Gillian at the Granada
A Season on the Brink, State Street Stroll, Gillian Welch, Tre Holloman, March Madness Moment
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This issue includes my five favorite University of Michigan basketball players, a classic book by a late sportswriter, this year’s Santa Barbara food crawl, a two-time Grammy winner for Best Folk Album, another guard named Tre, and a canine Cinderella. I hope you like the picks and pics.
This week I published my 1,000th blog post. I started blogging in 2006 and continue to publish a weekly blog for Lucidea and a monthly blog for my Profiles in Knowledge LinkedIn newsletter.
All four of our grandchildren were with us this week. They helped me celebrate my 72nd birthday yesterday:
Our last night with all eleven of us was dinner at Creekside on Monday:
If you enjoy Fave Five, please share it with your friends who also like books, food, music, sports, or humor. To do so, just click the button below.
Fave Five 129: Gillian at the Granada
Feinstein’s First (A Season on the Brink), State Street Stroll (Second Santa Barbara Food Crawl), Delightful Duo (Gillian Welch and David Rawlings), Minnesota to Michigan State (Tre Holloman), and a March Madness Moment.
Fave Five List: Five Favorite Michigan Basketball Players
Michigan faces Auburn tomorrow in the Sweet Sixteen. The Tigers are the overall number 1 seed, so the Wolverines will have their work cut out for them. I selected players I enjoyed watching from five different eras that would make a nice team.
Rickey Green, 1975-1977 (19.7 ppg, 4.0 apg) - led Michigan over my Missouri Tigers in the 1976 regional final
Glen Rice, 1985-1989 (18.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) - led Michigan to the 1989 NCAA Championship
Chris Webber, 1991-1993 (17.4 ppg, 10.0 rpg) - led the Fab Five to two straight NCAA finals
(the late) Robert Traylor, 1995-1998 (13.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg) - led Michigan to the very first Big Ten Tournament Championship; we met him once at an appearance at Meijer
Tim Hardaway Jr., 2010-2013 (14.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg) - currently helping the Detroit Pistons in their return to the NBA Playoffs
Book Best Bet
A Season on the Brink: A Year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers by John Feinstein
John died on March 13, 2025. I previously reviewed The Back Roads to March: The Unsung, Unheralded, and Unknown Heroes of a College Basketball Season and also have read The Last Amateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball and A March to Madness: A View from the Floor in the Atlantic Coast Conference in addition to this week’s selection.
I read John’s first book many years ago and enjoyed his revealing portrait of the late Bobby Knight. I was never a fan of Knight, and this book reinforced my opinion.
From Amazon: Decades after it spent weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, A Season on the Brink remains the most celebrated basketball book ever written—an unforgettable chronicle of his year spent following the Indiana Hoosiers and their fiery coach Bob Knight.
Granted unprecedented access to legendary coach Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers during the 1985–86 season, John Feinstein saw and heard it all—practices, team meetings, strategy sessions, and midgame huddles—as the team worked to return to championship form. The result is an unforgettable chronicle that not only captures the drama and pressure of big-time college basketball but also paints a vivid portrait of a complex, brilliant coach as he walks the fine line between genius and madness.
John Feinstein, renowned sports commentator, dies at 69 by Matt Schudel of The Washington Post
He wrote books about baseball, football, tennis, golf and the Olympics, as well as novels for young readers, but he was perhaps best known for his coverage of college basketball. With an indefatigable work ethic, Mr. Feinstein filed a day before his death a column for The Washington Post on Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo.
John Feinstein built a sportswriting career by maintaining connections by Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post
“You could have a conversation with him, and he was staunch in his beliefs,” Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said in a phone interview Thursday from the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. “But he wasn’t arrogant about it. He would listen to what you’re saying. He’d see the other person’s point, even when he was convinced he was right.”
Izzo paused a second.
“God, I was sad today when I heard this,” he said.
Restaurant Recommendations
State Street Stroll
My son Roger, son-in-law Matt Kahlscheuer, and friend Ben Eisley went on the second official annual Santa Barbara food crawl on Tuesday. We strolled State Street stopping at seven spots. Ben had to leave after the third stop, so we switched from dividing up sandwiches into quarters to splitting them three ways for rest of the crawl.
Technically, this was my third or fourth crawl here, because ten years ago, Roger led our family on a Santa Barbara taco crawl, complete with a scorecard for each stop. And I did a one-man taco crawl last year. But this was the second with four or more committed crawlers.
