The Bay Area will be losing one of its best and most productive musicians with the departure of Ben Bonham from the area. Since 1996, the English expatriate has delighted audiences with his renderings of old time American music and his mastery of vintage steel guitar, bottleneck blues and acoustic ragtime guitar. Now he and his family are off to live in the country in Oregon, so he's throwing a big party to say thanks to all his fans featuring many of the local musicians he has worked with. All of Ben's incarnations will perform tonight: the haunting sound of his solo steel guitar, the joyous cacophony of his One Man Band (a drum kit-like contraption that features his guitar, harmonica, percussion and various noise-making gadgets), the vintage Hawaiian instrumentals of the Waikiki Steel Works, his collaboration with steel and uke nut Frank Novicki, and his latest project, the Hullabaloos, an acoustic trio playing old-timey blues and rags.