http://www.cleveland.com/music/index.ssf/2010/06/la_cave_reunion_concerts_celeb.html
June 23, 2010
by Michael Sangiacomo
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- La Cave, Cleveland's legendary folk club, was open
only for seven years, but it was a magnet for some of the biggest
names in folk and rock.
Rather than wait until 2012 for the 50th anniversary of the club's
opening, fans and friends will come together for a La Cave Reunion
celebration Friday through Sunday. The weekend marks the 48th
anniversary of the opening and the 41st anniversary of La Cave's closing.
Simon and Garfunkel, the Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson
Airplane, Neil Young, Phil Ochs, Iron Butterfly, Gordon Lightfoot,
Arlo Guthrie, Judy Collins, Tim Hardin, Linda Ronstadt, John Hammond,
Tom Rush . . the list barely scratches the surface of the list of
hundreds of performers who played there from 1962 to 1969.
Josh White Jr., Brewer and Shipley, Carolyn Hester and a host of
local and regional performers will perform today and Saturday at Wilbert's.
Friday's headliner is Josh White Jr., whose father was the first
performer to play at La Cave at 10615 Euclid Ave. He'll reprise his
father's most famous song, "One Meatball."
Saturday night, Brewer and Shipley headline. They are best known for
the classic 1971 single, "One Toke Over the Line," plus "Tarkio Road"
and "Witchi Tai To."
Hester is an original folkie from the 1960s, a contemporary of
Collins and Joan Baez. She's also the woman who introduced some punk
kid named Dylan to her friends at Columbia Records.
There will be a lot of music at the celebration, but even more nostalgia.
Stan Kain has fond memories of his days running La Cave, but his
favorite memory has little to do with music.
"I remember walking in on Linda Ronstadt, about 17 or 18, standing
naked in my kitchen cooking breakfast," he said fondly. "That's not
something I'll ever forget."
Kain, now 74, of North Royalton, turned a coffee shop owned by Lee
Weiss and Nelson Karl into the legendary folk club.
"The guys were about to close La Cave after three months back in
1962," he said. "I always wanted to run a folk club ... and I asked
Lee and Nelson if I could book folk acts at La Cave. They said I
could give it a try."
Kain took a chance and paid White $400 to perform a weekend of concerts.
"They were upset because I paid him so much money," Kain recalled.
"The opening night was a sellout, and we had a line around the block.
They made me a partner and let me run the place after that."
He ran it until 1968, when he stepped down to allow Larry Bruner to take over.
Kain said La Cave was a magnet for music luminaries. Artists like
Theo Bikel, Mary Travers and Mama Cass would just drop in if they
were performing in the area.
He has some less pleasant memories of the club as well.
"James Cotton's drummer had a heart attack and died right on the
stage one night," he said. "The band showed up the next night and
played because they said that's what he would have wanted."
He remembered when folk legends Ian and Sylvia Tyson asked if they
could bring their own opening act to a performance, an unknown
Canadian named Gordon Lightfoot.
"I remember watching Gordon Lightfoot laboring with his guitar
writing a song called 'Early Morning Rain' in my apartment," he said.
Even more memories like these should be on the bill for this weekend's events.
--
PREVIEW
La Cave Reunion Festival
Who: Josh White Jr. today; Brewer and Shipley Saturday; Carolyn
Hester, Tom Evanchuck, Gusti, Charlie & Celia Lewis, Jim Glover,
Victoria Parks and Alan Leatherwood will open the shows both nights.
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. From 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, there will
be numerous performers for a special appreciation show at Wilbert's.
Where: Wilbert's Food & Music, 812 Huron Road, Cleveland.
Tickets: Concerts Friday and Saturday are $18, advance; $20, day of
show. Appreciation show Sunday is $5.
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