell us that the north road is not as steep as the south road so where the two roads meet just a little way up the trail, we switch over to the north road.  Tim tells me that the power meter on his chair has gone down by one bar. No problem, he still has eight left.

The trail winds up through a desert landscape of scrub, cacti, and succulents. Many large rocks also jut out of the ground. At a mile Tim tells me he’s lost another bar.

At a mile and a quarter, Tim…who keeps stopping to check the power meter and starting back up…says he’s lost another one.  I explain to him that all that starting and stopping uses a lot more power than if he were to keep going and not to worry about it unless the power meter turns yellow instead of green.

He keeps going without the constant stop and go. About 2/3 of the way up, we cross over from the east side of the mountain to the west side. We’re treated to views of the Santa Ana River (the river that Riverside is on the side of) and a small airport in the distance. It’s kind of neat to see airplanes flying below you as they enter the pattern for the landing strip.

Near the summit, Tim tells me his power meter has gone yellow. Not wanting to take chances, we stop here. I’ll stay and keep Tim company while Letty will continue to the top and take pictures.

While Tim and I watch planes land below, Letty gets some great pictures at the top.

Here is a bridge where the road winds over itself.

A flag has been planted at the top, with downtown Riverside providing a backdrop.

At the peak, a large cross has been erected.

After Letty gets to the top and back to Tim and I, we head back down.  There’s a saddle not too far from where we waited where Tim and I can get similar views to the top.

We take a few minutes to see the sight and then head back down to the car where it’s back to the hotel.

A short rest and then we’re out to greet the Zombie Apocalypse…

Next to the hotel is the Main Street pedestrian mall. Usually, a quiet place to get a bite to eat or browse for antiques, today it is taken over by hordes of the undead.

It’s the 2^nd Annual Zombie Crawl where Riversides most unlively citizens come out to show their moves and try to gross out the living.

Groups have dance offs in the middle of the plaza…mostly to the tune of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”…and compete for the best zombie makeup effects.  There’s even a little workshop on how to do different zombie walks, from the fresh out of the grave shuffle to the running zombie.

It’s all good fun though Tim had to fend off a few zombies trying to eat his brain. We’ll take refuge in the hotel for now.

We’ve got a show to go to but first it’s dinner. Our hotel package came with valet parking and a $50 credit.  The parking has been used over and over. Now, to use that credit.

There are four restaurants at the hotel…Duane’s for steaks, Las Campanas for Mexican (great margaritas, too), Bella Trattoria for Italian…and, our choice, the Mission Inn Restaurant for a little of them all dining under the stars in the beautiful main courtyard.

We start off this this great and different bread basket.

The food is pretty special. While Tim had a basic penne dish, Letty had this fresh fish dish.

I had this savory and juicy roast chicken with some very creamy mashed potatoes.

Well fed, we make our way across the street to the recently restored Fox Theater. Tonight, we’re going to see The Mavericks in concert, who have recently reunited with their singer, Raul Malo.

It’s a great, rocking show but the wheelchair seats are not raised very high so whenever the people in front of us feel like standing up and dancing, which is fairly often, it blocks Tim’s view. He’s not very bothered by it but Letty sure is.

Still, it’s a good show and we have a good time.  We end the night with a bottle of wine back in our roomy, Mission Inn Suite and savor the end of another trip.

Darryl

Copyright 2012 – Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Tennessee Touring: Nashville - The One With The Music...

(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed) The day trip to Franklin for brunch was just what I needed to fight the blues of the first day in Nashville.  Our theme for this trip is music, so now we'll jump in with both feet.

It's 7:00pm and we're at a non-descript office park south of downtown. Looking for a place to park, we see a guy in an empty lot waving frantically at us to park.

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"You going to the Jumpers' show?"

"Yep."

"That'll be five dollars, park right over there.  Y'all have a good time, OK?"

Mightly friendly but what comes next is a bit disturbing. Another guy working the lot pulls up and doesn't shut his door quick enough for the first guy's liking. Pretty soon, guy number one is yelling at guy number two. Then both are yelling, then guy one tells guy two he's fired, then pushing and shoving, then a truce is reached and I guess guy number two is still working.

