I got up the courage to make my first trip to downtown Youngstown Saturday night (after living in the area for 13 years) to see Robert Cray and Buddy Guy in a concert outside the Covelli Center. Buddy Guy is now 74 years old and I have been trying to see him for several years so I could check him off the list of great living guitarists I have seen, (Let's face it. He's 74. How many more chances am I going to get.) I expected a competent, generic concert. What I got was one of the top 10 live performances I have ever seen. Guy proved to be a phenomenal guitarist (which wasn't that much of a surprise) but he also was a great vocalist and consummate entertainer It is almost impossible to believe that this man is 74 years old but I know it is true because he sang a song about it and no one lies in a song--right? Anyway, this first clip is the first song of a Muddy Waters medley that Guy did. His command of the audience in this clip is incredible.
At about the half-way point of the concert Guy jumped into the audience and played his guitar while walking through the crowd. This is an old blues artist crowd pleasing trick but I have to say that Buddy did it better than any other artist I have seen. As you can tell from this video I had seats in the front row and because of that got some great video of Buddy soloing.
Toward the end of the concert Guy brought out his protege, 12 year old Quinn Sullivan. I had heard of Sullivan before as Guy has been using him in his concerts since Quinn was about eight years old. Sullivan is one of a series of young guitar hotshots that have been introduced over the last few years as the youthful savior of the blues. I am not sure what kind of career Sullivan will have but on this night he played some great guitar and proved to be almost the equal of Guy in guitar licks.
The official opening act for Guy was blues guitarist/vocalist Robert Cray. I have been attempting to see Cray for about 20 years so I was happy to see him on the line-up for this concert. I have to say that I was slightly disappointed with his performance. He was slick and competent but I felt he leaned too heavily on his recent attempts at pop crossover songs. I would have preferred to hear more from his break out period of the early '80s or more blues-oriented material. It was also amusing when Buddy Guy called Cray up for the encore of his set only to find that Cray had left the venue. The look of annoyance on Guy's face was priceless.
The unofficial opening act for the concert was a duo from Youngstown. I only know the singer's name is Hoss. He did a great job in a tough situation singing some old Blood, Sweat and Tears. I hope I can catch him again sometime in the future.
All in all this was one of the best concert experiences I have had in the last few years. I would advise everyone to see Buddy Guy at your earliest opportunity while you still can.
6/18/2011
I've always had good luck with classic rock cover bands at The Beach Club at Conneaut Lake and last night proved to be no major exception. The first video is of a band called Hucking Fillbillys (how clever) out of Youngstown, Ohio. I have to give this band credit for bringing a huge support crew and putting on a show with all the gadgets (dry ice, laser lights, etc.) that have become associated with "rock" shows. The band is actually pretty effective although a whole night of this kind of posturing could become annoying.
After the Fillbillys decided to take a break I ventured down the road to Fairway 12 where much to my surprise they had a stripped down power trio holding court. I found this group interesting simply because the lead singer was also the drummer. I can't imagine the physical dexterity it must take to do both things at the same time. But maybe that is because I am a clumsy idiot. Speaking of idiots, you will notice one jump up on the bandstand about halfway through this video. It got worse later as four or five of these guys jumped up on the bandstand and started picking up random guitars that weren't being used. If it was me I would have kicked them in the gonads but this band was surprisingly cool about it all.
All in all this was a pretty typical night of rock, rowdiness and rednecks at Conneaut Lake.
6/17/2011
After a long musical break I had the opportunity last night to see Elvis Costello for the second time at Trib Total Media Amphitheatre in Station Square. On this tour Costello is using the gimmick of featuring a large wheel on stage with various "hits" from various points in his career. Audience members were asked on stage to spin the wheel and then whatever song came up, the band was supposed to perform the song. An interesting idea and it let Elvis flirt with some pretty girls that were brought up on stage although I noticed that he tended to ignore the results from the wheel and find a reason to play pretty much whatever song he wanted. In the end this was a solid concert although not as strong as his "greatest hits" tour of a few years ago which I caught in Baltimore. This clip features Costello's "Watching The Detectives." You will notice at the beginning of the clip that the show featured a go-go cage at the left of the stage which usually contained a dancing girl.
A biker DJ at the Bikes, Blues n Brews concert event.
