No Name Bar and Presidio Yacht Club
It was a bar hopping evening starting at the No Name Bar in Sausalito at 6PM. Joe Tate plays here every week at this time along with Lonnie Walter and one other of his rotating guests. This week, Jerome Phillips rounds out the trio with his very experienced keyboard playing. Joe Tate performs his usual New Orleans swamp blues along with a couple new numbers like Little Egypt, the famous Leiber and Stoller song best known for its Coasters recording.
Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Jerome Phillips
They also let loose with some good old Chuck Berry stuff like Nadine which Jerome sings to good effect. Jerome also performs some nice instrumentals here and there while Tate scurries around with the tip jar.
They were selling some DVDs of The Last Free Ride, a movie which chronicles the houseboat wars which took place here in the 70s. Tate also sells the Ukulele baby Songbook which come with a CD of him performing all the songs in the book. It is available at
They finish up the night with Cab Calloway’s Minnie The Moocher and finally Chuck Berry’s Rock and Roll Music.
The next bar hop was to the Presidio Yacht Club where The Tickets, fronted by Debra Clawson, were playing. This joint is located in one of the most beautiful spots on earth on the edge of Horseshoe Cove at the foot of the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. Viewing the bridge and San Francisco is like looking at a post card come to life. If you haven’t been here you should check it out. For information go to
http://www.presidioyachtclub.org/
Anyway, The Tickets do a lot of the popular covers from the Rolling Stones and other great rock groups. They also do some very nice originals with clever chord progressions and diatonic melodies. Very reminiscent of the 60s. This is exactly the kind of music that Bill Graham wanted to get rid of. Happily, in spite of his best efforts, this stuff keeps coming back.
The Tickets at the Presidio Yacht Club
There was a good crowd and The Tickets kept the dance floor full with such tunes as Born To Be Wild, the Steppenwolf classic that idolizes biker chic. Sung by Peter Herbert, who doesn’t appear to be the biker type, the song brings back memories of when Steppenwolf used to play at the Ark in Sausalito.
Debra Clawson comes back with a ballad or two that showcases her one of a kind voice.
The next bar hop was back to the No Name Bar where Wendy DeWitt was making some very fine music with her excellent band. With Kirk Harwood on drums, Jan Martinelli on bass, and Steve Freund on guitar, this group is a force to be reckoned with.
Kirk Harwood, Steve Freund, Jan Martinelli and Wendy DeWitt
Freund’s mastery of the guitar is beyond words. But his powerful vocals leave little doubt that he is the real deal. Combined with the Queen Of Boogie Woogie’s over the top piano, it’s easy to see why Harwood and Martinelli get excited. Kirk Harwood in particular keeps bouncing up and down with every cymbal crash. He just can’t sit still.
Anyway, this was real fun evening and hearing these folks was the perfect ending.
To learn more about Wendy DeWitt go to
To learn more about Steve Freund go to
To learn more about The Tickets go to
http://www.myspace.com/theticketsband
To learn More about Joe Tate go to
Night Beat 
Leave a Reply