The Blues in Arkansas

Drove down to Helena, Arkansas, yesterday, with m. and a new friend (another SF Bay Area transplant of a few years prior, and an amazing blogger), for the annual blues festival, about 70 miles south of Memphis, just west of the Mississippi river, and not far from the famous Clarksdale, MS (home of the mythical blues 'Crossroads'). 

This was our first trip out to the rural and small town Delta- the deep south. I was extremely curious, having heard about the poverty, the economic decline: mostly due to family cotton farms put out of business by large growers.... Sure, the town was in quite a state of decay, sweetly crumbling and sagging, with honest-to-god ruins. Yet preserved amid these melancholy dregs, life was continuing in a variety of forms and institutions, some apparently preserved in amber, like above: 'Fonzie's Blues and Jazz Club'; yet others that were brand new- signs of gentrification even out here, and I imagine in large part supported by tourist dollars, as there doesn't seem to be any viable industry in sight; other than the people-free, industrial scale cotton fields. Bottom line, this town isn't quite ready to give up, and life is strugglin' on.

So what could draw tourists to a place like this? Well, the Blues Fest for one.

And the people, 80,000 of them, (many of them apparently staying at the Tunica casinos, the new little Las Vegas on the Mississippi river, just a few miles away) were out having a good time, enjoying the perfectly hot October weather, eating greasy fried food from colorful street stands with quirky names, drinking cheap light beer, and listening to a variety of blues music coming from several stages and buskers on every corner:

'Turkey Legs To Go'

The one above is a sanctioned cart on the main drag. Meanwhile down side streets, locals were setting up their own BBQ smokers and food service spots, some pretty spare, bare bones. But this one below had an extensive and good looking selection of cakes and canned goods, and they looked like a serious operation. Unfortunately, I did not stop to try their food, which I honestly regret. (sometimes I feel like a fly on the wall taking all these pictures). Next time I will stop, chat with these people (and get their portraits!), find out what they're favorites are, and try as many items as I can....But I did try at least one new dish this day- deep fried alligator kabob- tasted like a swordfish and a chicken had a lovechild- anotherwords- Yum!

 Meanwhile, just for fun: ATV hauling miscellaneous cases of light beer following an ambulance.....

Walking around, I practiced my technique of taking snapshots from the hip...it's not too hard. Although I'm still not sure how useful a skill it is:

The ruins make for stunning photo opportunities.....melancholy, cool, ghostly... softened and stilled by the sands of time. Why are they strangely inspiring?

Eventually, we made it back toward the main concert stage where local business people and promoters were hucking their town. 'It's a great place to live; poised to make a comeback; find new life; reinvent itself!' One young guy spoke about how he had relocated here from Brooklyn after coming to the blues fest and becoming inspired. Him and his partner had started a non-profit design shop to help local business with branding, marketing, web-design, etc. Called Thrive, (I just emailed them today, curious about the situation, wanting to contribute...anyone up for green, alternative housing made from recycled and donated materials??) here's their storefront on Cherry St. (aka Main St) behind a couple of hard working buskers. (Who weren't bad, but need to change their name: 'Tyrannosaurus Chicken'??):

Speaking of Buskers, this guy was on the street all day playing his home made guitar/bass, and telling stories about the roots of music in the delta: crude instruments made from common hardware, but played with an abandon and depth of feeling that makes it hard to look away. His name is Richard Johnston and he seems like the real deal to me.

Finally, we made it back to the lawn at the main stage where the sun was setting, the air cooling, and music sounding good. Then, Taj Mahal came out to perform and blew my mind- the guy is so damn good. He is a complete master of the guitar, yet his singing is equally stirring and virtuosic...and he was doing both simultaneously! It was a trio: drummer, bassist, with Taj playing rhythm, lead, and vocals! Why bother with the backing band, Taj? YOU ROCK! Takes just one genius to turn ragged, kudzu infested countryside into world class music event. (Alas, we missed BB King, and Dr. John on the previous two nights of the fest.)

Bonus Track: Here's a nice video of Richard Johnston at the same Blues Festival, except about 10 years ago (ignore the dorky looking guy in the beginning, and the french sub-titles):