The Daisy Restaurant 1221 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Mary’s Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwich: avocado, butter lettuce
SB Pho 1221 State Street, Suite 10, E Victoria St Lot 5, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Banh Mi Sandwich: Chicken, Baguette, Japanese mayonnaise, jalapeño, pickled daikon mix, cucumber, cilantro, and romaine
Street Tacos (Shrimp, Asada, Al Pastor, Chicken): A soft corn tortilla topped with onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime
Indian Tandoori Kingdom 1026 State Street, Santa Barbara Ca 93101
Chicken Naan: Naan stuffed with tandoor cooked marinated chicken served with sweet tomato chutney.
Samosa: 2 pieces stuffed with potatoes, peas, spices and herbs with a side of tamarind chutney. This vegetarian turnover is the most popular snack throughout India.
Lokum 1019 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Baklava
Halvah
The Blue Owl 5 West Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Pork Banh Mi: Baguette, Oyster Chili Mayo, Greens, Pickled Radish, Cilantro, Green Onion, Chili Paste, served with salad
The Cookie Plug 918 State St Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Cookies and Cream Cookie (with lime): Our infamous cookies and cream cookie stacks are thick, fat, and have a unique twist. They’re part cake, part brownie, and of course, part cookie with white chocolate chips and crushed Oreos. And a hint of lime.
Purple Haze Cookie: A deep purple criminal combo of white chocolate chips smuggled into a top-secret white chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie: Thick and fat peanut butter cup cookies with chocolate.
Marvelous Musicians
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
We saw this duo for the first time on March 9, and it was a memorable performance. I heard "Orphan Girl" on Matt Watroba's "Folks Like Us" program in 1996 and went to Dearborn Music to buy the album it was on, Revival. It was hard to find there, but after asking the clerk for help, he looked it up in their computer, and found it filed in the religious/gospel section based on its title. I bought it and three later albums and enjoy the sound of Gillian’s voice and the harmonies with David.
From Wikipedia: Gillian Howard Welch (born October 2, 1967 in New York City) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, country and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms."
Welch and Rawlings have collaborated on nine critically acclaimed albums, five released under her name, three released under Rawlings' name, and two under both of their names. Her 1996 debut, Revival, and the 2001 release Time (The Revelator), received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Her 2003 album, Soul Journey, introduced electric guitar, drums, and a more upbeat sound to their body of work. After a gap of eight years, she released a fifth studio album, The Harrow & the Harvest, in 2011, which was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 2020, Welch and Rawlings released All the Good Times (Are Past & Gone), which won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album. In 2024, Welch and Rawlings released Woodland, which would win the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album, currently making Welch and Rawlings the only duo to win the award more than once.
Welch was an associate producer and performed on two songs of the soundtrack of the Coen brothers 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a platinum album that won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2002. She also appeared in the film attempting to buy a Soggy Bottom Boys record. Welch, while not one of the principal actors, did sing and provide additional lyrics to the Sirens song "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby." In 2018 she and Rawlings wrote the song "When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings" for the Coens' The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, for which they received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Not Just Folk, in the Big House - Review by Josef Woodard of the Santa Barbara Independent
All things considered on the dense calendar of 2025 concerts so far, the one that struck deepest for me was Sunday night's intimate-yet-powerhouse return of the Great American pairing of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Put them in the broad and ambiguous Americana camp if you must, but this unique country-folk duo has created a sound world all their own, at once rootsy and progressive, old soul and "new thing-"ish.
A happy sense of organic growth and triumph washed over the SRO house at the Granada, more than twice the size of the Lobero Theatre, where last we caught the Welch/Rawlings experience. Periodically fortified by the loamy, simple joys of acoustic bassist Paul (Punch Brothers) Kowert, Welch magnetized this with her rich vocal wisdom — never fussy or "look at me" flavored — while Rawlings worked his restless, inventive fretboard magic on his signature 1935 Epiphone archtop guitar and entwined his snug harmonies.
The two-set night included beauties from their fine new album Woodland — such as "North Country" and "What We Had" — and timeless Welch jewels like "Orphan Girl," "Revelator," "Look at Miss Ohio," and "Everything is Free" — from her 2001 debut but with a weirdly digital music-age relevance in the here and now.
Late in the show, they followed up a brooding moment with an old timey dance tune, him on banjo and her on slap-happy ham-boning and clogging between verses. Cover tunes included the hoary standard "Make Me a Pallet On Your Floor," which she said she learned from Doc Watson, and an ecstatic hallelujah of a finale, the treasured spiritual of "Fly Away."
