Song of the Day #10

                 We have reached 10. Unfortunately, there is nothing fantastic planned. Who am I kidding! Song of the Day is fantastic in itself. Okay moving away from my sarcastic arrogance, a few days ago I learned that Paul McCartney will be the first performer to open Citi Field. For all you Mets fans and those who follow baseball, I wish Paul all the luck in the world and I must ask the Rock Legend to be careful when he steps on the field. A hip/hamstring/stomach injury/virus may overcome you as you walk on the grass. The concerts are July 17th and July 18th. The 18th is my birthday. To say I want to go is an understatement. Tickets go on sale June 15th. Good luck getting your pair!

            On to today’s song of the day. Not to much going on in the world of music today. Phish is coming to Jones Beach Theatre on Long Island, NY tonight. That’s pretty cool. I thought we would focus on some older stuff today. As we all know this is the 40th anniversary of Woodstock (1969-2009) and there are a couple of tours going on to commemorate the drug-filled, muddy, musical haven. Hippiefest, led by the surprisingly funny Flo and Eddie will continue there yearly tour with old, depleted bands ( I do not mean that in a bad way). Heroes of Woodstock, a new list of bands including Country Joe will also make its rounds. Yet, I am most disappointed that on these lists is no Richie Havens. Havens, the first Woodstock performer, was called on for seven encores because he was plagued by his punctuality and the fact that since the crowd was close to, I don’t know, 500,000 strong other performers had a little trouble making there way down the small pathway to the field in White Lake, NY. I have been there and it really is amazing because no one can imagine 500,000 fitting in the cramped space. Seven encores! He was later interviewed and he mentioned that he played all he knew. This included numerous Beatles covers. One of which is today’s song of the day.

            Number four on his extensive set list is “Strawberry Fields Forever.” There are two things I really enjoy about Richie Havens. First, his thumb is enormous. Seriously he bars chords with his thumb successfully. His thumb can consume my hand. Second, his voice is just wonderful. It is like a gravely folk voice of old. He performs the song with power and feeling. He turns Strawberry Fields Forever into a Soul/Folk mix that sounds extraordinary.

Oh My Lord, Look at the Thumb

Cool Video (I apologize for the premature rolling credits):   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQG-xM62tQg