Jake Shimabukuro!

Jake Shimabukuro http://jakeshimabukuro.com/home

My picture from June 7th at the Arts Center in Carrboro, North Carolina. Show number two only four years and two days since the last time I saw him at a solo show. I missed Jimmy Buffett in Charlotte to go see this performance and be able to talk to Jake. It was worth it.

Eddy Vetter recently called Jake the best ukelele player on the planet in Rolling Stone. I call him a great performer and a really nice guy. He is selling out venues around the world. I should write a page of stories about him but I don't need to. Go see him. Buy his music. Enjoy. 'Nuff said.

"More Ukelele" Coming in October 2012. Produced by Alan Parsons. Yeah . You remember Alan from long ago as in the Alan Parsons Project.

Here is a link to a previous Jake show I attended. It was a 6 hour round trip and a ton of fun.

http://downsouthradiohour.blogspot.com/search?q=jake

Faster that the Highest Shutter Speed....

As you can see from this shot the camera cannot stop Jake's hands.
(Thanks to my daughter Alex for this photo)
When you say you are going to see a Ukulele player many people smile and say "oh." Well they have never seen Jake play. He can play it slow, he taps it, he can hammer it and the harmonics ring. He can play it so fast you cannot see his hands move. He really is the Stevie Ray Vaughn of the ukulele world. In fact just looking the word ukulele will bring up all kinds of youtube videos of Jake playing all kinds of songs. He has played with all kinds of bands and players. Some notable ones are Bela Fleck, Cindy Lauper, and he is currently touring with Jimmy Buffett, In fact as I write this he is enroute to shows in Detroit and NYC to play Madison Square Garden. Yes he really is that good.

The venue for the two sold out shows was the Blue Ridge Performing Arts Center.
http://www.blueridgepac.com/ This is a 501C non-profit which is managed entirely by a non-paid staff of volunteers. What a cool place. It is located in historic downtown Hendersonville and the place just plain rocks. The crowd was awesome. It was so quiet you could hear the audience breathe. Jake could have played the show unplugged and you could have heard it in the back. The acoustics are fabulous. You should go visit this place before the word gets out and you can't get tickets anymore....

Faster!!!

Jake last night in Hendersonville.

There is a link below to a shaky video shot using my small Sony digital camera from my seat during the final song of the show last night. Jake didn't seem to mind the video as he said during the show that the Central Park video on youtube had really helped get him noticed as a solo artist. I uploaded this video to google video if you want to view it. I really wanted to hear this one. I had the cd version of this song before I went to the show and I really enjoyed the live version as you can hear from my crazy laughing in the background. Of course I cut the ending as I jumped to my feet for the standing ovation. What a show. I loved it. I can't wait 'til the next Jake Shimabukuro show. I will be back.

Here is the google video link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7622370815603293846&hl=en

Jake Shimabukuro!

Here is a picture of Jake and me before the show last night in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
http://www.jakeshimabukuro.com/
Wow what a whirlwind weekend. As I got up from the late night drive home from the Buffett show in Raleigh yesterday morning I only had a few hours to ready for the 4 hour trip to Hendersonville. Nothing like a good road trip for a concert. I had been looking forward to this one for quite a while. I love the town, the venue is awesome, and the artist is one of a kind. Did I mention I had front row seats?

The Big Man Was Here.

http://brucespringsteen.net/the-band/2012/clarence-clemons
So the sax was on the stage. Clarence was there. It was a moment where Bruce stopped the show and stood in the front rows of the crowd and raised his hands over his head. He was silently asking the crowd to acknowledge Clarence. The crowd cheered and clapped for what must have been three minutes non-stop. It really was a moment. I smiled. Tears went down my face. It was awesome. It really was. Watch this video at the 3:00 minute mark from the Atlanta show and you will get a feel for this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UTQizAx6cQ

This picture is one of Jake Clemons, the nephew of Clarence. He did an awesome job. Each time he took the solo the crowd roared.
It was very cool. You could just feel the fans loving every moment and understanding the history of this great band.

JImmy Buffett in Charlotte June 4, 2006

Jimmy Buffett on stage in Charlotte, North Carolina June 4th. (Picture by Marty McGraw - yes I left my camera in my Land Crusier) Jimmy took the microphone for "Bank of Bad Habits." I thought this was a very cool set list, probably the best one in a long time, just my perspective mind you. My highlight for the night was Jake Shimabukuro doing the introduction for "Desperation Samba" http://www.jakeshimabukuro.com/home.php and the final song "Nautical Wheelers" This was my 63rd Buffett show and I have never heard Jimmy sing that tune live....or did he do it in Key West one night? Hmmm....I'll have to check. All in all a great show. I did miss the horns and I will always miss Fingers Taylor. Fingers puts the zing into many of Jimmy's songs and he needs to get back on the road with JB!! In fact, as I write this I am listening to a cut from the Cincinnati show the other night. Fingers joined Jimmy on stage to play fins. As I write this I am wiping a tear from my eye. I would have paid big bucks to see Fingers and Jimmy on stage together again.... I already paid big bucks to see him without Fingers! Let's face it, one of my favorite songs "Tampico Trauma" just doesn't have any soul without that harp! There are some nice shots of Fingers on stage with Jimmy at Buffettnews.com in the photo gallery. http://www.buffettnews.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=107&pos=15

The parking lot was a blast. I attended the last show here several years back where they didn't open the lot until 5:00!!! Something changed as the lot opened this year at 12:00. When I arrived at 2:00 the lot was half full and the party was on. I have never seen so many pop up tents! Colorful to say the least. I also ran into my friend from New Orleans, Joe Bennett. He was playing the parking lot on a small stage setup by a whole bunch of parrotheads from Charlotte and South Carolina. They had a bar, swimming pool, and even private Port o Johns!! The food was awesome. They had some wonderful shrimp and even tiny cheeseburgers made from York peppermint patties and vanilla wafers! Great stuff. This concert was my daughter's third JB show and she had a blast. She talked about this one all the way home! Yes, a nice way to start the Summer with a live outdoor JB show.

Rockin' Jake on Halloween night in Key West at the Green Parrot.