"Sorry about that, he's just a bad apple.  Y'all enjoy the show," guy number one tells us.

Okay, then.

At the other end of the building is 3rd and Lindsley, a small nightclub that you blink and miss.  We're here to see the Time Jumpers, a band made of of some of Nashville's biggest names that like to get together each Monday night here, play music together, drink beer, and just have a good time.

If' you're there, you get to hang with them and have a good time, too.

It's low-key and casual. We're treated to the sight of Vince Gill...a Country Music Hall of Famer and multi-Grammy winner...on stage setting up his own gear. No roadies tonight.

Singer of Riders in the Sky, Ranger Doug Green steps by our table and has a little chat. He poses for the picture above and tells us Dawn Sears...wife of the band's leader, Kenny Sears and one of the best female vocalists anywhere...will not be there tonight because she is starting round two of her chemotherapy treatment for lung cancer.

It's a shame it's happening to such a great singer. (Note - sadly, Dawn lost her battle to cancer in 2014 - Ed)

I get a CD for Letty so she can get to work getting signatures. Tim and I had met Billy Thomas, Vince Gill's regular drummer, before. He didn't remember me but it came in handy to get him to start the signature fest.

Letty went to work for the rest of the band, me filling in when I could get one easy, and got Sears, Vince Gill, Andy Reese, and Paul Franklin...one of the best steel guitar players around.

It's truly an all-start cast and when the swinging starts at 9:00, the place gets rockin'.

Kenny Sears, the leader and head fiddle player, is celebrating a birthday tonight as is Gill's wife, Amy Grant. A cake is cut for Kenny and Amy takes to the stage to belt out a song before giving way to Gill's daughter Jennifer, who also has a great set of those Gill pipes.

At the end of the show, a few band members scoot out the back very quickly but the remainder settle in at the bar. Ranger Doug had sung "Put Another Candle on Your Birthday Cake" for Kenny and Amy, which was Sheriff John's song when I was a kid.

I went up to him at the bar and thanked him for singing that as it reminded me of those childhood memories. He told me he grew up in Costa Mesa, then sang another Sheriff John song for me at the bar.  

It's another day in downtown Nashville in the morning as we battle the bitter cold (34 and dropping) at Broadway Brewhouse. Just a place we wandered past, really, but it turned out they make a very good gumbo.

The hot stew, warm dining room, and cool beer seemed to be just what we needed.

After, we head up the street to the Ryman Auditorium for a tour.  The Ryman is the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry, our country's longest running radio show.

Although they moved the Opry to a new theater east of town, most people really consider this its proper home. The folks who run it must have taken it a bit to heart. Now, the show moves back to the old and renovated Ryman each fall and winter.

Inside, we see a short video, see some exhibits of costumes and musical instruments, take a souvenir photo, and see the snow starting to fall outside.

Tim is not doing well in the cold. He has a thick jacket, gloves, and a hat but only a thin pair of pants as the bottom layer. Back to the hotel to warm up and, while he's doing  that, I run over to a nearby sporting goods store to get him some long Johns, which help out quite a bit.

Now, it's back to the Ryman for the show. Tonight, we're attending the Grand Ole Opry with seats in the third row.  It's one of three wheelchair spots on the bottom. There are a few more up in the balcony.

The show is great with eight acts doing three numbers each. John Conlee, Katie Armiger, Sundy Best, Riders in the Sky (there's Ranger Doug again!), Chris Janson, Bill Anderson, Marshall Chapman, and...the evening's headliner...Craig Morgan, who is celebrating five years as a member of the Opry tonight.

Great show! First timers Sundy Best, a duo from Kentucky, brought the house down with their music earning them a standing ovation on their first try.

In the morning, a forty minute drive takes us to the far, western side of the city and the Loveless Cafe. 

Famous for their biscuits, everybody tells you that you cannot leave Nashville without trying it. Yes you can, actually.  

The Loveless is really good, is home to another classic Nashville music show ("Music City Roots", taped each Wednesday night in the barn out back), and has great service.

Food is good but not so good as to overcome the forty minute drive each way and the two hour wait once we got there.

