Sherman, set the Wayback Machine for 1968. We’re going to the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse on San Pablo Avenue, just down the street from Everett & Jones Barbecue. It’s opening night, and Phil Marsh is playing . . . .

Or, if your Wayback happens to be on the blink, you can come see the Freight’s first performer forty years later, in our splendid digs in downtown Berkeley. The old metal folding chairs are long gone, but you can still enjoy a cookie and a cup of herbal tea, and you don’t have to sneak down to the corner grocery to buy a beer.

And Phil? Since his fateful Freight debut, he’s played with the Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band, served as musical director of the Pickle Family Circus, written songs for the San Francisco Mime Troupe—and he’s still going strong, making his own quirky blend of traditional folk, country, and blues, along with his clever, offbeat originals.

We never know exactly what to expect from Phil—and neither does Phil!—but we do know that the show will feature a flurry of guest performers, including the triumphant reunion of Energy Crisis, with Tom Ralston of Sea Train fame and Bruce Barthol, the founding bass player in Country Joe and the Fish. Steve Baker has agreed to sit in on a couple of tunes. Larry Hanks and Deborah Robins, recently returned from a national tour, will sing a few songs, and Phil Greenberg, Gary Salzman, Nancy Colman, Polly Frizzell, and Bob Johnson should also be joining the fun, as well as several mystery guests whose identity, Phil swears, must for now remain secret!

Come celebrate forty-four years of the Freight with our inaugural performer. There’s a rumor that Nancy Owen, originator of the Freight during the Early Jurassic Period, will drop by to blow out the birthday candles! Phil doesn’t use the word dern lightly, but he promises that the music is going to be dern good.

Listen to a track from Phil Marsh: