Monday, October 4, 2010

Salmon Dayze






Salmon Days 2010, Issaquah, Washington, October 2-3

I thought I knew what I was getting into: lots of crowds, typical fair booths, patchouli soap and garden art. Corndogs.

What I didn’t expect was a rocking show complete with famous guitar players, drummers, and Go-Go dancers. But I should have known: Magic Bus was playing. And, thanks to the music organizer of Salmon Days for the past 27 years, we enjoyed stellar musicians, mega-wattage and great sound. I missed seeing Lynn Sorenson, who is currently touring with Paul Rodgers in Hawaii, but Jeff Kathan lit up the traps with his fierce, masterful drumming. I particularly enjoyed Terry James Young, from the Seattle band Rail, on lead vocals and bass. Lloyd DeBar played a brilliant lead guitar. Steve Hanna on guitar and keys rounded out the sound. It’s not every day you hear Rick Derringer and Led Zeppelin tunes played live and loud. The fabulous cage dancers Dannielle and Shannon added that sexy Bond Girls vibe.

And we had to see the Salmon. Their triumphant, bittersweet return home, all the way upstream from the Ocean. You see scores of these big, heavy fish, each about 4 feet long, chopping their way up the shallow river bed, and you hope they succeeded in their life-long quest to return home to spawn. That’s the interesting thing about Salmon Days; it subtly highlights a cosmic sense of connection to each other and to Earth. How can we tread lightly on our environment and the other living things that were here before us?

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