By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Changes noted for Little Big Fest and DMMC

Like the non-profit group organizing it, a few changes earmark the second annual Little Big Fest (LBF) to be held Saturday at the Hotel Fort Des Moines.

For starters, this year’s lineup exclusively features 11 Iowa roots-rock, bluegrass and jam bands like Brother Trucker, the Tyler Thompson Band, Floodplane and Mr. Baber’s Neighbors. Gone are the out-of-town acts that headlined last year’s show — which makes sense considering the event is sponsored by the Greater Des Moines Music Coalition, a group of “live music fans who are committed to building a stronger and more diverse live music economy in Greater Des Moines.”

“It’s a celebration of Iowa music,” said Mike Shoafstall, the DMMC’s new Events and Festivals chairman. “We’re doing this to help these guys build the scene.”

This year’s LBF will also expand its offerings to two ballrooms in the downtown hotel — one an electric stage, the other an acoustic stage sponsored by The Nadas’ Authentic Records, which is paying its own acts to perform there that night. The fest will also feature an area designated for merchandise and vendors, and the start times for bands is staggered to give fans the opportunity to see every act if they choose to do so. Since many of the bands performing at LBF are supporting new albums, Shoafstall said fans should not miss the new local music being performed.

“Last year we tried to make a splash with the out-of-town bands and some of that was my fault,” he said. “My brother-in-law [the Vaudeville Mews’ Amedeo Rossi] asked me to help from the outside and I was moving from Minnesota so all of my ideas were Minnesota-based. But now that I’m here and a part of the organization I feel it’s more imperative that we focus on what’s going on in Iowa because that’s what we’re here for.”

Shoafstall said proceeds from the event would benefit the DMMC’s Music University, a series of educational workshops that brings together musicians, promoters, club owners and other music industry people. Last month, the DMMC hosted a session on booking shows and about 40 people attended it at People’s Court. The next Music University workshop will be “Self Promotion” on Dec. 5 at Fourth Street Theatre. The panel is in coordination that same day with the Crossroads Conference and Showcase organized by Kathryn Dickel of IowaTix.

“We’re more about trying to help people succeed in business or help get them started,” Shoafstall said.

Music University isn’t the only thing the DMMC is working on. The group is in the planning stages of partnering with Drake University for an event in December that involves a marketing competition between local bands. Shoafstall said, however, the funds from LBF will not be used for the DMMC’s proposed 80/35 Music Festival, a large-scale concert tentatively planed for next summer to be held in the Western Gateway park. That event, which is waiting on the Des Moines City Council’s approval for a grant of $50,000 to be used to secure the first big band, “is it’s own machine,” he said.

In the meantime, Shoafstall said, the DMMC is focused on the LBF. He said the group wants to maintain LBF’s size, but perhaps change the bands from year-to-year, noting only two bands are returning to the bill this year. “We’re not trying to blow it up,” he said. “Last year we got about 600 to 700 people, so we would be happy if we could get 1,000.”

The purpose of LBF originally was to focus on alt-country acts, but opening the event to a broader Americana field has allowed the DMMC to incorporate jam and rock bands, too. Shoafstall said though the blues scene is well supported by the Central Iowa Blues Society he would welcome blues bands in the future.

“Blues would make a great addition,” he said. “The blues society has a strong organization and does great things in town. There are so many areas we could go and broaden the ears of the audience. There’s lots of good stuff to listen to out there.”

Shoafstall said in order for the DMMC to do that it needs to continue to forge partnerships with sponsors and “be more business-like.” He said companies like Authentic Records, Iowa Sound and Old Main Brewery have “helped us out tremendously” with LBF, adding that except its president Lloyd Ogle and project manager Amedeo Rossi, the DMMC is comprised of volunteers who are learning on the job. The group recently lost its executive director, Scott Kubie, and is being run by committee.

“With our organization it’s a lot of volunteers running around pressing the flesh, and overall we’re having a lot of fun doing it,” Shoafstall said. “It’s worked out well with the new blood. I think it makes a big difference in a lot of ways. New ideas energize everybody.”

