Arts & Entertainment
On the Road Again to the Theater Next Door
Napa's Uptown Theater has it going on: Tonight they've got Ray Davies, tomorrow Willie Nelson, just across the rolling hills of Carneros.
However much we can (and do) applaud the in Jack London State Park, or the local or the weekly calendar of bands and pickers at , every now and then we have to take a short drive out of Sonoma Valley to see the headliners.
Over the Napa this week, two kings in their separate realms play the Uptown Theater on successive nights, Tuesday and Wednesday. If you haven't been to the Uptown, fear not - it's tastefully remodeled, located in a funk-trendy neighborhood, and there's not a bad seat in the house. (And there are real drinks and snacks in the lobby.)
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Tonight it's the King Kink, Ray Davies. From the garage band grinders like "You Really Got Me" to the transsexual anthem "Lola" to his latest star-studded "See My Friends" release, Ray Davies and his music have been part of the past 45 years of rock, never far from the fringe, always close to the heat.
His life would make a great movie someday: closeted kid rocker ("I'm Not Like Everybody Else") who becomes a superstar, partners with his equal-in-ambiguity (Chrissie Hynde), writes his own unauthorized biography, gets shot on the streets of New Orleans, stuff like that. After a 6 months medical hiatus from touring in 2011, he comes to Napa with, of all things, a Kinks tribute band called The 88.
Find out what's happening in Sonoma Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
It's tonight, Tuesday, July 17. There are a few tickets still available, but not many. Doors open at 7 pm, show starts at 8.
Tomorrow it's the King of Progressive Country, Willie Nelson on the Uptown stage. He's been here before, less than a year ago in a concert , but for a man who lives on the road every gig is like coming home. Sure, there are a bundle of clichés associated with the man: The Red Headed Stranger, the battered guitar, the smoke-filled bus.
But don't under-estimate Willie Nelson: He has written some memorable songs and delivers them like nobody else. His casual, reedy tenor defines songs he's written and covered equally. And his guitar playing blends Spanish classical with country blues in a signature sound. From "Crazy" (first a hit for Patsy Cline in 1961) or "Stardust," to last year's collaboration with Wynton Marsalis on a Ray Charles song cycle, it all become part of the rambling stage show that Willie and Family provide.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 18. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. Tickets are almost sold out - call 707.259.0123 x6.