This Saturday saw the return of the Bikes, Blues n Brews concert series at Conneaut Lake Park in Conneaut Lake, PA. This concert series was a popular part of the park's reopening two summers ago but for some reason was discontinued last summer. I was glad to see the concert series return and Saturday was a pretty good indication of what is to come. The series features regional touring bands of a generally higher quality than the average local band in the Western Pennsylvania area and tends to feature tribute bands to older rock legends (Alice Cooper, Van Halen, ZZ Top, etc.) I'm not sure why they use the word blues in the title for the series other than the great alliteration because there are rarely blues bands featured. The target audience for this concert series is bikers and they were out in pretty impressive force on Saturday. The first band to play was called Metal, Inc. from Youngstown, Ohio and they lived up to their name playing a pretty standard assortment of pop-metal over the course of the afternoon. In this video you can see the guitarists' do the mandatory simultaneous head bob while covering Iron Maiden.
The second band on the bill was called Midnight Express. I assume the name comes from the an affection for the Creedence Clearwater Revival cover of the song and not from the Leadbelly original as this band specializes in 70's album rock. Musically this band was superior to Metal, Inc. and did a good job of covering the usual album rock suspects. In this video they do a credible job of covering Boston, which isn't the easiest thing to do. I left about halfway through Midnight Express' set as I was feeling the lingering effects from MSG poisoning from some food I ate the night before. A third band, Jackie, was scheduled for the Beach Club bar later on this night but I had to forgo that experience. Although I wish there was a little more blues featured in this concert series I do think it a solid addition to the events at Conneaut Lake Park and will build attendance as the summer progresses.
Friday night was one of the first nights of decent weather we have had in months so even though there were no major musical events scheduled, it seemed like a good time to hit downtown Pittsburgh. First I went to the street party that is usually given by the Pittsburgh Pirates on 6th Street before each baseball game. I have no interest in sitting through a baseball game but I am always up for a good street party. A section of the street was cordoned off for alcohol sales and a band was place in a tent in the center of this area. I honestly don't remember the name of this band but that might be just as well as they are not very good although enthusiastic and at least they are dressed appropriately.
My next stop was the Backstage Bar in Theatre Square. This is a small bar connected to a theater that is used for small musicals and revues. The bar generally features jazz during Happy Hour only so as not to conflict with the theater next door. The band performing this evening featured some smooth jazz, maybe a little too smooth for my taste, but they were still entertaining.
The band featured below was playing in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel next to a bar called Andy's (in honor of Andrew Carnegie). I had never heard of this bar or hotel before and just happened to be walking by when I heard them so this was a pleasant surprise. I don't have a video of it but later the singer was wandering all over the lobby interacting with people and generally making a nuisance of herself. (By the way, this hotel is beautiful. I wish I could afford to stay at it someday.)
I chose to end the evening by giving NOLA on the Square a second chance. This visit was far more successful than the last. I had the Shrimp and Grits which were very good although not as good as some I had had in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The musical act this night was The Olga Watkins band. They bill themselves as a blues band although they are closer to R&B/pop in my opinion. However, this video show them interpreting an old blues classic, Stormy Monday. You will notice in the background that they opened up the windows on the front of the restaurant and this gave the place a much more open feel. In all this was an eclectic but fairly successful night of music searching in Pittsburgh.
This isn't Harper but another gentleman playing a didgeridoo.
Most people in this area seem unaware of it but the original Quaker Steak and Lube hosts blues bands every Monday night. Actually the bands usually play in the faux Irish bar Tulley's which is across the parking lot from the actual Lube. Generally they have local or regional bands play but on occasion they will book a national act that happens to be wandering through the region. I suspect even national acts are happy to get a gig on a Monday night which is probably one reason why the Lube has chosen this night. Last night Blind Pig recording artist Harper stopped by the Lube and put on a great show in the Thunder Alley section of the main restaurant (Tulley's was hosting a private function). Harper is probably the most unusual blues artist I have ever seen. First, he is Australian. Second, his primary instrument is a didgeridoo. According to Wikipedia, the most reliable source on the earth, a didgeridoo "is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia at least 1,500 years ago and is still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe". I actually ran into Harper at the bar before the first set began and had an interesting discussion with him. He currently lives in Michigan and his entire band is from the Detroit or Flint areas of that state. He had a gig in Del Ray Beach, Florida the night before and had spent the night and most of the day driving up to Pennsylvania. This annoyed him primarily because he had recently been arrested for a DUI in Michigan and he wasn't quite sure if he could drive his van legally. He was also annoyed with the United States' obsession about drinking and driving because apparently drinking and driving is a common occurrence in Australia. His final statement to me before chugging his 32 ounce beer and finishing his setup was, "If you want to be poor. Be a musician." Probably true. As entertaining as Harper's conversation was, his music was even better. In addition to his expertise on the didgeridoo he is also an excellent harmonica player and a very smooth and soulful singer-his singing voice sounding nothing like his speaking voice. This first clip is an example of his harmonica playing and singing. (Harper is singing in this clip. It is hard to see because he tends to cup the harmonica in front of his mouth.)
