| Magic Christian
The Cat Club West Hollywood, CA USA Jan. 19, 2006 By Lucky (SugarBuzz Hollywood) Photos By David Arnspiger (Additional photos by Victoria Joyce) SugarBuzz Magazine |
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One of the many benefits of this wonderful magazine we have created is meeting and making new friends. And that is what happened during the week of Magic Christian’s weeklong stay in Hollywood. Hailing from right in the heart of downtown San Francisco, Magic Christian has been causing quite a stir in the bay area and finally decided to grace the city of the angels with, yes, their magic.
Consisting of some rock legends and soon to be rock legends, Magic Christian is a sure fire winner. On guitar there is none other than Cyril Jordan whom is well know across the planet as being the founder member and guitarist in the Flamin Groovies. And from The Tubes (“White Punks On Dope”) we have Prairie Prince on drums. On bass is Alec Palao whom is a mover and shaker behind the scenes doing production work with such mavericks as Rhino Records and is an utmost authority in rock and roll archives. Rounding out the quartet is vocalist Paul Kopf whom splits his time between a kindergarten class and Bay Area nightclubs. (I kid you not.) The week long fun and frolic started on Martin Luther King Day as a group of us converged on The Rainbow Bar and Grill around |
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| noontime for some eats and greets. That was my first encounter with members of Magic Christian and their traveling companions. We all seemed to hit it off from the get go and a splendid time was had by all. That night Magic Christian was slated to play The Viper Room, but prior engagements prevented me from being in attendance. Thursday night, however, was another story. I’d be there with bells on. (What the hell does with bells on really mean anyway?) | |||||||||||||||||
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| Thursday night we kicked things off early with a birthday dinner for Victoria Joyce at The Bow and then hooked up with our mates to invade The Cat Club. With a little time to kill, we smoked out on the back patio and hung in the loft sofa area. The club filled up fast and I was really surprised and happy to see such a huge crowd turn out. Finally the time had arrived for my first dose of Magic Christian live.
Opening the show with “Turn Up The Heat”, the band made instant fans of everyone in the club with its twist and shout feel. From the opening note I knew the guys were on it and this set was really going to kick. Magic Christians’ music is a mix of |
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| Garage, Mod, R&B, early 60’s Pop and more, all the while having their feet firmly planted in the now.
“All The Stars” was next and then “Till I Looked In Her Eyes” hooked a groove. Paul was doing great with his stage moves, despite the very restricted space on the small Cat Club stage. The mike stand paid dearly. |
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Cyril was playing this awesome clear guitar that had to be a Dan Armstrong Plexiglass. (I have seen Keith Richards play one of these). My guess is that it is a ’69. After Cyril reads this, I am sure he will set me straight. What ever it was, the axe had this awesome tone and Cyril’s finger picking style was classic. (From my viewpoint, he did use a pick at times in the latter part of the set). Things keep grooving with “Right Back Where I Started From” which has that jump and jive feel similar to the Brian Jones era Stones. (Think, “It’s All Over Now”). And speaking of The Stones, Magic Christian treated the crowd to a real obscure Stones b-side entitled “Gotta Get Away”. (The flip side of “As Tears Go By” 1966). Only the tragically hip were aware. Up next was the smash “Too Close To Zero” that has got to be one of the most infectious songs of this, or hell, any decade. “Too Close To Zero” was in the pocket tight. Prairie was just drilling. The loaner kit’s (jam night tradition) snare was giving him trouble, but being the consummate pro it did not affect his performance one iota. |
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| Photo By Victoria Joyce | |||||||||||||||||
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| Dedicated to the birthday girl Victoria was “My Gal”, one of those traditional cuts performed by acts such as Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions. (Any Pigpen fans out there?). A classic interpretation ensued.
The set was completed with “Tomorrow Never Comes” and a sonic delight in the form of The Who’s “I Can See For Miles”. WOW! That sumed up the audience reaction when they launched into"Miles", and my reaction too! The band really let loose and some ultra hot jamming took place. The set ended sometime after midnight and I had to cut out, but not before I said my goodbyes to my new friends. Miss you all already! Sadly, the following day the city of angels had to let go and return Magic Christian back to San Francisco. But they promise to return and when they do you owe it to yourself to see them. We here at SugarBuzz will keep you posted. |
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| www.magicchristian.net |
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| Photo By Victoria Joyce | |||||||||||||||||
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