Welch praised the splendor of the Granada, especially its sonic wiles. "You're so lucky in this town," she told the rapt crowd. "You have an embarrassment of nice-sounding rooms." This pair is welcome back to any of these rooms, any old time.
A Powerfully Endearing Evening with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings - Review by Rebecca Horrigan of the Santa Barbara Independent
Set in front of a simple backdrop, which subtly shifted in color like a sunset, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings echoed this organic radiance with their understated yet powerful performance at The Granada Theatre on March 9.
The Granada, constructed in 1924, with its high ceilings and Spanish Moorish architecture, is a dazzling work of art in and of itself. However, the legendary folk rock duo was able to imbue the grand space with the warmth and intimacy of a small country dive bar.
Their setlist struck a lovely balance between well-loved classics and new gems from their most recent album Woodland, named after their Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, which was destroyed by a tornado in 2020. Songs like “Empty Trainload of Sky” illustrate feelings of joy, grief, and impermanence in the aftermath of a disaster and in the complicated and often isolated state of modern society. The sweet strumming of one of my favorites, “Hashtag,” pulled the audience in close like a whisper, repeating the meditative pondering, “When will we become ourselves?”
Perhaps Welch and Rawlings are a master class in the answer to this question. The pair have been playing together for over a decade, and it shows in their seamless back-and-forth conversation and smooth as butter harmonies. Being oneself is not without embracing endearing quirks, like when Rawlings decided to restart “Ruby,” unsatisfied with his vocals. While any imperfection was hardly detectable, we were delighted to be treated to an extended version of this classic Americana tune.
In terms of being himself, Rawlings’s guitar seemed to serve as an extension of his very being. In each of his many solos, such as in the entrancing “Cumberland Gap,” his body swayed with each note, felt deeply by the musician and the audience alike. Welch’s quiet confidence was a perfect anchor. Her vocals flowed like honey, while she moved with grace, adding in a harmonica on “Wayside/Back in Time” and a banjo on the rollicking “One More for the Road.”
Bassist Paul Kowert joined for many tunes, adding an even greater depth. The night seemed to peak with their 2001 hit “Revelator.” Rawlings’s pitch-perfect plucking, and Welch’s open and vulnerable voice melded the crowd and performers into one. I felt transported into a kind of hypnosis through all of the ins and outs, emotions, highs, lows, and mystery of the song.
Rawlings and Welch proved that time-tested talent, personal yet universal songwriting, and authentic heart can speak louder than any bells, whistles, or backdrops ever could.
Orphan Girl
I'll Fly Away
I Want To Sing That Rock And Roll
Look At Miss Ohio
My Playlist
Sports Star
Last week’s star was Tre Donaldson of Michigan. This week I have another Tre, this time, Holloman of Michigan State. Earlier I highlighted Tre’s miracle shot that beat Maryland. He scored 14 points in each of the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament to help lead the Spartans to the Sweet Sixteen. If both Michigan and Michigan State win tomorrow, they will meet on Sunday in the Elite Eight with a trip to the Final Four on the line. That is the outcome I hope for, as it would ensure that one of my teams will be in San Antonio when Barb, Roger, and I are there a week from tomorrow.
From Wikipedia: Tre Holloman (born December 9, 2003 in South Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American college basketball player for the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference.
Holloman attended Cretin-Derham Hall High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota. As a junior, he averaged 20.3 points and 9.3 assists per game. As a senior, Holloman averaged 18.8 points, 10.4 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 3.3 steals in 26 games and was named the 2021 Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year. Coming out of high school, he was rated as a four-star recruit and committed to play college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans over offers from schools such as Illinois, Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Dayton, and Marquette, while also having Division I football offers.
As a freshman, Holloman played in 34 games, averaging 8.6 minutes, and 1.3 points per game. On November 19, 2023, in his first collegiate start, he notched 17 points, five assists, and two steals in a victory versus Alcorn State. During the 2023-24 season, Holloman averaged 5.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. On November 27, 2024, he dropped 19 points in an upset win over North Carolina. On January 28, 2025, Holloman had a team-high 12 points in a win over Minnesota. On February 26, 2025, he hit a half-court buzzer beater in a 58-55 victory over Maryland. On March 9, 2025, Holloman got into an altercation with guards Phat Brooks and LJ Cason in a win over rival Michigan with a team and career-high 20 points.
Picture Pun
Underdog.
