|
|
January 2008 ©2008 ChicagoBluesBeat.com Sunday, January 27, 2008 Every once in a great while I will have a Monday off. My first thought in that situation is Genesis Restaurant & Nightclub for great live music on a Sunday night. Holding court on Sundays is Vance “Guitar” Kelly & The Backstreet Blues Band. Great music and a very friendly vibe make for a perfect Sunday night. Vance uses two keyboard players, Jerry Hall and John Wall. Together these two can provide Vance with a full R&B horn section, or a Soulful string section. The rhythm section consisted of Charles Hancock on drums and Mark Miller on bass. A Genesis regular, singer Randy Johnson can be counted upon for some entertainment and on this night special guest Miss Noreen Stark joined to sing a few songs. I want to thank Mark from CoverChicago.com for sharing his photographic expertise. Keep your eyes out for this publication. Vance “Guitar” Kelly introduced what I think is a new ax for him. A shiney red double neck guitar (12/6). I didn’t hear any 12 string blues that night, but being the showman he is, I’m sure Vance will be showing it soon. I strongly recommend getting over to this venue but do not be surprised if it is standing-room-only. The Pictures
Saturday, January 26, 2008 I am so happy to welcome a venue to the ChicagoBluesBeat.com’s blues family. The Carriage Greens Country Club has been pretty consistent of late in providing the Western suburbs with live blues. The live blues can be heard in a comfortable lounge setting, where the bar is sunken into the center allowing full view of the stage. I ‘m not really a country club kind of guy, but give me a comfortable chair, a bar and The Carl Davis Band, and I might just sign up. Carl’s success with his most recent 212 Record’s release Someday means his circle of influence and hence his tour route will get bigger, taking him out of town. If you don’t have the CD, get it, but then keep your eyes open for Carl Davis to come through your town.
Carl writes, plays and sings damn good songs. Veteran drummer Lenny Spatafore is Carl’s regular metronome and Anthony Tabion does a great job on keys. Pete “One Shot” Scach took on the bass duties. There are definite leanings toward Southern soul in the repertoire, but Carl and Anthony set this up with great interplay, that doesn’t’ get muddy. Carl’s vocals are clear and in the higher registers adding to the soulfulness of the sound. The Carriage Greens Country Club also has some banquet facilities that let out during the second set of blues. Revelers from the other functions followed their ears into the show. I heard comments such as “that’s the blues.” I heard one woman plead to her partner, “Come on Henry!” He just nodded held up a forefinger and payed closer attention to the band. “Man their good” said another older (my age) gentleman. Yes they are sir, and they are real. Yet another gentleman was tapping away with his shoe, and I felt compelled to ask if he played. Yes I do, but they have to slow it down a beat. I didn’t know they had blues here. Well come back sir, because it’s getting to be a regular thing here. My friend here plays also, his dad was Homesick James, but we have to go now. Nice to meet you gentlemen, please comeback.
Saturday, January 26, 2008 Tom Holland & Feliz Reyes at Vino Tinto The Pictures
Friday, January 25, 2008 For as often as I am in Harlem Avenue Lounge, and as often as J.B. Ritchie has performed there, we have never crossed paths. I am truly embarrassed to say that I never made a special effort because of a false notion I had. For whatever reason, I thought J.B. Ritchie Power Blues meant bluesy rock and roll, or SRV covers. I like bluesy rock and roll and I love the only original SRV but I always chose another gig. Do I have egg on my face or what? Listen to some of the set list. Help Me, Killing Floor, Give Me Back My Wig, Hi Heel Sneakers, Shake Your Money Maker, Hush Hush, and many more sounded great, and not one SRV cover.
Power Blues is a power trio for sure. J.B. Ritchie is a singer, songwriter, slide and guitar player. The bass was handled by Frank Bandy and the drums by Kenosha Wisconsin’s Bobby Humes. The rigs were sparse but the sound was full and powerful blues. J.B. said he started getting worried about bringing out his ’57 Tele, so he made his own. Both the regular guitar and the open G slide guitar carried the J.B. Ritchie moniker.
J.B. filled the Harlem Avenue Lounge with his own fan base, which now includes me. He played one of his own tunes about seeing a dentist in the morning, and I was one of the few people in the crowd who didn’t know it, but everybody including me enjoyed it. Actually I enjoyed every single song. Did I mention Bob Dylan’s Highway 61, or John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom, Rock Me Baby or Muddy’s She’s Nineteen Years Old?
Don’t make the same mistake I made. When this band comes around, get out and enjoy them. Just do the math. At Harlem Avenue Lounge, the cover is only $6 for three sets of music. That works out to about $2 per set or 20 cents per song! Compare that to a juke box. Not to mention that this is live, in person energy that is never ever captured exactly on a recording.
