First Night finales summon the new year with swingin' blues and roots reggae with Red Beans and Rice and Jonah and the Whale Watchers
By LILY DAYTON Herald Correspondent Updated: 12/31/2009 01:09:55 PM PST
Traditionally, First Night Monterey culminates with an enormous outdoor concert finale where everyone congregates to count down to the New Year and boogie to some live music. This year, the party atmosphere will continue with a countdown and boogying, but rather than one outdoor finale, there will be two acts to welcome the new year in two separate indoor venues. The two finale bands this year are some of Monterey's favorite local bands, Jonah and the Whale Watchers, and Red Beans and Rice. Jonah and the Whale Watchers will play reggae at the Golden State Theatre and Red Beans and Rice will play their upbeat danceable mix of New Orleans R&B and Texas-style blues at the Conference Serra Ballroom. Each band will play more than one set, between which the crowd will be cleared out to allow room for new revelers. Though admission will be free to First Night button-wearers, due to the limited space of these smaller venues, finale tickets will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis at the Portola Plaza kiosk between 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on the day of event. The change in finale venues this year was necessitated by funding cuts First Night Monterey received from the city of Monterey, as well as a decrease in sponsorship and foundation funding. This budget decrease made the $60,000 cost of renting out Custom House Plaza for the big finale prohibitive. Both Jonah and the Whale Watchers and Red Beans and Rice have performed at First Night Monterey, including the Custom House Plaza finale, for many years. "It's going to be different in the smaller indoor venue," said John Tallon, drummer for Jonah and the Whale Watchers, though he noted that the band had a great time playing at the Golden State Theatre two years ago. Tallon said the band loves playing at First Night because "it's an opportunity for kids to see us since all ages can come. We have a lot of younger fans who don't get to see us, because we're often playing in clubs for over 21. This is our opportunity to get the message out to the young people." Gil Rubio, guitarist and leader of Red Beans and Rice, agreed. "We like to be at festivals and events that are not limited to the drinking crowd," he said. "We're all family people; we all have family and the importance of family to us is huge. We love to see an 80-year-old dancing and right next to him is a kid in diapers and they're all getting something out of it." Both beloved local bands should have a lot of dancing going on in their audiences. Rubio described Red Beans and Rice as "a blues-influenced New Orleans band. We play contemporary blues, a lot of originals. We incorporate a touch of Cajun, a touch of Latin, a little bit of rhythm and blues, a little bit of jazz, the blues and the feeling in it, a little bit of gospel." He said that their music contains an enormous range of influences, comparing it to New Orleans itself. "John Santos, the percussionist from San Francisco says 'the heart of the west is the Caribbean,'" said Rubio. "A lot of music came to the U.S. through New Orleans, due to the railroads and the river. Jazz, early rock 'n' roll, Latin influence — all these came from the port in New Orleans. All the influences there seeped into our music." In a parallel fashion, the music of Jonah and the Whale Watchers comes from diverse influences outside the Monterey Bay area. "Reggae is a pretty wide range of musical styles," said Tallon. "In Jamaica they have the influence of African music, the American South — they got their radio from the Southeast Seaboard — Florida, Louisiana, Texas, then all the different islands in the Caribbean have their influence, too. It's a huge melting pot of cultures." Tallon compared their use of reggae musical sounds to the use of blues patterns. "We do a lot of covers; we twist them around in our own way. It's kind of like how the blues is a recycling of music; they take the same traditional musical patterns and come up with original lyrics and twist them. In reggae it's the same way — you'll have a bass line that you recognize as reggae." Both band members said they are looking forward to performing at First Night Monterey once again, and each has big hopes for 2010. "I would hope that all of us — the whole community, starting with ourselves — could learn to be a little more tolerant of each other and understanding and in turn that will bring peace to all of us," said Rubio. "Talk to your enemies. We need to realize our common grounds and thrive upon them. When we learn to live with ourselves, it will bring more peace and understanding." "I hope that President Obama can do all the stuff that he intended to do," said Tallon, quick to add that their music is not very political. "Our music is about peace and love — the whole idea about one love, one heart, that we're all part of the same consciousness. Our music is all very positive. I always have the same resolution, which is to try to be a better person and try to help heal the world with music and day-to-day life." Lily Dayton can be reached at montereybaylily@gmail.com.GO! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST NIGHT FINALES ·What: Red Beans and Rice ·Where: Monterey Conference Center, Serra Ballroom, 1 Portola Plaza, Monterey ·When: 9:30 and 11:15 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 31 ·What: Jonah and the Whale Watchers ·Where: Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey ·When: 9:30, 10:15 and 11:15 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 31 ·Tickets: First Night buttons $20, $12/$15 children 5-15, 4 and under free at www.firstnightmonterey.org or various locations throughout county (see Web site) ·Information: www.firstnightmonterey.org
Lily Dayton - Go! Magazine (Dec 31, 2009)