On Centre: Penns Valley

Pickens to perform with or without you

Ed Mahon

Earl Pickens & Family will perform a song-for-song cover of U2's 1987 album "The Joshua Tree" on Saturday at the Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks in Millheim.

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“Stripped of The Edge’s in-your- face guitar effects and Bono’s dramatic wail, Pickens’ version allows U2’s rootsy influences to surface and blossom,” Helen Leicht, a radio host at WXPN in Philadelphia, has said of the Lewis-burg- based band.

The event’s billed as a “live, acoustic, alt-country interpretation of the classic U2 album, with banjo and yelling.”

Inspired by Saturday’s upcoming performance, I compiled a list of the top five covers in all of human history.

5. “Helter Skelter.” U2 frontman Bono says, “This is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles. We’re stealing it back.” There’s a desperation in Bono’s voice throughout the song that shows how much he wants to steal the song back. This is best highlighted in the repeated line, “Do you, don’t you, want me to love you?”

4. “Hey Ya!” Originally released by Andre 3000 in 2003, the exclamation point tells you everything you need to know about the tone of this song. But underneath the upbeat tempo is an ode to the trouble with monogamy. Mat Weddle’s open-mike rendition, performed with just a guitar and made famous by YouTube, brings out all the pathos under the surface of Andre 3000’s dancing.

3. “Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World.” The late Hawaiian singer Iz combined the Judy Garland and Louis Armstrong numbers into a sweet medley that draws out the similarities and differences between the two. Garland’s song is all about escaping to the beauty of another place, while Armstrong’s is all about exploring the beauty of this one. Iz’s performance lets you experience both.

2. “Life on Mars?” Seu Jorge sings the strange 1971 David Bowie tune in Portuguese. In any language, it sounds great and the questioning spirit comes through.

1. “Buckets of Rain.” Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix and The Byrds have famously covered Bob Dylan songs, but Mary Lee’s Corvette’s song-by-song cover of the 1975 album “Blood on the Tracks” beats them all. Written after Dylan’s first divorce, the album’s full of regret, despair and, yet, still some love. Mary Lee’s

Corvette’s version, recorded live at a New York club in 2002, manages to capture all those emotions and in the last song, “Buckets of Rain,” seems to have discovered, maybe, some peace.

If you’ve got better picks, shoot me an e-mail or let me know in person at the 8 p.m. concert at Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks, 100 W. Main St., Millheim. Tickets cost $8 and can be purchased online at www.elkcreekcafe.net.

Buckets of pumpkins

The Farmer’s Wife will open its barn doors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the next two Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 25 and 26 and Oct. 2 and 3.

I’ll write more about the event for next week’s column. Just wanted to let you know to check out the pumpkin shack and Sadie Belle, a mechanical Holstein cow constructed by the Wasson family.

There also will be hay rides, animals that can be petted and 30 varieties of pumpkins, gourds, squash, Indian corn, apples and mums.

Here’s how to get to the farm: At the Old Fort intersection of state Routes 144 and 45, take Route 144 south 1.8 miles. Turn right on Airport Road and drive 0.6 of a mile. The farm is on the right. Look for the orange pumpkin signs.

For more information, call 364-1764.

Ed Mahon writes about news from the Penns and Brush Valley regions. He can be reached at 231-4619 or emahon@centredaily.com.