Monday, December 3, 2007

Chuck Berry: A Particular Place To Go

Eighty-one year old rock n' roll pioneer and living legend Chuck
Berry has been booked for a British festival in Dorset, England taking place next July 18th to 20th. He will be co-headlining alongside The Flaming Lips at Camp Bestival, which will be held to a capacity of just 10,000.

The full lineup announced so far:
* Flaming Lips
* Chuck Berry
* Suzanne Vega
* Billy Bragg
* Kid Creole & The Coconuts
* The Cuban Brothers
* Florence and The Machine
* King Creosote, Ladyhawke
* The Wurzels
* Scroobius Pip

I saw Chuck Berry in concert at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis, the only regular gig that Mr. Berry has played for many years. This was eight years ago in a venue that couldn't have held more than 150 people. I've seen many a concert in my day, lots of them from famous acts, but seeing Chuck Berry resides in the most special of all of the shows that I have ever attended. 'Surreal' is a good word to describe the experience. Musically, it was far from outstanding. But it didn't matter. Just being in the same room as the man, let alone watching him play his signature riffs on "Johnny B. Goode" and "Roll Over Beethoven" with a full band, was something that I will never forget. He doesn't have a reputation for being the most affable man, but he was kind enough to speak with fans and sign some autographs after the show. I plan to hold on to my signed ticket for a long, long time.

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