Lobster South of the Border Leaves Harpist Unstrung

New Age harpist Andreas Vollenweider, the introspective, sensitive type that he is, generally stays in his hotel room while he’s on tour.

Last weekend, he didn’t--and almost lost his life. On Sunday, after a sold-out show the night before at downtown’s Symphony Hall, Vollenweider accepted concert promoter Bill Silva’s offer of a lobster dinner in Puerto Nuevo. Silva rented a van and hired a driver for the trek into Baja California, and shortly before 6 p.m., he picked up Vollenweider and four of his band members.

Just south of Tijuana, five minutes past the first toll booth, the van collided with a fishtailing car. Miraculously, no one in the van was injured, but the driver and passenger of the other car, which police later said was responsible for the crash, were taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Dinner plans were ruined. While Silva’s driver was being interrogated by police in downtown Tijuana, the shaken promoter, harpist and band members retreated to nearby Tia Juana Tilly’s.

“Tequila sales were up that night at Tilly’s,” Silva said, only half-jokingly. “It was as close to seeing my life flash before my eyes as anything that’s ever happened to me.”

It’s been a banner year for reunion tours. Three of the biggest supergroups of the 1960s--the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Jefferson Airplane--returned to the concert trail this year after long absences, joining a host of previously resurrected peers like the Monkees, the Turtles, and Peter, Paul and Mary.

Three supergroups from the 1970s also went back on the road in 1989: Bachman-Turner Overdrive, who played the Del Mar Fair grandstand last summer; the Doobie Brothers, who were in town Oct. 1 for a show at the Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park; and War, who have just been booked into Rio’s in Loma Portal for a Nov. 25 performance.

The BTO concert was so-so. Bloated lead singer C.F. Turner, in his stone-washed, blue-denim overalls, looked like a California Raisin, and the band’s litany of its sophomoric trucker-rock hits was amusing, if nothing else. The Doobies’ show, despite the high quality of their material, was a disappointment, suffering from sloppy musicianship and a decided lack of enthusiasm.

Judging from War’s two Rio’s dates earlier this year, expectations are considerably higher for the upcoming encore engagement. Originally ex-Animal Eric Burdon’s backup band, War established its own identity in 1971 with a distinctive blend of Latin, jazz and funk. During the ensuing five years, the group scored nearly a dozen Top 40 hits with such well-structured songs as “Slippin’ Into Darkness,” “The World is a Ghetto,” “The Cisco Kid,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” and “Low Rider.”

Today, these songs still sound good, and so does the band, even though only singer-guitarist Howard Scott, harmonica player Lee Oskar, and keyboardist (and San Diego native) Lonnie Jordan remain from the original seven-man lineup. The trio’s readings of their old classics are soulful and vibrant, as though they genuinely enjoy playing them.

So unlike BTO, War’s got the songs. And unlike the Doobie Brothers, they know how to present them.

LINER NOTES: Local pop singer Elliott Lawrence has taken over as host of the weekly Open Mike Night at the Abbey Restaurant in Hillcrest. The Wednesday sing-alongs, which start at 8 p.m., feature mostly Broadway and show tunes. Hardly new territory for Lawrence: While living in New York in the mid-’70s, he appeared in several Broadway musicals, including “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Godspell.” . . .

The Belly Up Tavern will celebrate its 15th anniversary Sunday with a free concert, starting at 4 p.m. Performing will be seven local acts that have frequently played the Solana Beach nightclub in the past: Chicago Six, Ed Reed’s River Boat Five, Bob Long, the Savery Brothers, Cardiff Reefers, Paladins, and Beat Farmers. The night’s entertainment will conclude with a jam session. . . .

After its sold-out concert last Wednesday with the Fine Young Cannibals at Starlight Bowl, the Tom Tom Club stayed in town an extra night to catch Billy Preston’s show at the Belly Up Tavern. . . .

Gary Puckett, perhaps the San Diego pop-music scene’s most famous alumnus, celebrates his 47th birthday Oct. 17--20 years and one month after the romantic pop balladeer and his group, the Union Gap, scored their last Top 40 hit with “This Girl is a Woman Now.” . . .

Who says promoters don’t have a sense of humor? Tickets go on sale Friday, the 13th, at 3:13 p.m. for Public Image Limited’s Nov. 8 dance concert at Golden Hall. Also on the bill is Flesh for Lulu. . . .

Best concert bets for the coming week: Nils Lofgren and John Doe in an all-acoustic set, tonight at the Belly Up Tavern; Hawkwind, Thursday at the Bacchanal in Kearny Mesa; San Diegan (and former Rod Stewart guitarist) Stevie Salas and his new band, Color-Code, Saturday at the Bacchanal; Pop Will Eat Itself, also Saturday, at Iguanas in Tijuana; and head Talking Head David Byrne, Tuesday at the Starlight Bowl.