LOWER LAKE – The Tuscan Village Friday Night Concert series in Lower Lake featured Dennis Purcell, local folk singer, performing a variety of music for the capacity crowd on July 27.

His performance ran the gamut from old American folk songs to Broadway tunes, like Summertime, which had the audience singing along.

His rendition of obscure Bob Dylan songs went over very well as did the Beatles tunes, which were well-remembered by the mostly baby-boomer crowd. Even the children seemed entranced.

Since the seating consists of picnic tables, it is limited and getting there early is a must.

The Aug. 3 concert will feature Travis Austin, local classical guitarist. The Aug. 10 concert will showcase Phil Mathewson, local song writer-musician and his friends. You never know who will be playing with Phil when he invites local musicians from the audience onto the stage. The concert runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The Tuscan Village is located on Main Street in historic Lower Lake right near the post office. Call 2 Goombas Deli, 994-3354, for more information.

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Yanahay Hooper and Lex Krauss get into the music at Friday's concert. Photo by Harold LaBonte.

Cooking up more heat and adding to the summer time fun was Rootstock.

Enjoying their third trip to the 19-year-old concert series, the Ukiah-based Reggae band Rootstock drew in another huge crowd to what has turned out to be another of Lake County's hip destinations.

Not a single $150.00 ticket could be found anywhere ... yet, once again, a crowd estimated at 2,000-plus filled the park. Several dozen to more than 100 people at anytime enjoyed the dance lawn all afternoon, into the evening and right up to the final number.

Just three shows are remaining in this year's summer series. Attendance is expected to remain high and the fun returns next Friday afternoon when Levi Lloyd & The 501 Band crank up the bluesy tunes for week No. 8.

Don't miss out! The Summer Concerts in the Park and summer itself will end before you know it!

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A closeup of Rootstock's trumpter, Jim Dooley. Photo by Harold LaBonte.

Another big crowd attended Friday's concert. Photo by Harold LaBonte.

Bettie Mae Fikes had the audience in the palm of her hand during her performances at the festival. Photo by Abbye Brenner.

Although Rob Watson of James Brown's Soul Generals was advertised as the band leader, a last-minute gig for the Soul Generals in Italy required Rob to call on Levi LLoyd and his crew to provide instrumentation for Ms. Bettie. Ironically, Ron Perry, the bass player, gave Rob Watson his first gig and mentored him early on in his career.

Sound man D. Wills was a great crowd warmer with his dancing and singing antics on "It's Your Thing." Levi Lloyd's rendition of Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man" was dedicated to festival organizer Bernie Butcher.

From the opening chords of the great ballad "Soul Serenade," on through "Let The Good Times Roll," a medley combining T-Bone Walker's, "Stormy Monday" and B.B. King's "Nobody Loves Me But My Mama," was Bettie Mae improvising, testifying and singing the blues at its finest, despite struggling with allergies during her first set.

Remarkably, her voice was stronger during the second set and those in attendance marveled at the ease in which Fikes improved upon excellence. She truly had us like putty in her palm. She summed her expertise by commenting, "Though I love jazz, pop and country, the blues and gospel are what get me through this experience called life." Kudos to Lake County resident Mike Magbie for guesting on harmonica on "You Got Me Running."

Look out for Bettie's next CD, currently being recorded in Lake County.

Summer Of Love Legend Mike Wilhelm and Lake Blues All-Stars featuring Jim Williams and Jon Hopkins were an early crowd favorite on Thursday night. Their set included Robert Johnson's "Love In Vain" and B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby."

Hopkins, the "Barrister of Bass," did a fine rendition of Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man," playing bass and harmonica simultaneously.

A female vocalist named Neon guested on "The Thrill is Gone" and "I'm Tore Down." When not singing she worked the crowd admirably and did great percussion work.

Jim Williams put the great Mike Wilhelm's career in perspective by mentioning that Wilhelm was Jerry Garcia's favorite guitar player. Wilhelm interjected that he was playing though an amp that he bought from Garcia. (On a side note, both Mike Wilhelm and Betty Mae Fikes were pictured in recent issues of Rolling Stone Magazine.)

Wilhelm displayed great virtuosity and chops in his note selection during his solos. The band closed with "Red House' and "Further On Up The Road" to a great ovation by the crowd. Great set!

Though this writer has seen Twice As Good on two other occasions, the way they played Friday night was simply uncut, blistering, high energy blues power. It seemed like a different band. Celebrating the release of their new CD, Live At Pala Casino 2007, Rich and Paul Steward, Bruce Hodge and Chris Ho really gave it everything they had.

From the new CD, they started off with "T-Bone Shuffle.” From his first duck walking guitar solo, Paul was on fire. They did Jimmy Reed. They did Albert King. From the 1920s they reprised Big Maceo Merriweather. Paul played keyboards, blew saxophone and harmonica, sometimes intermittently within the same song.

