Madison Wisconsin

Maybe it was the near-spring night. Maybe it was being in Madison again. Maybe it was the pleasure of seeing two old friends make music together.

Doesn't matter what it was. The reunion of Boz Scaggs and Ben Sidran at the Overture Center's Capitol Theatre on March 10, 2006, was magical for anyone who has followed the careers of the two musicians and UW-Madison alums.

Scaggs and Sidran played in a Madison band called the Ardells in 1963, performing at Langdon Street frat parties and other gatherings.

Scaggs ultimately followed his music to Europe where he performed as a busker. Sidran stayed in school and eventually earned a Ph.D. Sidran tried the West Coast and returned to Madison. Scaggs ended up in San Francisco.

Apparently they kept in touch, with Sidran playing on some of Scaggs' tunes.

Sidran, who has had a stellar radio and recording career, still plays piano in Madison watering holes. He also performs frequently all over the lake-locked city.

Scaggs drew critical acclaim and made it big in the late 1970s. He continues to grow as a musician.

Both men take chances, but in different ways. Scaggs tends to take his in the recording studio.

Sidran called the March 10 performance an experiment. Somehow he lured the usually reticent Scaggs to Madison to talk about songwriting and fame, in between making flawless music with Jorge Drexler, a younger musician who often works out of Madison.

Scaggs does not reveal much about himself, and that is part of his mystique. He will talk about music, but rarely offer any intimate details. That is of little importance to true admirers who come for the music.

Sidran is a good interviewer who puts both audience and subject at ease. Even though Scaggs revealed little about himself, it was a pleasure to watch the two talk about their shared passion for songwriting and music.

For a fellow UW-Madison alum who appreciates music, enduring friendship and a pleasant Friday night in Madison, the event was sheer magic.

Mimi the Badgerbabe.
 
  
 

MADISON, Wis. March 2006

Boz Scaggs came home to Madison Friday and the audience loved him.

Scaggs was not born here, nor did he grow up in this leafy, lake-surrounded city. But he spent a year or so enrolled at UW-Madison, playing in a couple of local bands with his good friend Steve Miller.

Madison tends to stay in your system. It´s fun loving, slightly left leaning, and teeming with life. Many UW-students stay in town after graduation and put down roots.

Ben Sidran, Scaggs' former band mate, did just that. He made his home here, reared a son with his wife Judy, and has taught at UW-Madison.

He's no stranger to Madison stages, certainly not the one at the Capitol Theatre at the Overture Center. Sidran lured Scaggs there for a concert and conversation in an experimental format.

"I wouldn't dare try this anywhere else," Sidran said.

It was a brilliant move. Sidran also invited Jorge Drexler, a Uruguayan-born guitarist and singer who has worked out of Madison with Sidran in recent years.

Brilliant. Two accomplished musicians from different points in Sidran's career, sharing different perspectives on music, songwriting and fame, and also contributing their considerable talents on each others tunes.

Both men are talented and engaging. Scaggs is coming at it from more than 40 years as a musician. Drexler was a relative unknown until his Academy Award a year ago.

Drexler was sweet and sincere. Scaggs seemed relaxed but a bit skittish. He's a private man and most fans respect that.

Sidran, who has done numerous interviews and profiles for National Public Radio, managed to put both audience members and subjects at ease.

In a conversation about celebrity, it was touching to hear Scaggs say that sometimes he just wants to be invisible. He added that living in San Francisco allows him to pretty much come and go as he pleases with little fanfare.

In a conversation about songwriting, Scaggs noted that some times a song is rolling around inside trying to come out. The songwriter doesn't rest until the song is realized.

Both Scaggs and Drexler performed their own compositions. Scaggs did Desire, from his 2001 CD Dig, which seems as much about loss as it does lust for something. Drexler performed Deseo, which means desire in Spanish.

Scaggs, who opened his performance with Running Blue,a jazz-infused road song from early in his career, also sang his classic, Lowdown. That song, too, is about desire: Got to have a jones for this/jones for that/this running with the Joneses sure ain´t where its at.

At some point in the show, someone; probably Sidran; noted that a good song transcends different arrangements.

The concert-with-conversation format is probably satisfying to die-hard admirers of a performer, but not enough to entertain marginal fans who come to hear music. Perhaps Sidran is experimenting with the format for a future series. With some tweaking, it will work, especially in the intimate Capitol Theatre.

Perhaps the concert was a trial balloon for Scaggs, too, who had not performed in Madison in years. The crowds cheered, whistled and stomped their feet for him. My guess is they would welcome him back for a full- fledged concert. Scaggs is a gentlemanly presence who is gracious with other musicians and his voice was in perfect shape.

It was a good event for Drexler, too. Music lovers not familiar with his work left determined to buy one of his CDs.

Sidran, Scaggs and Drexler were accompanied by Leo Sidran, Billy Peterson and Anthony Cao. That the overall performance was so flawless is a tribute to their collective talents and professionalism.

It was evident when they closed the show with a jazzed-up interpretation of Bob Dylans' Subterranean Homesick Blues.

The band was having fun. And Madison loved it.

Mimi the Badgerbabe.