OC LIVE : POP MUSIC : Everything's Beachy, and Blues Fest Is in the Pink

OC LIVE : POP MUSIC : Everything’s Beachy, and Blues Fest Is in the Pink

By FRANK MESSINA

Sept. 21, 1995 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

If you didn’t look past the thousands of blues lovers covering the hills of Heritage Park in Dana Point, the first Orange County Blues Festival in 1993 was an obvious success.

But behind the scenes, it was a fiasco.

Park neighbors fumed over the noise and mess. Despite a large gate, vendors weren’t being paid. Festival partners sued one another over subsequent rights to the event name.

Talk about having the blues.

“To be honest, we didn’t even think we’d be here,” said festival president Eric Jensen. “But we found an ideal situation, and now it looks like a great weekend for the blues.”

Proving that blues and beach do mix, it seems that the county’s only major blues festival left its troubles behind when it moved to a new location last year. At Doheny State Beach, the two-day show drew 15,000 music fans and no complaints from neighbors or vendors.

So the only yelling this weekend should be coming from the audience and from R&B; shouters Wilson Pickett, Otis Day and Richard Berry.

Pickett (“Midnight Hour,” “Mustang Sally”), who has been a marquee name at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the San Diego Street Scene this year, will headline the festival on Sunday. That day’s lineup will also feature Day, Chicago harpman Junior Wells, harpist Rod Piazza and guitarist Debbie Davies.

Saturday will show off guitarist Jeff Healey and his unique, five-finger chording style, plus veteran bluesman Luther Allison, southwest Louisiana zydeco accordionist Terrance Simien and the Mallet Playboys and J.C. Handy award nominee Miss Lavelle White. Berry, who wrote the hit “Louie Louie,” Walter Trout and the Mike Reilly Band will also be at the festival on Saturday.

The event provides a rare opportunity to see Healey at a venue other than a smoky nightclub.

“We don’t play outdoors too much, except for a few shows in Europe,” Healey said by phone last week. “It’s a challenge to see how far you can throw the sound.

“But it doesn’t make much difference. Music is music no matter where you’re playing,” said the guitarist, who played under the sky at the Long Beach Blues Festival last year.

If festival-goers want a little scenery or a suntan with their blues fix, this is the place. Ocean waves crash less than 100 yards from the festival grounds.

Besides taking along sunscreen, there are a few other suggestions for those attending the weekend festival:

Arrive early for parking. Last year, the state beach parking lot filled quickly, and cars overflowed the limited street parking nearby.

Take money. No outside food or drink, including water, is allowed inside. Because the festival runs from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. both days, you’re likely to purchase a meal or two here. Fortunately, the food--ranging from Louisiana hot links to Middle Eastern delicacies--is plentiful, good and relatively inexpensive.

Be ready for both hot days and cool nighttime breezes by packing a spray bottle and a light jacket.

* POP LISTINGS, Page XX

* BLUES LISTINGS, Page XX

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

What: Third annual Orange County Blues Festival.

* When: Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

* Where: Doheny Beach State Park, Dana Point.

* Whereabouts: Exit Interstate 5 at Pacific Coast Highway heading north, then go left onto Dana Point Harbor Drive. Park entrance is about 100 yards ahead on the left.

* Wherewithal: $12 in advance; $15 day of event. Preferred seating and discount drinks with two-day advance purchase at $30. Parking is $5 per car.

* Where to call: (714) 650-5483.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Playing the O.C. Blues Fest

* Saturday

11 a.m. Jill Sharpe

11:45 Good Rockin’ Daddy

12:30 p.m. Mike Reilly Band

1:15 Rhythm Lords

2:00 Richard Berry

3:00 Walter Trout

4:00 Miss Lavelle White