They did Elmore James. They did the self-penned "Rancheria" from their first CD. They did Santana, Solomon Burke, Bobby Bland, Ray Charles, Santo & Johnny, Big Joe Turner and a little "Mustang Sally" too.

Their aunt danced nonstop on stage. It was her 400th show with her nephews!

The crowd was enthralled and adoring. It had to be seen to be believed.

This writer has heard a rumor that Paul Steward sat in with the critically acclaimed Robert Randolph & The Family Band recently and outplayed Robert Randolph. Mind you, it's a rumor. But I believe it was the great Jimi Hendrix who sang, anythang is possible, with the power of soul!

Unfortunately, this writer was unable to attend Saturday's closing act at the festival, Blues Express recording artist, the great Frankie Lee. From all reports I've heard, Lee put on an incredible show, which included Claudette King daughter of King Of The Blues, B.B. King.

I guess Butcher will just have to have them back sooner rather than later. Blues, blues and more blues in Lake County. What a concept!

Thurman Watts writes about music for Lake County News.

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Paul Steward of Twice As Good with Robert Randolph of the Family Band. Photo courtesy of Paul Steward.

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (Rated PG-13)

Fans of “The Simpsons,” arguably the most popular animated show in the history of television, may be asking the question: “What took so long?”

After 18 years on the FOX network, with enough episodes that would require nearly a week to watch in an around-the-clock marathon, “The Simpsons” is so ingrained in pop culture that it’s hard to imagine anyone not familiar with the Simpson family, Homer and Bart, Marge and Lisa, and even baby Maggie. You could have watched only a couple of episodes years ago or perhaps caught all 400 and counting, and still there is something delightfully, amusingly familiar about “The Simpsons Movie,” a full-length feature that is at once in the typical comfort zone and also a bit daring.

Other TV cartoon shows arrived on the big screen in a more hurried fashion. “South Park” comes to mind, but it seemed in a rush to be more crass, rude and offensive, and so the movie title was fittingly “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.” Aside from some crude language and one amusing bit of cartoon nudity, “The Simpsons Movie” dares to be irreverent in a sensible way that keeps the film in a more family-friendly mode, albeit one that skews in favor of adult appreciation of its offbeat humor. With slightly judicious editing, “The Simpsons” is merely a DVD release away from running as the movie of the week on a TV network.

More by happenstance than choice, I have been out of touch with “The Simpsons” for many years. Complacency may have set in because this is a program that seems destined to remain on the air forever, and so I have taken it for granted. Nevertheless, even the most casual viewer has every reason to rejoice in the sheer fun of this smartly satirical romp through the Simpsons universe, because it all boils down to a few simple truths about the Simpson family.

Homer (voiced by Dan Castellaneta), a simple boob with low expectations in life, is easily sidetracked by donuts and a visit to Moe’s Tavern. His wife Marge (Julie Kavner) is relentlessly upbeat and supportive of the family. Mischievous son Bart (Nancy Cartwright) engages in high-energy escapades, while daughter Lisa (Yeardley Smith), a model of good conduct and book smarts, finds it difficult to fit in with this dysfunctional clan. Baby Maggie has no words of complaint, but may be wiser than anyone else.

The movie opens with the Simpson family attending an “Itchy and Scratchy” movie at the local cinema, which prompts Homer to loudly wonder why anyone would pay good money to see something in a theater that they could easily see at home for free. This is the kind of irreverent jab at its own movie that makes “The Simpsons” a satirical treat. And the pointed humor doesn’t stop there. The filmmakers take a few swipes at the FOX network for assertive self-promotion, and throw in a few pokes at the Disney kingdom as well.

Even though it is Homer Simpson’s epic stupidity that is the brunt of most jokes, there are numerous targets for parody, such as the religious fervor of Ned Flanders, the trendy environmental movement that relies on rock bands and obtuse government bureaucrats. The latter target is very much in play when Homer’s witless plan to dispose of a silo full of pig excrement causes a monumental toxic disaster at Springfield Lake, which draws the unwanted attention of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Russ Cargill (Albert Brooks).

That EPA chief Cargill is an overzealous fool comes into play when he convinces U.S. President Arnold Schwarzenegger (Harry Shearer) to allow a quarantine of Springfield by a diabolically ingenious plan to cover the entire community with an unbreakable glass dome. A vengeful mob descends on the Simpson household, and the family makes a narrow if wildly improbable escape that has them relocating to Alaska.

Homer is anxious to start life anew out in the wilderness, but when word arrives that the government will take drastic action against Springfield, everyone but Homer wants to return home. As is usually the case, Homer comes to his senses at the last possible moment in order to do the right thing.

Running at a length approximately four times that of one TV episode, “The Simpsons Movie” deftly keeps its gags, jokes and wacky ideas moving at full steam from start to finish, thus putting together its irreverent and satirical humor in a coherent frame. The laughs are as consistent as Homer’s innate foolishness, and the energy level is higher than any mischief that Bart could cook up. Despite Homer’s musings, this is one TV-inspired movie well worth the price of admission.

Tim Riley writes film reviews for Lake County News.

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The summer concerts have been drawing larger crowds each week. Photo by Harold LaBonte.

LAKEPORT – Week seven of the Summer Concerts in the Park series continues this afternoon in Lakeport's Library Park.

The Reggae band Rootstock of Ukiah will bring their most unique sound to the multitudes that gather each Friday afternoon.

Warms temperaturess and light winds, great music and KNTI's top DJ Eric Patrick welcome and make comfortable the many hundreds who are enjoying the 19th year of the concert series.

The concert begins at 6:30 p.m.

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Barry Brenner. Photo by Abbye Brenner.

UPPER LAKE – The inaugural Blue Wing Blues Festival has successfully joined the ranks of high brow Northern California music events.

Held from Wednesday, July 18, through Saturday, July 21, the event was the brainchild of maverick entrepreneur, Bernie Butcher, whose business savvy enabled him to draw some major talent to the small but mighty town of Upper Lake.

The event was sponsored by a hybrid coalition of business and private entities: KNTI Radio, The Tallman Hotel/Blue Wing Saloon, Remax Realty, and Dale and Jillian Billester.

Opening each night was Barry "Big B" Brenner, born and bred in that bastion of urban blues, Chicago's south side. Brenner is skilled in several sub genre's of the blues. These include Piedmont Rags, Texas Stomp, Atlanta Style and the good ol' Delta Slide. These styles were popularized from the 1920s forward by such iconic legends as Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Tampa Red, Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly), Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Boy Fuller and this writer's favorite, Blind Willie McTell.

Brenner's Thursday night set went something like this. On "Highway 61" he utilized expert slide guitar fingerings on his National Steel guitar. For "Midnight Special," his axe of choice was the difficult 12 string guitar. When Big B played Jimmy Reed's "Bright Lights" he broke out his 1933 National Steel Trovedor much to the delight of the guitar aficionados in attendance.

Brenner performed "San Francisco Bay Blues" as an up-tempo number and made his 12 string sing like an African banjo in conjunction with a blue banshee. I ain't lyin'!

Other numbers performed by Brenner included "Dust My Broom" written by Elmore James and "Silver Streak" written by Brenner's son. He closed with an original composition, "Steppin' Up & Go," a rouser which set the stage for the Blues Diva of Lake County, Miss Bettie Mae Fikes.

Brenner currently resides in L.A. and hopefully won't be a stranger to these Konocti Shores. For more information on Barry Brenner, visit www.bigBBrenner.com.

Closing the opening evening's festivities was Bay Area Legend Freddie Hughes. Hughes is famous for his hit, recorded in the late 60s, entitled "Send My Baby Back." The single has sold approximately 950,000 thousand units worldwide and as a result Hughes is hugely famous in Europe.

Ditto Upper Lake on Wednesday night. Hughes had the crowd in the cross hairs of his blues gun as he and the Rich Kirch Blues Band cranked out a virtual history of rhythms and blues.

Culling tracks from his soon to be released CD, Absolutue Hughes, Freddie performed such hits as "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You," "Last Two Dollars," "Love Land" and "Broke And Hungry."

His signature song, "Send My Baby Back," was the blues love ballad that brought the lovers in the house to the dance floor.

Rich Kirch is a fixture on the blues scene, most famously through his 13-year association with John Lee Hooker. Kirch has recorded and toured with many greats including Jimmy Dawkins, Jimmy Rodgers, Pinetop Perkins, Greg Allman, Jorma Koukonen, Billy Cox, Junior Wells and Hubert Sumlin.

The Rich Kirch Band consists of Rich Kirch, guitar; Michael Skinner, drums; and Ron Perry on bass.

The headliner on Thursday night was the great Bettie Mae Fikes. Though no longer residing in Lake County, Fikes continues to be our Blues Diva. Alas, now though, we must share her with the world. Blues patrons who frequented the now-defunct Konocti Blues Cafe know what I'm talking about.

A veteran of the Civil Rights movement, Fikes recently lent her chops to the recording of Mavis Staples' latest release, a reworking of those Civil Rights anthems and freedom songs that advanced the cause of the civil liberties that somehow are not paramount to the current administration of executive government. Hmm. Can the blues wax political? Anyway, Staples' new album, on which Bettie Mae contributes, is entitled “We'll Never Turn Back.

The band that backed Fikes included the talented guitarist Levi Lloyd, the great Andre Williams on drums, Ron Perry on bass and Carl Mureco on keyboards.

Tomorrow, Thurman Watts explores more of the great music brought to Upper Lake during the Blue Wing Blues Festival.

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The Rich Kirch Blues Band. Photo by Abbye Brenner.

Freddie Hughes performs. Photo by Abbye Brenner.

The Levi Lloyd Band. Photo by Abbye Brenner.

D. Wills of the Levi Lloyd Band. Photo by Abbye Brenner.

Blues diva Bettie Mae Fikes. Photo by Abbye Brenner.