A recent post had to do with the the Golden Gate Bridge turning 70. Somebody naming himself Clark Starace wrote in to mention there was an "official" ballad for the Golden Gate Bridge. It was performed by Noah Griffin, he wrote, a Bay Area singer who has performed at events such as the opening of Pac Bell Park.
Pac Bell Park? I was at the opening of Pac Bell Park back in 2000, and I never saw him. Where was Noah Griffin? I was outside the stadium across the cove because I didn't have tickets. Noah took the easy way in, singing for his admission. As it turned out, I had a good time outside the baseball park with my camera. There was so much to photograph. Small planes, military jets, the Goodyear blimp, helicopters -- they all did their turns in the airspace. 
Here's a silhouette of two helicopters, the sun, a seagull, and a building near the baseball park. The light that day was good. I forget who won the baseball game.
Noah Griffin has a website. There are four songs you can hear on it. The guy can sing. He's recently performed at the 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley. That's a good venue up in Marin County. Woody Allen did a show at 142 Throckmorton last year or early this year. Noah has a couple of dates in San Francisco this month at the Empire Plush Room. That's a cabaret at the York Hotel. The performers don't sing to you there, they sing next to you. His show will be Cole Porter music. By coincidence, today is the birthday of Cole Porter.
Also in the music scene, Big Brother & The Holding Company is on the road for the summer shows. I first heard them in high school. Our civic studies teacher brought in the Kosmic Blues album and played it in class. He didn't do that often, maybe never, but this was special. These days, the original members are still playing. They've had maybe a dozen women sing the Janis Joplin part over the years, the most recent is Cathy Richardson. She's quite good. Janis was special -the original- but Cathy is a more complete performer. You can hear songs at her My Space page and her own band's website.
Noah Griffin is at www.noahgriffin.com.
Big Brother & The Holding Company is www.BBHC.com.
Cathy Richardson is at www.crband.com.
