Lokal Loudness | Augusta Gets on the Goodfoot

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Augusta Gets on the Goodfoot

By Stoney ⋅ May 6, 2008 ⋅

First off I just gotta throw out a big round of applause out to Augusta because this past weekend our fair city was, as Mr. Coco Rubio likes to say, “on the goodfoot”. Guess it was just the right time for a funky good time ya’ll! And not just a funky one either-this past weekend was filled with outdoor greatness made even more amazing by the fact that just a couple of weeks ago Augusta was privy to a weekend packed with outdoor fun as well. Matter of fact, from downtown to Evans and beyond, festival season has been booming and this past weekend was no different with a very special First Friday, A Day in the Country on Sunday and of course, Payback: Celebrate James Brown on Saturday.

For the second consecutive year 10th street hosted a birthday celebration complete with cake and all and while the music was lacking this year (in amount of music, not quality) the fun was not! There was tons of fun stuff to do including getting your picture taken with the James Brown Statue courtesy of the all-new statue cam, making a video greeting to our troops overseas, and gasping at not one but TWO groups of flame-wielding daredevil troupes risking the heat for the sake of art and entertainment. After a few turbulent years it would appear that downtown’s monthly celebration has turned the corner, pulled up to the curve and secured a pretty dang good parking spot!

With questions looming about everything from the chance of rain to who would or wouldn’t appear on stage with Soul Generals it was finally time for a little Payback. Festival that is. Would Augusta turn out? Would the Doobies show their age? How did the Modern Skirts fit into this whole thing? Not only would I get an opportunity (yes Stak, opportunity is spelled with only one “u”, but who am I to judge for spelling and grammar? After all, I spell local with a “k”.) to check out the festival in person, I was privileged to do so in the company of the most to-the-point guy on the Augusta music scene, the above mentioned Brian “Stak” Allen. Needless to say, it was not only fun, but to a point, educational as well.

After meeting at favorite downtown hangout Metro A Coffeehouse, Stak and I goodfooted it down to the Common. Had we known there would be ample media parking…it was the perfect weather for a stroll so no matter! Actually, aside from a couple of drops, the rain stayed away and the cool breeze was ideal for a long day outdoors. But enough about the weather-we were there for the music and man did we get some!

We arrived to the soulful gospel sounds of the Swanee Quintet and while I gotta admit to having very little in the way of gospel in my personal music collection, I can see why the Godfather thought so much of the gospel legends. I was moved to groove like most of the early crowd at the Common. Good start.

Now I had heard several different things about Greg Hester, mostly from Augusta guitarist Keith Jenkins former leader of the Soul Generals, but for some reason my inner vision was that of a poppy white kid as opposed to the full-on soul assault we received. Hester, sounding as Jenkins once told me-”like Van Morrison”, turned out to be a perfect addition to the Payback lineup. But not just for the band’s great soul set, but for some on-stage personnel with ties to the Godfather including Jenkins and veteran bassist Fred Thomas. Throw in an intro by the best MC in the biz, Danny Ray, and you had perhaps an act with more James Brown backing musicians that the band scheduled to close the show?

Now I had heard many great things about Athens band The Modern Skirts as they are reportedly one of Steven Uhles’ fave new bands so of course I had to assume that they would be a monster addition to the festival despite having no apparent connection to The Godfather or Augusta aside from a handful of gigs in the downtown area. Well I guess one guys’ love is just anothers dudes’ mild sense of enjoyment ‘cuz to be honest, I found The Modern Skirts to be enjoyable for about five minutes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure their fans love ‘em to death, but I wasn’t complaing when we were offered a chance to walk across the street and meet Branford Marsalis only a couple of songs into their set.

Speaking of Branford Marsalis, while a quick hop back to the Metro caused me to miss the beginning of his set, I was floored by what I didn’t miss. I’ll be the first to admit to not being the biggest fan of musical technicians, preferring music that emphasises the soul and below over the brain, but I’ve always been impressed with artists that are capable of combining above-average musical ability with heart and feel. Marsalis and crew have that combo down pat and were a great musical companian to the cool air and nice breeze. What really caught my eye was the drummer. Even in the ’80’s, an era of music I still love, I was not a fan of the drum solo, but I found myself moving closer to the stage during a great solo spot courtesy of Marsalis’ drummer. To the average “non-drummer” a drum solo can come off as pointless banging but somehow this solo was like a song unto itself. Simply amazing, as was Marsalis’ set.

The Doobie Brothers. Man what can I say? Some could say I cut a baby tooth or two on “China Grove”. I still to this day even remember seeing them on the episode of “What’s Happenin” where Rerun gets caught trying to bootleg a Doobie’s show at the kids school. What were the Doobie’s doing playing at an inner city school in the ’70’s? Perhaps it could be attributed to the fact that musical labels were not as prevalent in the late ’60’s and early ’70’s as they are now. Surely the Doobie’s would now only end up appealing to the classic rock loving contingent? Surely these dinosaurs of ’70’s rock would end up sounding like a worn bag of old farts. WRONG! The Doobie’s set was a hot, tight as a drum journey through some of the most memorable tunes in rock history. Just when you thought they had played every song from their bag of hits, they’d rip into another one! I guess over the years some of us have forgotten just how successful the Doobie’s have been over the years. I guess Saturday was our little reminder. So Michael McDonald wasn’t there. The diverse group of Augustans at the Common didn’t seem to mind as they dance and sang along. Anyone seen Rerun?

With a festival the size of Payback it would only be natural for a few mishaps to occur here and there. Due to great organizing it would appear that glitches far and few between during the course of the day. The sound was amazing, the acts went on in a timely fashion. All went on as scheduled. That was until the Doobie’s left the stage. Scheduled to go on at 9:15, it was nearly 10:30 when the Soul Generals finally took the stage. Being that the Doobie’s ended their set at 8:45 it can hardly be blamed on the band going over set time. Maybe the Soul Generals were stalling while contemplating calling in a few additional “vet” Generals, maybe dinner had arrived late, who knows. What we do know is that somewhere between earlier rumors that Danny Ray would not be appearing onstage with the Soul Generals and 10:30 pm, a meeting of the minds had occurred and the Soul Generals were brought to stage by Mr. Danny Ray himself and joined by Fred Thomas on bass. After Ray’s now famous intro Thomas took over the mic and led the band into “Pass the Peas” and from that point on, the Soul Generals began putting a huge exclamation point on a day of harmonious musical community unity.

It was beautiful, it was a funky good time, it was perhaps what Augusta has been sorely needing. The lines had been draw over the significance of the Godfathers place in this community. Supporters crying “foul” on the lack of respect over the years while critics scoffed at any need to emphasize Brown’s importance in this community.

Critics be damned, even squashed. Just like that day forty years ago in Boston when Mr. Brown helped hold the city together following the shooting of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the music of James Brown continues to heal and for one day, and I believe for many days yet to come, the music and memory of the Godfather of Soul brought together the people of Augusta in a way like no other. I saw many familiar faces, and was introduced to many more who I hope will become regular familiar faces.

As I sang along, arm in arm with my old friend Joe Cowart, I took the opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of so many people sharing such a beautiful moment of common enjoyment. I thought of those who would be there at that moment, if only they could, and imagined their smiles and laughter at what they would have seen going on around them. I thought about what Mr. Brown would say if he could appear on the stage and address the crowd. Surely it would have been what we were all feeling that day - “I Feel Good”.

Even if we didn’t know beforehand, the Godfather knew that we would now.

(Look for video of Stoney & Stak’s Great Funky Adventure coming soon to both Lokal Loudness and the Confederation of Noisemakers sites!)