Q: What do you call a musician without a girlfriend?
A: Homeless.
Q: What do you call a musician without health insurance?
A: The norm.
Roots musician Chris Gaffney, whose barroom tunes with Dave Alvin and the Hacienda Brothers raspily screamed Southern California, passed away in April after a lightning-fast bout with liver cancer. In his memory, the inaugural Dog and Pony Show art auction/rockin’ benefit concert will be held to provide access to adequate health care for a handful of ailing local musicians.
An impressive assortment of music memorabilia, books, prints and DVDs, as well as art and collectibles kindly donated by various galleries (including La Luz de Jesus and Bergamot Station’s Copro/Nason), will be up for silent auction during the three-day extravaganza. Art lovers might walk away with an addition to their mantel; participating artists include Edward Colver, Bad Otis Link, Scott Angle, Beat Eye Media, Joe Wood and John Cormack.
There will also be opportunities to enjoy down-home BBQ and dusty cow-punk bands (some of which are coming out of retirement for the benefit). For less than a ticket to Burning Man, the show offers a walloping of the Wild West courtesy of the Blasters, Tex and the Horseheads, Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men, Hacienda Brothers, Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys, and more. Best of all, it's for a worthy cause, so bust out the boots and bolster your karma.