This second clip features Harper on the infamous didgeridoo. I like the way he incorporates the instrument into the overall blues sound of the song. It is not an instrument that I would like to hear every night but I enjoyed hearing Harper play it and I thought the band in general was excellent.
Cranberry Township has to be one of the most boring places in the world and yet I find myself there a lot because it is the closest place with a decent book store, a movie theater and restaurants with edible food. In Western Pennsylvania this constitutes culture. In any event, I started out my day yesterday with no agenda to see bands but found myself trapped in the North Park Lounge for a few hours waiting out a violent rainstorm that hit the area. North Park Lounge has new owners and they have done a good job of remodeling the place, particularly the modular trailer in the back lot that serves as an outdoor bar. They opened up the front of the "trailer" and they cleaned up the rather moldy interior. And to their credit, they still have bands on Saturday night even though they sequester them to the far end of the bar and close off doors so the rest of the patrons won't be bothered. I'd be insulted if I was a band playing this place but I guess beggars can't be choosers given the state of live music in Western Pennsylvania. The first band I saw was named Acoustic Jammage. I had never heard of them and was encouraged during their warm-up to hear them play some power blues songs. And they did play a Stevie Ray Vaughn song early in their set but then wandered off into pop-country (?) and jam band territory. I have to say the most annoying thing about this band was their one light which you can see behind the bassist. It's bad enough that this place offers no stage and no lights for their bands but then this band brings a light which merely makes it harder to see them or anything else clearly. The horrendous lighting screwed up the look of this video as you can see. (Another amusing thing you will notice in this video is a bathroom sign placed behind the band. Yes, there is a bathroom back there and periodically you will see people walk past the band to relieve themselves. Classy.)
After a sleepy 40 minutes Acoustic Jammage announced that they were going to have their friends play a set. I figured they were just going to sit in but a completely different band began to set up. Thankfully they used the same drum set but it still took a good 20 minutes for this band to get organized. It became apparent fairly quickly that we were privileged to watch The Tar Benders have a rehearsal and by the looks of it, one of their first. I did record this song which has some competent blues noodling by the lead guitarist but I made a run for it shortly after this while the rainfall was still relatively mild. All in all a depressing example of the state of live music in this area.
Many people don't know this but Pittsburgh has a rich jazz history that has largely been decimated by urban renewal of the former jazz district and a general neglect of the city's musical heritage by its residents. At one time or another significant jazz artists like George Benson, Art Blakey, Billy Eckstine and Billy May all called Pittsburgh home. Jazz still survives in Pittsburgh although it has become increasingly difficult to find. I still mourn the loss of Dowe's on 9th, the best jazz venue in Pittsburgh for many years. On this night I decided to discover what kind of jazz was available on an overcast Wednesday evening in Pittsburgh. I headed for Villa on the Southside of Pittsburgh because I saw on their website that Etta Cox, a frequent performer at Dowe's on 9th, would be performing there at Happy Hour. I apparently didn't pay enough attention to the website because I missed the part about a women's business networking event proceeding the performance. After an hour of exchanging cards and handshakes with a large group of middle aged business women I got to hear Etta sing for the first time in years. She was in fairly good voice although she covered three Carole King songs in less than an hour which I thought was an odd choice. The song in this video is not a Carole King song. You can hear the business women chattering in the background.
