FESTIVAL: 1991 Michelob Street Scene on Tap : The Word on the Street : Gaslamp: More music, food and special touches promise to make this year’s Michelob Street Scene the best ever. Performers as varied as Texas Tornedos, Queen Ida, Beat Farmers, Highway 101 and B.B. King will be there.
SAN DIEGO — The eighth installment of the Michelob Street Scene--already the biggest annual music and food festival in Southern California--looks to be the best in the series, judging from information provided Tuesday at a press conference held by the event’s producer, Rob Hagey.
Scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 6 and 7, the 1991 Street Scene again promises a feast for both the senses and the palate. The event’s core attraction remains its richly diverse lineup of musical talent. Genres and sub-genres represented this year include rock, reggae, Cajun-zydeco, blues, jazz, world beat, country, Latino, gospel, and, for the first time, Tex-Mex, or conjunto , music.
Headliners include such stalwarts as Tex-Mex heroes the Texas Tornados and Joe (King) Carrasco; zydeco’s Queen Ida and Zachary Richard; gospel’s Five Blind Boys of Alabama; ‘60s stars Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Rare Earth, and Eric Burdon with Brian Auger; reggae standouts Burning Spear and Eek-A-Mouse; blues greats B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Koko Taylor; country hit makers Highway 101; jazz veterans Bennie Wallace and Jon Faddis; rockers the Beat Farmers and Jellyfish, and many more.
In addition, a multiethnic food fair will correspond to the wide variety of ethnic and regional sounds represented by the event’s musical acts; four over-21 “beer gardens†will offer respite for parched throats and taste buds singed by some of the spicier entrees; and vendors will display arts, crafts, and other wares almost as eclectic as the music.
The festival will cover 12 blocks of downtown’s Gaslamp Quarter, the same acreage as last year’s event, but Hagey noted a major difference in the ’91 festival’s layout.
“This year, 5th Avenue will act as a sort of hub of activity, from which the other blocks and attractions will fan out,†he said. “That will give the festival a kind of center of gravity that it has lacked in the past. You know, when you do something at a particular venue, and then you have a whole year to plan an event for the same venue, you look for ways to improve on past efforts, and that’s what we’ve done.â€
According to Hagey, other improvements have come in the form of expanded music presentations (50 acts on 10 stages this year, up from 40 acts on eight stages in 1990), food services, security and overall production. Hagey said there will be a more creative use of lighting effects and projections, adding a new dimension to this year’s model.
Yet, Hagey happily reported that, in spite of these improvements, the ’91 Street Scene will remain accessible to the most budget-conscious music lover. “This year’s festival is costing us more to produce than last year’s, and yet we’re only raising the cost of admission by one dollar,†he said. Tickets for each day’s events will cost $16 in advance, $20 at the door.
The first-time use of the Hahn Cosmopolitan Theatre for jazz concerts and the Kansas City Steak House for blues and Latino performances are other innovations that have Hagey both thrilled and harried.
“This thing is such a mammoth undertaking,†he continued. “In addition to the production and logistical considerations, pulling this off requires so much understanding and cooperation on the part of the downtown merchants and the city. For example, there’s a lot of development going on in that area, and we have to take into consideration construction schedules and personnel and whatnot. But the event is exciting largely because that urban environment makes for such a unique venue, and that’s why we put so much time and energy into it.â€
The Michelob Street Scene is one of the few sociocultural events in San Diego that has developed a self-sustaining momentum. In its first couple of incarnations (the event debuted with two installments in 1984), the Street Scene had the anything-goes ambience of a big-city block party, which essentially is what it is. The event’s middle years brought some experimentation in the music, location, and overall scope, as Hagey and his colleagues worked out the kinks and discovered what would and wouldn’t work.
Last year’s edition seemed the culmination of all the trials and tinkering, and this year’s Street Scene promises to advance the cause another several steps. By now, the festival has found its groove; people no longer need to be convinced of the good times, food, and music to be had--they just need a rundown of the particulars to jot down in their appointment books.
For Hagey, reflecting on the roster of talent brought to mind one performer whose appearance in the ’91 Street Scene represents a completed circle of sorts.
“Robert Cray was an opening act in 1984, and he’ll be here this year with the Memphis Horns,†Hagey said. “I remember he was pretty much an unknown around here the first time. John Doe, who was here to perform that night with the band X, and who had never seen Cray, was in the audience raving about him. Cray had come down because he was friends with the Neville Brothers, who were playing that year. Several years later, it’s nice to have him back and to see how much he’s progressed in his career.â€
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