If you can get in quick before all the tour buses hit, maybe it might be ok.

Darryl
Copyright 2014 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Celebrating Weeds and Country Music on St. Patrick's Day: Dandelion Days in Jackson, California

It's a vile weed. Sure, it has some pretty flowers and kids like to blow the seeds to the wind, where they will easily germinate. They'll take over your well cared-for lawn and destroy it, if it has it's way.

Why are we celebrating it today?

From what I can tell, it was a way of getting unwanted stuff out of your life...a community flea market to get rid of unwanted things, the "dandelions" of your life...turning lemons into lemonade.

At least that's what I can surmise, there's not a lot of data on the origins of the Dandelion Days Festival, celebrated each St. Patrick's Day weekend in Jackson, California.

In an area full of celebrations, get-togethers, fairs, and festivals, this is one of the many events happening in the region this weekend. We're going to make a full day of it.

When the crowds hit, parking is scarce in downtown Jackson. While there is a bit of parking reserved for handicapped placard and license holders at the police department, those go quickly. We have to park at one of the remote lots. We choose the lot at the county administration building a half mile away.

The accessible buses of Amador Transit are providing free, wheelchair accessible rides from the lot to the festival every half hour during the day. We get there just in the nick of time to catch one.

Main Street is closed for the event. A quarter mile of narrow, minimally accessible pavement dating back to the Gold Rush is where we need to be.

Since the street's closed, we just roll along down the middle to the other end where we'll work our way back. The sidewalks here are mainly accessible from one end of the block or the other, meaning you have to do a lot of doubling back to get off and keep moving along.

Our first stop, though, is for some food. Brunch at Rosebud's Cafe will do. A sausage and egg sandwich for me, while my wife had a delicious vegetarian curry risotto, and Tim had a grilled cheese and onion sandwich to fortify us for the journey ahead.

At the other end of Main Street, at the old fire station, the firefighters are cooking up some delicious looking tri tip.

Since we just ate, we're not hungry for it but I do make a note of their cooking rigs, which are steel drums with a fire inside. Rebar across the top makes for a handy place to hang the hooks holding the meat. A lid is put on to keep the heat down and the smoke in.

Kids and adults take their picture on an adjacent antique fire truck...

...while diners set up at tables inside the cleared station to eat.

Heading back, it's a mishmash of booths selling the usual stuff...incense, woodworkings, clothes, bags, etc...while musicians here and there busk for change.

Next to the historic National Hotel, a beer garden is set up.

A few very good cover bands serenade while we sip the local suds and wine next to Jackson Creek.

On the other side of the hotel is the actual flea market...a group of about a half dozen tables...whereas most of the other booths are professional flea market businesses.

The local Lions Club, sponsors of the event, have a dessert and coffee table here and a few carnival rides beckon the kids.

Tim tells us his battery is running low so we look for a place to exit and wait while I hike back up the hill to retrieve our van. The local American Legion let's me use their lot to load up Tim and we're off.

We take a few hours to relax and plug Tim's chair into it's charger before we're off for our next adventure. It's up to the town of Sutter Creek for an evening of dining and music.

At Cavana's Pub, we take the opportunity to have some cheap Irish whiskey and wine while dining on soup and sandwiches.

Next, we walk three doors down to the Sutter Creek Theater. I had contacted the owner earlier who assured me he'd hold a wheelchair space for Tim for the general admission show there tonight.

He's good to his word and Tim sits next to him as he operates the soundboard for the show. Letty and I sit directly in front of him.

Tonight, Sophia, Helda, and Grace...the Quebe Sisters...are playing a concert here. The sisters are a group of champion fiddle players from Texas who have evolved into an outstanding western swing band.

They're very good, popular, and well known...it's kind of surprising that they're playing this 200 seat theater up in the hills of the Motherlode...but, here they are.

The sold-out show is exceptional and, with the tiny theater and audience, the sisters have plenty of time to mingle with the fans after the show.

Sophia remarks on my Sriracha shirt and I regale her and her sisters of the day the owner of the factory gave me the shirt.

The trio happily poses for a picture as we bid them goodnight and travel home after our day of festivals and music.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2019 - All Rights Reserved