February 5, 2007
Surprise to Me! Cambridge’s Club Passim.
As you may recall (if you have been reading on a regular basis), I went to Club Passim on Friday to see Rory Block. I am a little ashamed to say that I had NO idea how famous Club Passim was/is. For those of you as ignorant as I, Club Passim was a mecca for folk music in the 1960s. Both Bob Dylan and Joan Baez played Passim, which at that time was called Club 47, at least until it was shut down in 1968. A year after the doors of Club 47 were closed, the club reopened as Passim. Eric Von Schmidt has written a book about the early days of the club called Baby, Let Me Follow You Down: The Illustrated Story of the Cambridge Folk Years, and you can bet I will be checking it out from the local library. Even now this cozy non-profit club regularly hosts well known folk musicians (for example, later this month Glen Philips — formerly of Toad the Wet Sprocket — and John Prine will be playing) as well as newbies to the music scene.
I can hardly believe that I knew so little about the club, even though I often frequent Veggie Planet, the vegetarian restaurant whose daytime dining room IS Club Passim (and whose food is served in the club during shows).
So in honor of Club Passim, today’s video is of Boston-based fiddler Hanneke Cassel performing at Club Passim.
Henneke Cassel
Garden variety North American Nomad. Born in the Midwest; lived and worked on the West Coast and abroad; studied in the South. Recently spotted putting down roots in New England.