Something about the previous 11 incarnations of the Doheny Blues Festival just didn’t make sense. Perhaps it was the environment. You see, the blues is a depressed feeling that starts in a person’s gut and quickly engulfs their entire body—but it’s nearly impossible to feel that way when you’re in Dana Point staring at the Pacific Ocean on a sunny weekend afternoon. Unfortunately, another casualty of our nation’s shitty economy has taken an otherwise celebratory concert and given it a whole new meaning. Yes, this year’s lineup includes blues demigod B.B. King, Brian Setzer N the Nashvillians, Elvin Bishop, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Buckwheat Zydeco and John Hammond. But instead of dancing, crying in your beer might be the best way to engage in audience participation. Wait, it’s Dana Point. There are no poor people there.
May 16-17, noon, 2009
