11.01.18

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.
11.01.18 | PASADENA WEEKLY 25