The North Mississippi Allstars may not have been bona fide all-stars when they formed as a trio nearly thirty years ago, but the Brothers Dickinson have certainly attained that status by now. They proved their worthiness with a set that went way beyond their expected two-hour timeframe on Thursday at HopMonk Tavern in Novato.
The North Mississippi Allstars' current lineup features Luther Dickinson on guitar and vocals (and occasional bass), Cody Dickinson on drums (and occasional guitar and vocals), and Rayfield "Ray Ray" Holloman on bass (and occasional drums and vocals).
The trio opened with “Goin’ Down South” from their 2000 release Shake Hands with Shorty, and they just kept goin’ and goin’ from there. The Dickinson Brothers are well-versed in Delta blues, and their jams combine the Southern rock ethos of The Allman Brothers (another sibling ensemble, of course) with the sensibility of the roots musicians who preceded the whole lot of them. (A nod to the Allmans came through during a “Mountain Jam” segment during one of the instrumental jams.)
The NOMAs provide an earthbound experience, and I mean that in the best way. You can feel the land beneath these blues. You can smell the bayou from the front porch, and you can feel the swing of your own rocking chair in the southern twilight. You can taste the pork, the beans, the sweat.
Even when Luther takes little leaps into the air, and even when his slide flies up and down the frets, there’s a sense of gravity that reminds you — these are blues. The music of the land. The music of the people.
Luther made note of this during one of his asides to the sold-out crowd: “When you feel the vibrations, it’s not the music or the place. It’s the people in the place that create the good vibes.”
The good vibes were plentiful.
The show began with a 45-minute set by The Sam Chase. To be clear, The Sam Chase is … one guy named Sam Chase, singer-songwriter. He appeared at HopMonk without his usual band, The Untraditional. If you want to understand The Sam Chase (and perhaps gain some insight into why he puts “The” in front of his name), check out what his website bio says about him (and note that the website says this is allegedly and unbelievably written by “Hunter S. Thompson”):
Sam Chase is a complete phony … A fraud in the highest order … The fact that good people, honest, hardworking, god-fearing, red-blooded Americans could be duped by such a blatantly unoriginal and inauthentic “songwriter” is one of the great mysteries that will perhaps someday be solved by some other songwriter who is actually worth a damn.
The truth is that his songs are funny, insightful, original, and enjoyable. His voice, a bit Tom Waits’ish with similar gravelly intonation, is interesting and dynamic. And he engages the audience with banter and bravado. For instance, he sang a new song (lyrics about a recent assassination attempt you may have heard about made that clear) called “Donald J Trump’s Still the Biggest Asshole in The World.” About two-thirds of the audience cheered and sang along, some preferred to pretend not to notice, and at least a few were visibly perturbed and aghast that he’d vilify their GOP hero with such mockery. Good folk music is meant to challenge people, and The Sam Chase does exactly that.
