Etta James & The Roots Band
"Pagliacci�s 10th Birthday Concert"
Cameron Bandshell
Beacon Hill Park
Victoria, BC
August 19, 1989
** 16 BIT **
"The Kevin Davie Memorial Series" - Release #75
Source: Unverified mic (possibly Sony ECM-101SM) & recorder (likely with auto gain) > Master cassettes (2 x Maxell XLII)
Transfer: Master cassettes > Nakamichi LX-5 (azimuth adjusted) > PreSonus AudioBox USB 2X2 USB Recording Interface > Sound Forge Pro 11.0 (Build 299) (HP 8440p Elite Book) > .WAV
Mastering: .WAV > Sound Forge Pro 11.0 Build 299 [Slicing, iZotope Mastering Suite (declick); minor edits, normalize, & fades] > CDWav (tracking) > iZotope MBIT+ (dithered and downsampled to 16 bit/44.1 kHz) > Trader's Little Helper (level 5) > FLAC > TagScanner 8.0.16 (tagging)
Taped by: Kevin Davie
Transferred & mastered by: Dennis Orr
Setlist: (1:26:45)
01 Instrumental (1)
02 Instrumental (1) >
03 Tell Mama
04 I'd Rather Go Blind
05 Chat
06 Something's Got A Hold On Me
07 Damn Your Eyes
08 Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home
09 Come To Mama
10 Medley: Baby, What You Want Me To Do? > You Don't Have To Go > My Babe
11 Chat
12 Respect Yourself
13 Sugar On The Floor (with Band Intros)
(1) Band only
Etta James - lead vocals
Mike Finnegan - keyboards
Bobby Vega - bass
Bobby Murray - guitar
Josh Sklair - guitar
Kraig Kilby - trombone
Richard Hillman - tenor saxophone
Herman "Roscoe" Ernest III - drums
Mastering Notes:
Tape flip during applause after "Damn Your Eyes" - seamlessly spliced, no music lost
Tape flip at 6:57 of "Sugar On The Floor" - seamlessly spliced, but some music and band intros were lost
Show Notes:
Restaurateur Howie Siegel asked City Council for permission to celebrate Pagliacci restaurant�s tenth birthday by presenting a free rhythm and blues concert at the Cameron Bandshell. Scheduled to perform on August 19 was Etta James--who Siegel called the �foremost rhythm and blues artist of three decades�--with her eight-piece band, plus two Victoria groups. The $25,000 concert would be paid for by co-owners David and Howie Siegel.
Howie Siegel told City Council not to worry about noise and crowd control: �This is a rhythm and blues band, not a rock and roll group.� People attending would be more �mature and sophisticated� than the rowdy crowds drawn to rock concerts.
Siegel wanted Etta James to finish at 10:15 or 10:30 and Council agreed. Victoria�s Parks Advisory Commission had first turned down Siegel�s request to go later than 9:30 p.m, suggesting the show start earlier, at 6 p.m. Siegel said that was impossible:
It is critical in our long history of staging music to begin the show at 7:30...I suggest that there will be an absolute minimum of disruption to the park and to the neighbours. This is NOT, NOT rock and roll. (Times Colonist, July 20, 1989, B 1, & July 21, 1989, B 14)
The concert was �a birthday bash on a grand scale,� the Times Colonist reported, with �several thousand spectators.� David Siegel said, �I couldn�t see the back of the crowd and it was impossible to walk through it. Everyone had a wonderful time.� Both Siegel and Victoria police said there were no problems with the exception of a few noise complaints.
About blues singer Etta James, Siegel said: �She was just wonderful. The way she moves--she�s got to be the sexiest woman you�ve ever seen for someone who�s 100 pounds overweight.� (Times Colonist, August 21, 1989, A 3)
The Kevin Davie Memorial Series
This series is in memory of Kevin Davie who died suddenly 31 March 2016. Kevin was an avid taper & recorded many concerts mainly in Vancouver, Victoria & Toronto. All these recordings have been sourced directly from Kevin�s master cassettes. With thanks to Mary Davie, Kevin�s Mother for allowing us access to all of Kevin�s masters. This is a joint venture between DGB, Dennis Orr, Seth Meister, Leif Henderson & John MacMillan. Kevin was a dear friend of mine & helped me greatly when I first moved to Canada in June 1994 for which I will forever be grateful. He had a great sense of humour. He was always happy to remind me of Ray Cooper�s percussion solo that I had to endure at the end of all the Eric Clapton shows I went to in the 90s (there were many!). He did an excellent job in impersonating Mr. Cooper! Kevin had a great taste in music & shared my love of the blues. We hope that you enjoy these releases & that we can continue Kevin�s legacy for many years to come. You left this world way too soon. Rest in peace my friend.
DGB
Kevin and I had plans to post some of his shows himself. He needed the ratio boost! haha. We had begun to work on some of his shows, when we had a bit of a dust up over something silly. Sadly, we never had the chance to mend fences together. Hopefully, through this series of shows, Kevin's memory can be properly honoured and that he can continue to leave a lasting legacy with the recordings that he left behind. I also hope that when I go beyond this world that my master cassette collection that I haven't gotten to will find a similar new home with trader's and collectors and fans everywhere, too...
Audioarchivist
Please see the included "Kevin Davie info" folder for obituaries, etc.