The Pictures
Saturday, January 19, 2008 The Harry Garner Band at The Pump Room Tap. This was a cold, cold, snowy night on the Southside, but it was barrelhouse rocking warm inside this bar. Harry "The Harp" Garner, Mark Wydra, Al Lopeztello and J.R. Wydra were The HGB that night. I had another "media" function that evening, but had to leave early so as not to miss this band in my neighborhood. Check out the pix and let me know what you think.
Saturday. January 19, 2008 My weekends are thankfully saturated with live blues music, for the most part from bars and similar late night venues. I am pretty much anti-social over any dinner time I may have, because my preference is to eat fast and get to the music. What a treat it was to be turned onto a great restaurant, that serves up live blues with its tasty Cajun dominated menu. This newest addition to ChicagoBluesBeat’s list of preferred venues is Moe Joe’s in the Southwest Chicago suburb of Plainfield. The Bourbon Street atmosphere is a great setting for live blues music, and the dinners are worth the visit, even without the music. The specialty deserts where also dangerously good. Whenever I find a venue with great food, I use it to lure unsuspecting potential blues fans to the live music. I would encourage you to try this strategy. It works every time.
The featured performers where Barrelhouse Chuck on keyboards and vocals with Gerry Hundt on vocals, harp, guitar and mandolin. Barrelhouse Chuck is a Boogie-Woogie magician and he only added to the New Orleans atmosphere. Barrelhouse learned his craft directly from the piano masters and sprinkles his sets with anecdotes about those experiences. This also works well in a dinner show environment. Barrelhouse Chuck is a very interesting fellow, with a treasury of memories that would make for a wonderful presentation in itself. Gerry Hundt is a talented multi-instrumentalist who is also one of Nick Moss’ Fliptops, where he adds bass to the list. Currently, Gerry is nominated for a Blues Music Award for his special talents on the mandolin, and ChicagoBluesBeat certainly wishes this deserving young man the best.
THE PICTURES
Friday, January 18, 2008 Pat Smillie has gigs all over the city, but my personal favorite venue to see his act is The Harlem Avenue Lounge. Harlem Avenue has a stage that can handle The Pat Smillie Band’s Rhythm & Blues Revue, which frequently sports seven or eight members. This show is a vocal driven show featuring Pat’s gritty vocals and the sound system and acoustics at Harlem Avenue do it justice. Each high energy set usually starts with the drummer Sambo (Art Irby) taking the first song or two. Sambo is a talented one-man show with a dynamic on stage presence and great vocals to compliment his drumming. He also does a great vocal imitation of a harp, which has people craning their necks to see where the harp player is. This show manages to bring out some of my old favorites that don’t get much play around these parts: J.J. Cale’s
‘They Call Me the Breeze” and Chuck Berry’s “Back to Memphis” are good examples.
Smillie plucks songs from his own CDs such as the bluesy “Finally Over You” and Neil Young’s “Down by the River”.
On keys was Brother Al Woodley who has braved many medical setbacks to find his way back to the stage. He hasn’t lost a lick. Big John Meredith appropriately has a big left-handed six string bass. Uncle Al Wittig is Pat’s regular guitar player. Al switches between his six string Les Paul and his lap steel through out the show. Also on guitar was Mark “The Shark” Wydra. Mark is one of those well-traveled pros that has become a walking dictionary of songs and licks. What R&B Band wouldn’t have a female backup singer? Not this one. Jackie Patton did a respectable call and response as well as nicely placed harmonies. Remember, you get your money’s worth with this band (revue). Ramblin’ Rose Kelly spiced things up with her take on “Dirty Ol’ Woman” and very sweet “Give Me One Reason”.
Pat can’t do a show without a bow to one of his major influences, Mitch Ryder. C.C. Ryder was the pick tonight. I just have to tell you that Pat Smillie give’s it up for his audience, many who have turned into a staunch fan base. I am one of them.
Saturday, January 12, 2008 John Primer & The Real Deal Band start their first set at Harlem Avenue Lounge and don’t come up for air until deep into the set. This band of road warriors consists of John Primer on guitar and vocals backed by journeyman bassist Mike Morrison. The rest of the rhythm section has sometime bassist, Vernon Rodgers on drums. The young bloods of the Real Deal are harp man Dan Beaver and Dave “Kid” Ross on keys. If given the nod from Primer, each player can step out front with vocals included. The band finally downshifted into a very nice “Let’s Get it On” (Marvin Gaye), to allow the crowd to catch up. Dan Beaver’s features included a “make-you-smile” version of Tuff Enuff, while the Kid sang and played the Band’s Take A Load Off. Special guest included Vivian Kelly-Levzinger, daughter of Chicago’s own Vance “Guitar” Kelly. Vivian and her husband were in visiting from their home in Switzerland, which is a suburb East of Chicago. You know, the one near Italy. Vivian’s hubby Kaspar Levzinger stepped up for some guest guitar duties as well. If I remember correctly, that day had not gone as planned for me, so when I took my seat at the bar, I thought “OK guys entertain me”.
