'Patrons that Have Moles on Their Noses with Hair Growing Out 10 Feet'

I love, love LOVE the Presidio Yacht Club in Sausalito.  It’s in the middle of nowhere, just past the Bay Area Discovery Museum.  Two of the coolest around in Rachel and Maria behind the bar.  And it’s a full bar, reasonably priced drinks, beer on tap ($5.00 for a pint of something good, and don’t forget to add at least $1.00 for the ladies!).  Clean bathrooms.  A view of the Golden Gate Bridge and you are right, right, RIGHT on the bay.  Decent sized room, decent sized sound.  Tons of free parking.   Nice wooden dance floor.  And a $5.00 charge to get in on this night.  What is there not to like?   Well, when I mentioned to someone of the non-deadhead variety that I was heading to the Presidio for a show, she said “I know that place!  That totally dirty, old funky yacht club.  With patrons that have moles on their noses with hair growing out 10 feet”.

Yeah, that place!  Whoo-hoo!!!

JUMPING THE SHARK

Steve Fundy – Guitar

Paul Scannell - Drums

Ted Burik - Bass

We arrived just as Jumping the Shark was starting their set.  Jumping the Shark shares their drummer, Paul Scannell, with The Eleven.  This was the Shark’s first show, and man, did they do a great job!  It was my first chance to see Steve Fundy play his guitar, but he lived up to all the praise, and he also rocks a sweet tie-die.  Their music: think DeadJazzBluesRock, with a few others thrown in as well.  But the sweet meat in this sandwich, as always, is the jam.  Got some very nice extended runs that had everyone nodding and tapping.  If more folks had been in the know and attending on this night, they would have been bobbing and jiggling on the dance floor.  Very much looking forward to seeing their next gig!

THE ELEVEN

Dedication to the Grateful Dead – this band has it.  All the members seem genuinely happy to be there, playing music that they love and giving their all for the audience.  I am certain as time goes on, that audience will grow.  

Nick Sandoval (“Bobby”) is so cool for helping to form this band.  He came up to me last year at another gig and asked if I knew anyone who would be interested in forming a Grateful Dead tribute band.  I said I didn’t.  Big mistake!  I should have somehow gotten in on the ground floor.  “Hey, I can sing (almost as well as Donna, but not as well as Paige!) and I KNOW I can do a finger snap and/or triangle solo, depending on what the music needs, ya’ know?  Plus, I think after years of study I am finally getting better at my hippie dance moves.” 

Nick is an awesome singer and player, and one of the neatest things is he arranges his guitar equipment based on the year of Grateful Dead music the Eleven is playing that night.  As this was a 1988-era night, before the show I asked Nick if he could play a 1970’s era gig if he had to.  He said “not with tonight’s gear” and totally meant it.  I mean, he would NOT do it, as it would sound totally wrong.  How great is that?  If his life depended on it I’m sure he could have, but he knows a 1970’s set up doesn’t sound like an 1980’s set up, and he’s not going to rip us off, the hardcore in-the-know Grateful Deadhead paying audience, with a false imitation.  That, my friends, is a definition of SINCERITY and DEADICATION that I like to see, and I, for one, am damn sure glad we have someone like Nick around to carry the torch!

Paul Scannell (“Mickey”) is a veteran of several Dead bands.  I originally connected with Paul late last year, and finally got the chance to meet him in person at their previous gig back on Aug 5 (see earlier blog post).  Paul is another huge head.  He’s played it all and done it all. I bet he and I could talk Dead stuff, or music, or just about anything for at least two or three hours, until Paul told me to shut up!  Oh, and his drums are killer, too!  He is in the Shark AND The Eleven, and knows this music like the back of his hand! 

Clint Bajakian (“Jerry”) has his guitar rigged up input/output wise like Jerry’s, which is really cool.  He also will talk to you before the show, during set break and after the show, explain everything about his playing or his rig, and actually listen to the questions you are asking him.   Just another one of the guys.  My friends spent a lot of time talking with Clint on this night.

Ryan Hickey (“Pigpen/Tom/Keith/Brent/Bruce/Vince”) can lay down the keys and has the pipes to pull it all off.  I spent a little bit of time talking with him.  He’s a big fan of the Dead, and his take on Brent this night was awesome!  I spent a lot of the night dancing right in front of him and generally annoying him, but he put up with me all right!

Michael Land (“Phil”) plays nice and loud, which I like.  I spent half of the first set in the ‘Phil Zone’.  I haven’t had a chance to talk with him yet beyond “Nice show.  You play nice and loud, which I like!" but he sets up a great sound for everyone in the band to build upon. 

Joel from LA (“Billy”) I could be wrong, but I believe he has come up from LA for the last two shows, at least.  If this is true, he comes from LA to play shows with these guys.  Did I mention he comes up from LA to play shows with these guys?  Los Angeles.  389.98 miles, at least.  Flying, driving, unicycle.  How awesome is that?  Also rocks a tie-die.  So he, Steve Fundy and myself makes three tie-dies, which may be the current legal limit in the town of Sausalito. 

Now, to the music!

Set 1

Hell in A Bucket

Sugaree

New Minglewood Blues

Birdsong

Stuck in Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again

Blow Away

Touch Of Grey

Set 2

(Before they headed back in from set break, as it was getting late, I heard Clint say to the guys “Let’s do four more songs”)

1 Foolish Heart

2 Playin>

3 Space>

4 Crazy Fingers

Black Muddy River

(From their Facebook posting of the set list:  “Black muddy was supposed to be encore and we thought we were getting the time boot so we played it thinking it was our last tune but they wanted more.”)

Oh, yes, they did!

Throwing Stones

Stella Blu

An “Ultimate Roasthouse Burger” at Epic Roasthouse Restaurant in San Francisco - $20.00.  4+ hours of music at the Presidio Yacht Club, on the waters of San Francisco Bay, plus a few pints of your favorite libation  - $17.00.

I’ll let your own taste be the judge of value!