[show_avatar email=db@iwenttoashow.com align=left avatar_size=62]A small patch of pavement known as Tamm Avenue played host to a cozy street festival – the Dogtown Street Musician Fest, this past Saturday.  The idea was pretty simple: roughly 30 bands and musicians, mainly playing acoustic instruments, would play at various spots along Tamm.  There were voting boxes for each band, and festival attendees could cast votes in the form of dollars.  A portion of money collected went to the Dogtown Historical Society to cover the costs of the festival, and the rest went to the participating bands.   There was also a group of judges that would score each band on a few different categories.

I started my day off at the festival by getting a haircut.  Dogtown is my neighborhood and my barber shop happens to be on Tamm.   So I rode my bike to Clayton and Tamm, bought a Schlafly from Felix’s, and walked down to Happy Medium.  As I sat in the chair, people were strolling by the big window and the music was filtering in through the old walls.

The first musician we stopped by was called Jack.  He’s a longtime Dogtown resident, and I’ve talked with him many times at the barber shop.  He’s a good guy and it was great to hear him play.  We enjoyed our sandwiches from Nora’s as he wrapped up his set with Rocky Raccoon.

Neighborhood staple Bob Case was up next, opening his set with his song “Dogtown Blues.” It’s all about Dogtown and a little about drinkin’.   Bob’s the kind of guy who probably knows just about any old song you might throw at him.   If he doesn’t know all of it, he probably knows enough of it to fool you into thinking he knows all of it.   He plays songs about dancing, he plays songs about drinking, and of course, songs about getting stoned, chasing women, and being chased by women.   His guitar playing is great on its own, but his sets really start to shine when he pulls out the slide!

The War Buckles were another group to catch our attention, and as it turns out, the bass player is my neighbor!  I’ve heard them practicing on the front porch or through opened windows for a while now and they’ve always sounded great.   Comprised of a banjo, an upright bass, an acoustic guitar, and a wooden box pulling duty as a kick drum, these guys boasted an original sound and their playing was really solid.    They had a great crowd that stuck around for most of their set and everyone seemed to be enjoying what they were hearing.   I haven’t had a chance to catch up with my neighbor yet to see if they’re planning on playing out more often, but I really hope they are.   If not, you’re all invited to my front porch the next time they’re practicing on their front porch.

We called it a day after The War Buckles, but there was still plenty of fun to be had on Tamm.   Kids were running around and riding bikes, neighborhood friends were enjoying each other’s company while listening to great music, and bars named after people were keeping the Schlafly flowing.   It was a great day in Dogtown and an overall success.   I’m already hearing rumblings of the next one!