Stagecoach 2009: Southern California country rocks

Backstage at Stagecoach:

What an extraordinary collective of Southern California music history backstage following Poco’s reunion performance tonight.

There was Poco’s Richie Furay (also representing Buffalo Springfield), Jim Messina (Loggins & Messina) and Timothy B. Schmit (Eagles), along with John Doe and Exene Cervenka (X/Knitters), Dave Alvin (Blasters/Knitters/Guilty Men and now Guilty Women), James Burton (Rick Nelson, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis), alt-country singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale and ‘70s country singer Lynn Anderson.

Anderson had joined Poco for “Listen to a Country Song,” which she confessed she’d forgotten about while thinking she’d be invited to join in on Poco steel player Rusty Young’s “Rose of Cimarron,” a song  she recorded years ago and recently re-recorded for a new album of western music.

Cervenka was enthralled by Poco’s performance, having come straight to Indio from her set with Doe the night before at the Getty Center, and the one common thread between Stagecoach and Coachella the previous weekend, where X played.

Schmit had to leave his bass aside because his hand was bandaged from an injury. After starting to spin a tale about a battle with pirates, he smiled and explained it was actually the result of a snap from the family dog.

There ought to be a country song in that.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo: Poco at Stagecoach. Credit: Allen J. Schaben

Comments

[Jerry Landers]

I hit the tent to see some country rock and was glad I did.

The best sounds I heard under the tent came from the legendary Pure Prairie League ! No reunion, just the presence of one Craig Fuller, who mastered country roclk as well or better than anyone.

What a pleasure to hear this band rip it up, a lineup that rivals anything ever done in country rock.Fuller still has an enormous presence, his singinmg, songwriting as good or better than when he formed PPL about 40 years ago.The harmonies were the best I heard all night, with some extremely tight musicianship. PPl's country rock history is as big, maybe bigger, than anyone who played it. Their set was a very lively, upbeat one, performed flawlessly.

Mike Reilly is till in the lineup and his oresence is one that can't be overlooked, if you saw PPl in the 70's and 80's, you saw him. He sounded great and his enthusiasm is contagious.

This band has something very special to offer, far more than many of the 70's acts I've seen floating around, barely putting over whatever their claim to fame may have been.PPL played some new songs that have as much to offer as their old ones, and that is saying something !

I enjoyed the Poco reunion. Although there were a few glitches, the guys put on a nice show with the obvious sentiment playing a big part. It honestly didn't pack the punch that PPL's set did, and the band's set is much more toned down in terms of tempo, but Poco fans got to see the guys they came for, Timothy Schmidt, Richie Furay, and Jim Mesina, although they did not all perform together on every tune. The historical significance I felt outweighed the music.