Le Petite Bourgeoisie…..

I knew what was wrong with Santa Barbara lately, but I couldn’t quite put it into words. Leave it to a beautiful 78 year old woman to tell me..It’s a Bourgeois Town….

ODETTA CONCERT

Center aisle, five rows from the stage..a perfect seat, even though the Lobero seats were built for very little people, I was mildly comfortable.

Opening for Odetta was the Inner Light Community Gospel Choir..they were very nice. The choir leader was a little like a juggler trying to keep 1000 things up in the air with his wild arm movements. The songs..well, I didn’t recognize any of them, except "Motherless Child"! They don’t all have to be about Jesus. But if they are, a little variety would do.. “Oh Happy Day” would be a good choice to add to the repertoire.

OK! Very Enjoyable...

..after 45 minutes and a stage tweak, Odetta comes on accompanied by her excellent pianist, Radoslav Lorkovic…and she came on strong. The sold out crowd, made up of yuppies, facelifts and old folkies, (even David Crosby was there), gave her a standing ovation, of course! From the first song a sing-along to the last song encore “House of the Rising Sun”, there was no doubt about this woman’s legendary musical status. I was spellbound. Really. The songs were remarkable..from “TB Blues” to Leadbelly’s “Bourgeois Town”..a song about DC, but I think Santa Barbarans were squirming in their seats a little!

Then, it happened.. a rendition of 1963's “Roberta” that was so beautiful, it had me near tears. Odetta’s voice was so pure and the piano was so pretty..well..I got chills.

Legends can do that….