Recently, I sat in on a 50-minute conference call with Stevie Wonder, one of the most amazing and influential artists of our times (and also the main attraction Friday night at White River Amphitheatre.) So needless to say, I have some great sound bites for you this week, some of which are posted below. Look for more tomorrow. And in an unrelated matter, I also hope to have some stuff posted from my interview with Mark Arm between now and Green River’s reunion show at SP20 on Sunday.

Pt. 1: Putting together set lists for this tour

Pt. 2: Speaking out on social issues

Pt. 3: Details on two new projects, "Gospel Inspired By Lula" and "Through the Eyes of Wonder," that he's working on while on tour

Expect lots of classics and maybe a few new songs when R&B legend Stevie Wonder when he headlines Auburn’s White River Amphitheatre on Friday (July 11). And if the show is anything like last year’s gig at Woodinville’s Chateau Ste Michelle, he’ll speak out on a few social issues. When asked during a recent conference call about hitting the road after taking so much time off from touring he said, “I do enjoy being at home, being with family, but I just think there’s a lot that needs to be said.”
DAVE MARTIN

“Band in a box.” That’s the general concept behind Saturday night’s electronic music showcase at Bob’s Java Jive, according to Tacoma singer-songwriter Deborah Page, one of the acts scheduled to perform.

For the past several months, Page and band mate Paul Uhl have cut their teeth at the Jive, Sanford & Son Antiques & Auctions and other local venues. Page’s singing reminded me a bit of Natalie Merchant when I spun her CD “Stay.” And the duo produces a breezy style of pop that melds folky guitar melodies with electronic textures and looped drum beats.

That combination makes the outfit a bit of a square peg on Tacoma’s rock scene. Page recalled drawing interest about performing at a local festival, only to have it wane once organizers learned her band was a laptop-enhanced duo.

“They wanted to see a drummer, and they wanted to see a bass player,” recalled Page, who goes by Deborah Ritchie offstage. “And that’s a little bit of the trouble we’re running into. People think one guy and a guitar or two people and guitars. They’re not gonna have the sound we want, even though we sound huge.”

The aim of Saturday’s gig was to bring together like-minded, digital music enthusiasts on one bill. Bandolier, Bumtech, the Story of Light and Dark and DJ Darrren Select will also perform.

“The genre of what we fall into is kind of difficult,” Page said. “So we talked to some of the people at the Java Jive and tried to get a like-sounding group together. Some of it’s more electronica. But it’s all integrating the computers with the live vocals, with the guitars and music that we’ve all written.”

Making music digitally has afforded the group great freedom, she said. “Everything we’ve written ourselves, recorded ourselves and mastered ourselves. That’s why it’s cool with the band in the box thing. You’re just like this one unit that just goes around, and you can present your music, and we sound like a full band.”

Saturday’s show kicks off at 8 p.m., and there is a $5 cover charge; 253-536-5729 for more details.

But Old Town will be the place to be for blues fans on Saturday when the 16th annual Old Town Blues Festival takes over Slavonian Hall, the Spar Tavern, the Mountaineers Club and Old Town Park.

This year’s lineup includes Portland’s JoeMcMurrian Quartet, Billy Roy Danger & the Rectifiers, Becki Sue & the Big Rockin’ Daddies, Loose Gravel, Junkyard Jane, Alex Weed, Jay Mabin, Tim Hall Band, local legends Little Bill & the Blue Notes and more.

Many of Saturday’s performances are free. But cost is $5 each or $20 for an all-day pass to catch Brown & Blues Band, Billy Roy Danger & the Recftifiers, Angel Grace and local legends Little Bill & the Blue Notes at the Mountaineers Club and the Blues Café at Slavonian Hall; 253-759-2518.

“We didn’t come here to put on some b------- hour and a half show,” Dave Grohl declared a few songs into a fun Foo Fighters set at KeyArena. And the guy wasn’t kiddin’. The Foos served up more than 2 ½ hours of steamin' arena rockin’ goodness last night. The band was bigger this time around, with bleached blonde guitarist Pat Smear notably back in the fold. And they got the party properly started with “Let It Die,” “The Pretender” and “Times Like These,” with Grohl wandering back and forth along a catwalk that ran nearly the length of the arena floor. The concert's most memorable moments took place on a second smaller stage lowered onto the far end of the catwalk for the semi-acoustic part of the show. That included a life-affirming sing-along to “My Hero,” Grohl’s ode to fallen Nirvana band mate Kurt Cobain. And as the rest of the Foo Fighters headed back to the main stage, Grohl stayed back for subdued solo start on "Everlong" before rejoining his band mates in bringing the hit to a rockin' close.
ERNEST A. JASMIN

Granted, the set was bogged down by a few self-indulgent stretches. “This is a Call” and “Stacked Actors” were stretched thin during epic but unfocused jams. And Grohl acknowledged that he'd done a lot of yapping (albeit, funny yapping) during parts of the show. He feigned being hurt when fans chose a five-song encore over four songs and a funny story. “F--- you, guys!” But of course, he told the story anyway. It was about a night in the '90s when he and a buddy named Ernie got drunk and spray painted “Foo Fighters” onto a Michael Jackson mural at the Seattle Center Tower Records, which used to be at Fifth and Mercer. Grohl got busted after Ernie slipped a Polaroid of the rocker posing in front of his handiwork under the record store door, leading to a call from his old boss from Tower Records and the photo running in defunct alt-weekly, the Rocket, which Grohl rated as one of the coolest things that had ever happened to him. Earlier, he acknowledged his South Sound roots. “First I lived in Tacoma, which was beautiful,” he said, referring to when he moved from Virginia in 1990. “Then I lived in Olympia where the nightlife was f------ amazing. For me, it’s either Paris or Olympia, Washington.” Hmm. Snotty hipsters make nice stand-ins for rude Parisians, I guess. Oh, wait. He was being sarcastic, right? Anyway, Minus the Bear and Supergrass opened the show. But those weren't the only rock stars on hand. I spotted Wade and Jesse from Tacoma's own Seaweed, who will soon to play Sub Pop's SP20 festival, as I headed into the arena.
ERNEST A. JASMIN