The West Beach Music & Arts Festival Saturday is like no other large music festival of its kind – abutting the historic Stearns Wharf, adjacent to an even more historic Pacific ocean, and perpendicular to Santa Barbara’s main drag (lower State Street) the festival took place with a sandy, inebriated floor, and a bright and beautiful sky blue sky. The unfortunate part was that dogs were allowed in (and children), and the drunks were wondering why “If your dog can pee here, why can’t I!?”

The music lapped against the tide in a very burningman-esque dusty shakeup of sand, surfers, hippies and cloudcover as it was delivered from three separate stages (and one techno dance tent).

The full line-up included Ben Harper, Steel Pulse, Slightly Stoopid, G. Love, Ozomatli (with special guest Chali Tuna), The Bravery, The Aggrolites, Donovan Frankenreiter and many more. Everything from Reggae, Rock, Electro and Phillie hip-hop splayed out over the land and sea while kids tripped over lost sandles and plastic beer cups stuck in the sand, and adults carved out seats for themselves against blankets and towels in makeshift dunes.

It was fairly apparent that this festival is in its infancy. Only three years old, the beer lines and garden were more chaotic than a demonstration rally and it was easy to note that the security wasn’t too firm when attendees were sneaking in behind the main stage. It’s how I got in, anyway.

The main draw at the festival was Ben Harper by far – the stakes were low. The whole venue packed close to hear Harper’s new undistinguished set. The festival ended at 10 o’clock sharp and the ones still standing  lumbered up state street for the well advertised after-shows.

The Viper Room and Atlantic Records supplied the Open Bar and luncheon – however – it didn’t matter how drunk they got the guests, the music was phenomenal. By the first song, enough honest sweat was flowing out of his pores to mean he would not be letting up anytime soon – he’d done this before. Paolo has got the same Johnny Lang elated, scathing, rasp and quiver, mixed with Jeff Buckley moans and lingering “ooo’s” during the sultry ballads that were to die for. The timelessness of his music would throw a smile across anyone’s face and a chill down their spine as his boyish sincerity dabbled in motown and blues, reggae and barbershop bebop. As he picked up what appeared to be a watered down whiskey, smiling, he says “It’s the first one I’ve done of these things where everybody’s listening.” Not because he’s not extraordinary, but because he can be seen most often playing at big music halls, bigger concert venues, and music festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo. And his giddy Scottish accent would sometimes sound more like a thick island one. It was adorable. In fact, all but one of the 6 piece band is from Scotland, and his 2007 record went platinum in the UK, and sold about 2 million copies. He played the single off of his last record, “New Shoes”, which Paolo is most notably known for. Keeping an eye on Paolo and awating the release of his next record out in June, he showed no deficit of talent Tuesday, no elevated ego.

Paolo Nutini @ Viper Room showcase (photo: anna webber)

[03:45] the prowl-dan auerbach

[06:18] Dan Auerbach live at SXSW 2009

(photos: anna webber)

Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys Live at SXSW’s Mojo Magazine Party at The Mean Eyed Cat

Danny boy Auerbach kills it again, slapping out the mean-eyed blues in the hot sun at Austin’s cherished Johnny Cash tribute bar. Hungover as we can so become after playing through a secret show till 5:00 the same morning, Auerbach still manages to thread together a thick dose of blues loud enough to stain any olfactory lobe within convincing reason. Chugging bottles of ice water, the globs of beard gum dripped quickly loose, hung, and at a moments notice landed if not on the high register, on one of us. He looses the tie fettered round his neck, and like mad, amounts to greatness. Though the delirium tremens clearly awoke the spins, he manages still to make good use of his loving arms (see below:)

It was an intimate gathering of saints, sinners, filthy blues and little or no upset. Backed by the San Antonio band Hacienda, Auerbach gave it as beautiful as always, his love for country and blues hardly unsurpassed. The girls were coming around serving ice cold Coronas, as if we looked like were lacking. They were happily accepted as we choked on our twelve bars of country twang, surely a day I had already concocted somewhere in dreams. It was the abrasions left on my psyche, applied by the unusual thing that is young Auerbach that convince me to remember it wasn’t just that.

Like a gentleman he took one of my photography postcards and stuffed it in between a few spent papers in his Moleskin. For a moment he had it rough and posed during a few photographs with the very tactile version of me, and, unsatisfied as they so become, he, along with Hacienda, had to bolt immediately for some tacos.

(Here are some photographs of the day. Click, they will become larger)

Looking forward now to Patrick Carney’s solo debut (drummer of The Black Keys duo), titled: Drummer. It  features Carney (on bass), Jon Finley from Beaten Awake (guitar/vox), Steve Clements from Houseguest (keys), Jamie Stillman from Party of Helicopters (guitar) and Greg Boyd from Ghostman and Sandman (drums). They are working on an album to be released in the fall on Carney’s label, Audio Eagle.

But he’s not just any old dude.
He’s one of them granddad rarities attributed to reggae at its rising, having helped form it tough at its roots.
Being one whose musical talents have assisted quite notably in the generation of reggae and dub sounds, Perry has also produced albums for Bob Marley & the Wailers, The Heptones, and other reggae spear headers.
The band Perry’s got behind him now is comprised of youthful, twenty, maybe thirty-somethings, none at all as dark as he, displaying outright that soul doesn’t come in colors. They jibed it, absolutely.  Lee Scratch has still got it.
-Anna Webber