Tailgating with the original underdog

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Published on: February 6th, 2010
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Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 8:00pm
On Superbowl Sunday, we are tailgating with the original underdog, the world's most under-rated blues singer, the Mayor of MacDougal Street: Dave Van Ronk. This week marks the 8th anniversary of his passing and, like every year, we remember Dave with two hours of his music and stories. So, as the sandwiches are being made and the TV is droning on about odds and spreads, spend a couple of hours with the Zelig of the blues-folk revival.
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Comments

Dave Van Ronk is truly a remarkable singer. He was best known as an important figure in New York City during the acoustic folk revival of the 1960s, but his work ranged from old English ballads to Bertolt Brecht, rock, New Orleans jazz, and swing. He is often associated with blues but he pointed out at concerts that he actually had only a limited number in his repertoire. He became known for performing instrumental ragtime guitar music, and he was an early friend and supporter of Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Patrick Sky, Phil Ochs, and Joni Mitchell, among many others. In relation to this, by the time they announce the Bonnaroo 2010 lineup, it's going to be sort of pointless – all the affordable tickets are sold out. The lineup looks pretty solid, and they have the token mix of indie/jam bands, rappers, and hippie era classic rock acts – there's The Flaming Lips, John Fogerty, Jay Z, others – but the only tickets available are over $1500, so unless someone has a lot of cash or credit cards, you're out of luck. So maybe, reminiscing our dear Ronk is the best thing we can do right now!

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