What a concert! Three hours of Blind Boys of Alabama and Taj Mahal

 Scott n I got there plenty early and parked by The Won Buddhist Church. And guess what? I just finished meditating. Thinks I: You miss one day of meditation, you'll miss two and three and then stop entirely.

Wonder what church Won was before it converted to Buddhism. 

 Big whale of a Tour Bus. Many security officers all around.

 Larry from Ardsley was one of the ticket-takers. I printed out our tix online. This photo is a registered trademark of mine, as noted by the opposable thumb.




Put your hands together, ladies and gentlemen, for the Blind Boys of Alabama! Listen to "People Get Ready" on YouTube.

One of the greatest tunes of all time, it was written by Curtis Mayfield of the Impressions. Listen to their haunting and unforgettable Gypsy Woman here. 

The Blind Boys, according to Wiki, first sang together in the glee club in 1944 at the Alabama Institute for the Blind in Talladega, Alabama. They were around 9 yrs old at the time.

The band also joined the civil rights movement during the 1960s, performing at benefits for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The lead singer, Jimmy Carter, is all of 85 years old.



The band is adventurous and will go anywhere their music leads them...

Secular audiences caught a glimpse of the group at the World's Fair in Knoxville in 1982 and again in 1983. In 1983, Five Blind Boys of Alabama began appearing collectively as Oedipus in the musical theater production "The Gospel at Colonus". Up until this point, the group had primarily played for black church audiences.

The play was highly acclaimed as a landmark in American Musical History, receiving two OBIE Awards and nominations for a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. This production brought Blind Boys of Alabama to the attention of a mainstream audience. With this exposure, Blind Boys of Alabama began working in different genres and alongside more popular artists.

Yes, they had us all jumping out of our seats, clapping, hooting, whistling and dancing.

Jimmy Carter has a great sense of humor.

"If you like us, prove it!" he said.

"We have to eat, too. We've got to go to the grocery store."

Their latest album - "I'll Find a Way" -  was on sale. I snapped their photos as a long line of fans waited in line.

The audience was 96 percent white.

 Restrooms on second floor.

Will the handsome prince descend and claim me?

After intermission.....

The Taj Mahal Trio



Henry Saint Clair Fredericks (born May 17, 1942),  uses the stage name Taj Mahal,

An ebullient, charismatic fast-moving man of 72, he actually pranced onstage at the end of the Blind Boys gig.

According to online sources, he's dismayed about the lack of interest in the blues - and rap - by American blacks. I'll tell ya, tho, the black couple in front of me - the guy, actually - was going wild, raising up his arms, hollering with joy.

Taj Mahal said online he doesn't like indoor venues as it constricts the listeners, but that certainly did not apply to our Keswick audience. In fact, my Dear Twelve Readers, I'm gonna 'like' the Keswick on FB.

 The 'roadies' are getting ready for Taj Mahal.

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Look at all them instruments! He played a couple gee-tars including one he called Zanzibar

Also played a ukelele and keyboards. That man is talented.... and self-taught. Read about him here.

He told the audience he took "two Grampa naps" today.

During the last half of his set, people started filing out of the theatre.

"What gives?" I asked my man.

"Some people have to go to work tomorrow," he said.

In fact, if Scott weren't on vaca for a week, he wouldn't have been able to go to the concert. I would've gone alone, tho.

This was one of the greatest live concerts I've ever seen!

I could not fall asleep until four in the morning.




Finally I got to watch SEASON TWO of Homeland, which was every bit as good as the first season.

So long for now!