They did and they do. This is a truly professional ensemble that takes their mission seriously…entertain Lordy. There is nothing quite like live blues in Chicago, and as John Primer frequently says, “you know dats right!”
Friday, January 11, 2008 I went to Little Arthur Duncan’s DVD release event at Rosa’s Blues Lounge in Chicago. There were a lot of media and music friends present, and the subsequent reviews of this Delmark release have been great. I want to share a few thoughts on this visit with you. First, Rosa’s, while legendary is still one of the warmest and friendliest blues venues in Chicago. As for the DVD, I will simply tell you to get it. Delmark, which is a legendary Chicago label, recorded Little Arthur Duncan right there at Rosa’s. I could take pictures all night and write volumes about Little Arthur’s music and history, and what a great place Rosa’s is. Instead, just buy the damn DVD and get a first-hand look at real live blues in modern Chicago, including Little Arthur’s own commentary. Secondly, while strategically perched upon a bar stool, I was able to eavesdrop on an interview with the man of the hour. When queried about what it was like to play at the great old Southside venues which are long-since gone, Arthur replied that it was no big deal then. Hold that thought (it was no big deal) as I segue way into my next stop for the night.
The Bad Idea Band had a gig at the Pump Room Tap in Southwest suburban Worth, Illinois. The ensemble on this night was particularly interesting, because at least five of them fronted their own accomplished bands. Ray “The Flame” Sukash had C.C.Copeland on keys, bass and vocals and Rodney Brown (Hot Rod) on sax and vocals. Biscuit Miller played bass and sang. Jim Anderson (The Kingsnakes) was on guitar and vocals and Deb Seitz (Seitz & Sounds) joined in the vocals. Myron Robinson sang and drummed, and the band’s friend Harry took a turn at the keyboard. Know that a great time was had by all.
The Pump Room Tap is a shot and a beer place on 111th Street. The players are all true Chicago blues musicians, making tomorrow’s history. Given the awesome talent that night, I would bet there was at least one or two future Little Arthur Duncans playing. I would also bet that when asked, the players that night would say it was no big deal. My point, as usual is that you should have been there. Great venues and great players still exist and they are tomorrow’s legends. Go out and hear some live blues music and be a part of history.
Pictures
Friday, January 4, 2008 My first visit to Harlem Avenue Lounge in 2008 was to see Nigel Mack & The Blues Attack. When I first saw Nigel’s show he was including Chicago as part of his busy touring schedule, but since about 2003 Nigel has been calling Chicago his home. From this point on then, ChicagoBluesBeat will be referring to this bluesman as a Chicago act. With my love for the city, that is a high compliment. Residence aside, Nigel has long had a great sense of Chicago blues.
The Blues Attack presented as a trio that included Vic Jackson on bass and harmony vocals and Andrew “Blaze” Thomas on drums. Nigel Mack alone is a trio if you consider his proficiency on vocals, harp and guitar (which includes a stinging slide). Nigel is also an accomplished tunesmith, and he presented some, as yet unrecorded works. One song in particular included a reference to dead presidents, and is all the reason I need to buy the next CD when it comes out. Pat Smillie stopped by and treated us to some of his trademark gutsy R&B singing. Already I’m thinking that this is going to be another great year in Chicago blues. Guitarist, vocalist and all around showman Toronzo Cannon stood in for the third set. It’s always good when Zo shows, but this time he also freed Nigel from his guitar duties, and allowed him to flex his harp muscles.
Also in the house was photographer Kurt Swanson (Soulful Impressions). I have said many times that I am not a photographer, but rather a fan with a cam. You can tell this in person as well, because I use a flash which is both tacky and obnoxious. Besides, what photographer stays for all three sets and drinks a lot? Kurt has some very nice pictures of Nigel Mack on his site, as well as the cover picture of Lurrie Bell on the current Illinois Entertainer. I really have to thank Kurt and the other real photographers I meet every week for their tolerance and yes, support of my passion. Along with the musicians, and the venues, the photographers are yet another reason to love live blues in Chicago. Bring on 2008!
Pictures |
|