24 PASADENA WEEKLY | <strong>11.01.18</strong>
PW OPINION PW NEWS PW LIFE PW ARTS •INTO THE NIGHT• BY BLISS BOWEN Right Place, Right Time Paul Butterfield •NITELIFE• Thursday Nov. 01 through Wednesday Nov. 07 PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for Calendar submissions is noon. Wednesday of the week before the issue publishes. PASADENA, SOUTH PASADENA & ALTADENA 1881 Bar 1881 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena (626) 314-2077 facebook.com/1881bar Fridays—Live jazz Saturdays—Gypsie jazz Wednesdays—Reggae The Blue Guitar Arroyo Seco Golf Course 1055 Lohman Lane, South Pasadena (323) 769-3500 blueguitar.club Thursday—Los Steel w/Jay Leach The Boulevard Bar 3199 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena (626) 356-9304 blvdbar.com Fridays—Drag performances hosted by Tia Wanna every Friday Cabrera’s Mexican Cuisine 655 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena (626) 795-0230 cabreras.com Thursdays—Live jazz Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays—Karaoke Coffee Gallery Backstage 2029 N. Lake Ave., Altadena (626) 798-6236 coffeegallery.com Thursday—The Music of Elton John w/Rick Bagby & the Honky Cats Friday—Women Who Folking Rock w/Janet Croteau, Aireene Espiritu, Britta Lee Shane and Ed Tree Saturday—Matinee show w/Jim and Anne Curry singing the songs of John Denver; evening show w/The Honey Whiskey Trio Der Wolfskopf 72 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena (626) 219-6054 derwolfskopf.com Fridays—“Night Court” features Deejay Kind Cromang spinning vinyl soul, funk, disco and boogie Edwin Mills by Equator 22 Mills Place, Pasadena (626) 564-8656 edwinmills.com Live music Fridays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays The Mixx 443 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena (626) 500-0021 themixxpasadena.com Friday—Abby Girl & the Real Deal Tuesday—King Bee Boys El Portal Restaurant 695 E. Green St., Pasadena (626) 795-8553 elportalrestaurant.com Fridays—Mariachi México Saturdays—Alanniz Sundays—Mariachi Bella Ice House 24 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena (626) 577-1894 icehousecomedy.com Thursday—Jerry Rocha live taping; Rebels of Comedy Friday—Hollywood Comes to Pasadena w/ Steve McGrew; Deathsquad Saturday—Auditions for Dave McNary’s All- Star Variety Show; Hollywood Comes to Pasadena w/Steve McGrew; Cool Beans Comedy; Hollywood Comes to Pasadena ‘HORN FROM THE HEART,’ DOCUMENTARY ABOUT VISIONARY CHICAGO BLUESMAN PAUL BUTTERFIELD, SCREENS AT LAEMMLE PLAYHOUSE 7 Little is said nowadays about Chicago blues powerhouse Paul Butterfield’s influence as a singer and virtuoso of the harmonica. Director John Anderson’s respectful documentary “Horn From the Heart” — titled with Butterfield’s nickname for his instrument — strives to rectify that, with concert footage and onscreen testimony from, among others, Marshall Chess, Al Kooper, Jim Kweskin, Geoff Muldaur, Maria Muldaur and Bonnie Raitt. A classically trained flutist with more charisma than height, Butterfield was no one’s idea of a future star. Yet in his prime, he pushed blues into jazz and psychedelic rock, revived interest in blues mentors like Muddy Waters, and thrillingly bridged acoustic folk and amplified rock at a time when Dylan was booed for going electric. His music evolved from the nexus of America’s rapidly changing culture and civil rights movement; Peter Yarrow called the Paul Butterfield Blues Band “the most important band in America” and facilitated their addition to 1965’s Newport Folk Festival. Their self-titled 1965 debut, featuring guitarists Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield, is a modern blues classic. “We were at the right place at the right time,” recalls Bishop. “This big, beautiful body of music, the blues, the American blues, black blues, that this huge white audience had never to any extent met … the idea just caught fire.” It was one of the first racially integrated bands, and the film’s most valuable in delineating how Butterfield’s artistic integrity reflected his personal convictions and keen sensitivity to being a white man playing music born of black culture. When African- American drummer Billy Davenport expressed concern about traveling into certain regions, keyboardist Mark Naftalin says Butterfield made a pledge: “Where you can’t go, we won’t go.” Guitarist Buzz Feiten recalls “near-physical confrontations” when their long-haired “mixed band” was looked at “like communists.” 1969 Woodstock Festival footage of the turbo-charged band introducing a full horn section suggests Butterfield’s conventionshaking intensity. Saxophonist David Sanborn describes him as an unstoppable hurricane onstage: “I have never, before or after, heard a sound like that. … It was my introduction to the idea that it’s better to reach for something and miss than just to hold back and play it safe.” Photos and home movies capture the notoriously private Butterfield relaxing with family and a pet raccoon, yet he remains elusive. By the time he’s shown, graying, broke and alcoholic, reportedly stealing the show from B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1987, his ferociously soulful voice is contoured by pain from peritonitis. He died shortly thereafter, at 44, of an accidental heroin overdose. Twenty-eight years later, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The cost of Butterfield’s drug abuse to his family is glossed over; “Horn From the Heart” is more loving celebration than expose. But within the familiar arc of an artist ground down by drugs and a merciless business, friends and relatives convey not only the depth of the musician but also his humanity. That sharpens understanding of their loss. n “Horn From the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story” screens at Laemmle Playhouse 7, 673 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, Nov. 2-8; call (310) 478-3836 for show times and ticket info. hornfromtheheart.com, laemmle.com –CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 The Feminine Touch WOMEN ARTISTS AND ED TREE TAKE TO THE STAGE AT COFFEE GALLERY BACKSTAGE Local women folk artists will perform together, accompanied by guitarist and folk music hero Ed Tree, Friday night at Coffee Gallery Backstage. Those scheduled to play are all local favorites, and will likely be familiar to lovers of the folk music arts. Janet Croteau (soundcloud.com/janetcroteau) is a songwriter and spoken word artist whose music reflects her quirky, effervescent spirit. Aireene Espiritu (aireeneespiritu.com) is a singer-songwriter known for her original music, which takes influences from Latin, African, folk, bluegrass and a little bit of gospel. Britta Lee Shain (brittaleeshainbooksandmusic.com) is a songwriter, author and self-described recovering political junkie. She’s been described by critics as a female Tom Waits. Ed Tree (songnet.info/network/guest/ed-tree) is a producer, engineer, guitarist and 35-year veteran of the music scene whose music has been recorded by Spencer Davis, Lacy J. Dalton and many others. He has also shared stages with top names in the business, including Jimmy Buffett, Aaron Neville and Bonnie Bramlett. — John Sollenberger Music starts at 8 p.m. Friday at Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N. Lake Ave., Altadena. Tickets are $20. Call (626) 798-6236 or visit coffeegallery.com. <strong>11.01.18</strong> | PASADENA WEEKLY 25