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Review: Doug Sahm Birthday Tribute at Antone’s
According to Shawn Sahm, who is probably in a good position to know, his dad was probably up in heaven, smiling down on the stage at Antone’s on Friday night—and talking up the World Series. But truth be told, for Doug Sahm — peripatetic musical genius (and baseball superfan) — heaven would have been center stage at Antone’s, talking a blue streak and mixing it up with the myriad musicians come to honor him on what would have been his 68th birthday.
And some birthday party it was, starring Greezy Wheels, the Lucky Tomblin Band, Jimmie Vaughan, son Shawn, Augie Meyers and members of the revitalized Texas Tornados, members of the San Antonio band the Krayolas, and a rare reunion of Paul Ray and the Cobras, featuring ex-Bob Dylan guitarist (and Antone’s hall-of-famer) Denny Freeman.
Besides the celebration, the event also served as a benefit to raise funds for a marker on Doug Sahm Hill, in Butler Park across from Auditorium Shores. Such a memorial would honor the San Antonio native’s contributions to all the genres of Texas music of which he was a master (which is pretty much everything between Van Cliburn and the Geto Boys), and his ceaseless celebration of Austin and its musical community. (For more information on the project, go to http://www.dougsahmhill.com">www.dougsahmhill.com).
With his mane of hair, wire-rimmed glasses and effervescence to burn, Shawn Sahm is the very picture of his dad, and he looked right at home onstage with Doug’s peers, including guitarist Louie Ortega, drummer Ernie Durawa, bassist Speedy Sparks, guest star Joe “King” Carrasco and, of course, keyboardist Augie Meyers, the Pancho to Doug’s Cisco Kid.
Mixing blues, Tex-Mex, horn-driven R&B, country and rock in a characteristically Sahm-ian fashion, the big ensemble romped through hits from the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados, the two bands which bookended Doug’s career — “Is Anybody Going To San Antone,” “Nuevo Laredo,” “It’s Gonna Be Easy,” “Groover’s Paradise,” “Hey, Baby, Kep Pa So” and others.
Despite all the other great music purveyed onstage that night, the emotional core of the evening resided in that exuberant set of music that could have had only one wellspring — Doug himself. And, in that sense, Doug never left us at all.
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By Bobby D
November 10, 2009 10:40 PM | Link to this
Kep Pa So….really….c’mon man have you even ever listened to the Texas Tornados? You live in Texas for God’s sake….it’s Hey Baby Que Paso.
By Margaret
November 12, 2009 2:21 PM | Link to this
Actually, Bobby, it’s both. You have the correct Spanish spelling but Augie (who wrote the song) deliberately spelled it phonetically in Europe for cue-card purposes and it stuck. Look at all his recordings going back to naming Lord August & the Visions of Lite, he’s always played fast and loose with grammar. Works for me!