Legendary Night Coming Up Tuesday

I am hating life right now because I can't make the Curtis Salgado concert, but I have an excuse I'm sure he'd understand. My humble band, The Lighter Notes, fresh off an appearance at the Rose Festival, will continue our World Tour 2006 with a gig in Hillsboro that night. We play from 5:30 to 8:30 followed by equipment shenanigans. I'll probably get back to town around 10 and still have to unload. The gig has its own PA but, at this point, I bring a ton of my own stuff: Three guitars, amp, effects, percussion, recording equipment. We play an outdoor stage right under the giant trees at the Hillsboro Courthouse. The town blocks off some streets and has a Farmer's Market situation.
It would have to be this week. Of all the Tuesdays in the world this gig has to drop in on this one. Oh well, I hope my fellow Portlanders have a good time at Salgado's concert. The line-up is amazing: Steve Miller, Taj Mahal, Robert Cray. Are you kidding me? Plus, Art Alexakis - longtime readers of this blog know how much I respect what he's done. That's him singing the "AM Radio" song during a recent national commercial campaign. As someone who never got too far in the music business, I tend to view successful musicians the way Star Wars fans view Jedi Knights. The single most impressive thing for me of the Curtis Salgado story is seeing the pictures on his website. As a professional comedy writer, I should be knocked out by the one with John Belushi, and I am. But what really impresses me is the shot of Curtis with Stevie Ray Vaughn. If you've never tried to play a guitar, there is no way I can adequately convey to you what a monster Stevie Ray Vaughn was. The fact that Curtis shared a stage with him, and Santana, etc....is an amazing thing. The fact that these other musicians are showing up to help Curtis is a statement in itself. I sense a night of music and emotions that will immediately land in the legendary category, and be mentioned as long as Portlanders gather and discuss the great music nights in this town ever. And the same will be true out in Hillsboro when the Lighter Notes are finished. Ouch, this is really starting to hurt.