The lineup for the 2007 LBF includes:
• Electric Stage — Mooseknuckle (7-7:30 p.m.), Obsidian’s Dream (7:45-8:30 p.m.), Jim the Mule (8:45-9:45 p.m.), Brother Trucker (10-11 p.m.), Floodplane (11:15 p.m.-12:15 a.m.), Josh Davis Band (12:30-1:30 a.m.)
• Authentic Acoustic Stage — Tyler Thompson Band (7:15-8 p.m.), Andy Fleming (8:15-9 p.m.), Dick Prall (9:30-10:15 p.m.), John Peter Lewis (10:45-11:45 p.m.), Mr. Baber’s Neighbors (midnight-12:45 a.m.)

Scene notes

A review and photos of John Mellencamp’s concert last Friday at Wells Fargo Arena appear online at www.dmcityview.com. … Comedian Ron White plays the Civic Center Jan. 19. Tickets, $39.75, go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster. … Des Moines R&B group One Nite Stand is auditioning for a new lead singer. Contact Scott Willsey at 360-3851 or audition@onenitestandband.com. … Usually the popular a-cappella vocal group The Blenders performs in Des Moines in December, but since Jordan Creek Town Center is so anxious to bring Santa Claus to town before Thanksgiving, they’re visiting a little earlier than expected on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free. ... The Java Jews will play a benefit for the Drake Hillel, a growing Jewish student organization, on Sunday at 8 p.m. at Sheslow Auditorium. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students. … Blues on Grand hosts its first smoke-free show on Sunday at 8 p.m. when Candye Kane plays at 7 p.m. Admission is $10. … The Val Air Ballroom and LAZER 103 FM have teamed up to produce two rock shows sure to jingle your bells. Local bands Destrophy and Mindrite play LAZER 103’s Rock Girl Search Finals on Tuesday at 8 p.m. And on Dec. 1, it’s LAZER’s Jingle Ball featuring Seether, Hurt and Red, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. … The Lighthouse Coffeehouse in West Des Moines hosts “Iowa Night,” an evening of local artists including Mary McAdams, Joel Kinser, Paul Storm, Tina Haase Findlay and more, on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door. The Lighthouse is located at the West Des Moines Christian Church. …National acoustic bluesman Fruteland Jackson plays a free show on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Forest Avenue Library. CV

Little Big Fest, featuring 11 Iowa Americana acts including Jim the Mule (pictured), which has moved from Davenport to Des Moines, will be held Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Hotel Fort Des Moines. Tickets are $8 in advance through IowaTix.com or $10 at the door.

Mellencamp’s small town songs of freedom inspire

By Michael Swanger

Not that it was a contest — though both rely on public adulation — but when musical and political arenas collided last Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines it was the small town John from Indiana who triumphed over the small town John from North Carolina with a bevy of fist-pumping heartland anthems.

After bringing the audience of about 8,000 people to its feet at the opening of the show with electrifying renditions of “Pink Houses,” “Paper and Fire” and “Check It Out,” John Mellencamp was well on his way to cruising through a nostalgic evening of his most popular titles when his “Freedom’s Road Tour” concert took a brief detour thanks to a surprise guest star.

Mellencamp’s stellar, six-piece band (including longtime guitarist Mike Wanchic) left the stage, yielding to an acoustic segment where the 56-year-old rocker shed his sports coat and revealed a black western shirt and political attitude to match. After strumming through the Kris Kristofferson-like “A Ride Back Home,” Mellencamp was a few chords into “Small Town” when he introduced former Sen. John Edwards.

“I got a friend that I’ve had for the last 7 or 8 years and this guy’s from a small town,” Mellencamp said. “And he just so happens to be running for the president of the United States.”
Edwards, donning jeans and a buttoned sports coat, walked on stage and was greeted loudly by a mix of applause and boos. It was a surprising reaction given both men are moderates in their respective fields, though not so much perhaps when you consider Iowa was a red state during the last presidential election. Judging by the look on Edwards’ face, the crowd’s reaction hurt so good.

“The good news is I’ve been in your small towns,” Edwards said, while Mellencamp continued to quietly play guitar. “I’ve been raised in a small town. I’ve been all over your state in small towns. And you didn’t come to listen to me, so I’m not singing.”

After thanking the audience, Edwards shook hands with some fans and stood at the back of the stage to listen to the rest of the song.

