Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us


Got some exciting news today...well, exciting to me anyway.

One of my favorite bands, when I was a teenager in the late 70s, was the Strawbs. Strawbs was a British folk-rock outfit which, around 1972 or so, grew some pretentions and kinda got lumped in with all the Progressive Rock groups like King Crimson, ELP, and their soulmates Jethro Tull. Heck, Yes's keyboardist, Rick Wakeman, was a member of the Strawbs for a couple of years. I didn't know much about them before my attention was caught by the cover of their 1975 album Ghosts. I bought it, took it home, and was utterly captivated. I spent the next five years buying their prior and current catalogue, but I never got the chance to see them perform live. Years later, I still try to keep up with the comings and goings of the members of the group, mostly by virtue of subscribing to the Strawbs Newsletter from their official site.

I got a mailing today which updated their 2003 tour information, and for the first time in what I'd bet is a decade they're playing American dates! And one is May 19 in Lexington, KY for a television show, taped before a live audience! For 5, that's right, 5 dollars! I am so there. The band is sort of a amalgam of members from its various incarnations throughout the years, but as long as leader Dave Cousins is there, then it will be worth the drive for me.

Music today: Jethro Tull-Minstrel In The Gallery, The Cult-Electric, and Van Morrison-St. Dominic's Preview.