“Now I’ve had a lot of fun with that guy,” Mellencamp said. “You know, guys that run for president aren’t as stiff as you think they are. They’re pretty fun guys. That guy’s a pretty fun guy.”

So is Mellencamp, when he is churning out punchy, farm belt hits “Crumblin’ Down,” “Lonely Ol’ Night” and “Jack and Diane,” like he did later in the show, working the audience into a lather with his strong voice and blue-collar demeanor. But he is more engaging when he is delivering poignant musical statements about rural America and racism as he did on “Ghost Towns Along the Highway,” “Rain on the Scarecrow” and “Jena,” all of which made Edwards’ appearance seem trivial by comparison.

Most people might not think to include Mellencamp in the canon of activist singer-songwriters like Woody Guthrie, Richie Havens, Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, but to exclude him would be a mistake. He is adept at getting his points of view about society across to listeners without beating them over the head. And in this day and age of grandstanding, we could use more entertainers like him.

“Twenty-two years ago when Willie Nelson, Neil Young and I started Farm Aid we thought we would just have to do one,” Mellencamp said. “Twenty-two years later, we’re still doing it.”

Mellencamp then followed with an even stronger statement about the plight of the family farmer, one that would have knocked Iowa native, Nobel Peace Prize winner and father of the Green Revolution Norman Borlaug right out of his tractor seat. “Someone thought it was a great idea that we should feed the world when we should be taking care of ourselves,” Mellencamp said, while standing at arm’s length from the crowd. “I was in Knee High, Iowa, when I was a kid. They used to tell me it was a farm town. Now it’s just a ghost town along the highway.”

Mellencamp’s words were the ideal segue to “Ghost Towns” from his new album, “Freedom’s Road.” The message of the song was driven home by the large screen video montage of black-and-white footage of old farms that played behind the band, just as the red lights that showered them next on “Scarecrow” provided good effect when Mellencamp sang, “blood on the scarecrow, blood on the plough.”

The Seymour, Ind., native saved his strongest remarks for “Jena,” the song from his forthcoming album regarding the headlines surrounding Jena, La. Earlier this year, six black teenagers were charged with beating a white teenager after a number of racially-charged incidents, including reports of noose hung from a tree at Jena High School.

“That shit ain’t funny,” Mellencamp said. “You guys think it’s funny?”
“No,” the audience yelled back.

“The mayor of Jena complained I’m being over-the-top singing about it. I said, ‘motherfucker, you’re hanging nooses!’ That’s over-the-top! … I want to know about different cultures and races. I want to show some compassion,” Mellencamp said before breaking into song against a backdrop of video images of Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Al Sharpton and the Jena Six.

Mellencamp then shifted his message of freedom into high gear with “Our Country,” before closing the show with some of his most danceable hits, “Crumblin’ Down,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Jack and Diane” and a medley of “Authority Song” and “I Fought the Law.”

But before Mellencamp left the stage, he couldn’t resist one final message: “Let’s try to be compassionate to one another so we can be proud of the world we raise our kids in.” CV

Raitt, Browne to play Roosevelt High School in support of Edwards

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards will give his Des Moines supporters something to talk about next week when popular musicians Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne join Edwards for a rally Tuesday, Nov. 20, at Roosevelt High School. The community meeting will be held at 5:45 p.m. in the school's auditorium where Edwards will field questions from caucus-goers and Raitt and Browne will perform.

"John Edwards is a leading voice for change in our country," Raitt said in a statement issued by Edwards' campaign. "He's been one of the only strong, effective advocates for ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home. And when he talks about creating opportunity, he isn't talking about creating opportunities for corporate CEOs to get ahead, he's talking about making sure regular, hard-working Americans have a fair chance to succeed. He is willing to fight for fairness and equality for all Americans, and for tapping the immense economic and employment opportunities of safe, renewable energy."

"I am proud to support John Edwards," Browne added. "We need someone with vision and courage to fix the big problems facing our country. We need to end the war in Iraq and make sure every American has health care. John Edwards knows what it is to have to work hard, and he'll stand up and fight to make sure everyone in this country has the same chances he's had."

Raitt and Browne are co-founders of Musicians United For Safe Energy, whose 1979 "No-Nukes" concerts remain watershed models for grassroots activism. Currently, they are mobilizing behind Nukefree.org, opposing federal bailout of the nuclear industry.

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