I left the South Side to head for NOLA at Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh. NOLA is the new New Orleans themed restaurant in Pittsburgh. First I must say that I thought the food was very disappointing. Since eating there I have read several online reviews of the food at NOLA which were all very positive. Either I am crazy or none of these people have ever left Pittsburgh. The food wasn't inedible but resembled nothing I have ever ate in New Orleans on my many visits. However, I am willing to give them another try later this summer in hopes I just came by on a bad night. As a music venue NOLA is merely okay. The band is jammed up against the front window with no stage and no real sight lines available to the rest of the club. The band was guitarist Colter Harper and friends. They were interesting although a bit low-key for a New Orleans themed bar/restaurant.
From NOLA I ventured to Little E's, a cute little second story jazz club on Liberty Avenue. This place has an odd set-up in that the bar is at the very rear of the club, far away from the band. However, I have found out that if you plop yourself down on one of the couches right in front of the stage nobody seems to mind. The band this night was the Duke Hunter Band although, as is common with jazz, a variety of random musicians popped up on the bandstand to sing or play an instrument. The first video is a charming song in the samba/jazz vocal tradition and the second video was later in the night and features what I think is a bass clarinet. I guess the positive outcome of this night of jazz is the discovery that this genre of music is still available in Pittsburgh and in fact every venue I went to on this Wednesday evening had a healthy crowd.
Given that I don't much care for gambling or strippers Las Vegas has never been my favorite destination but over the years I have found myself occasionally bouncing around The Strip. In this instance the National Association of Broadcasters convention was held (as it always is) in Vegas and since I had a good reason to attend this year I found myself in Sin City once again. I have always found good music difficult to come by in Las Vegas and that hasn't changed a great deal. If you are into Celine Dion, Barry Manilow or Donnie and Marie, then this is the place to go.
Arcade Fire
However, in recent years both B.B. King's Blues Club and Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville have opened franchises in the city and while not perfect, they offer some outlets for decent music. The other happy musical coincidence was that Arcade Fire, recent Grammy winner for Album of the Year, had a concert scheduled for The Joint a the Hard Rock Cafe during my visit.
Arcade Fire put on a great show. They are a band that cultivates an obvious Indie vibe but with an arena rock kind of energy that I hadn't seen in years. As you will see from these videos, I was about 20 feet from the stage. I could feel the waves of bodies ebbing and flowing around me in beat to the music. It was particularly interesting to see the odd instrumentation the band used introducing kazoos, violins, bass fiddles and I think a hurdy gurdy into the mix. It also appeared that everyone in band got a turn at playing drums with two drum sets going at once on several occasions.
Beyond Arcade Fire the rest of the music I ran into was a mixed bag. Some decent party bands and some talented entertainers. Of course it is impossible to check out all of Las Vegas in a few days because it is so difficult to navigate around the constant traffic, gamblers with oxygen tanks and the hookers so I won't pretend that I investigated every decent musical venue. I'll start the videos with three from Arcade Fire. You will notice the use of an interesting multimedia display that was on evidence during the entire show.
The Los Angeles band Local Natives opened the Arcade Fire concert with an appropriate amount of musical fury. I liked the energy and the musicianship of the band but, as I told Dr. Mark Chase during the concert, they couldn't write a decent hook to save their life. This clip is representative of their sound. Notice the use of multiple drums again. The obsession with the drums reminds me of Adam and the Ants. Does anyone remember Adam and the Ants?
Grant Garland was the guitarist Wednesday night at B.B. King's Blues Club. He is an excellent blues/rock guitarist out of Memphis. Here is his rather unique take on an old Hendrix standard.
The Bashers is a great rock party band that plays most weeknights at the Carneval Court. This is their version of a White Stripes song.
This band was at Carneval Court on Friday and I still haven't figured out the joke. The lead singer is pretending to be a Nazi Stormtrooper while the rest of the band wear Devo hats. You'll notice they have the same lead guitarist as The Bashers which leads me to think they are really the same band with a girl vocalist added in for the afternoon crowd.
This band was playing at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville on Wednesday night. You will notice the lead singer is trying to signal me to do something. Apparently he didn't want me to take a video and the bouncers almost kicked me out. I guess this band is very protective of their intellectual property rights as they relate to their interpretation of a Poison cover.
This band is called Mr. and Mrs. Smith and they were playing at Carneval Court on Friday night. They are an odd rap/hip-hop/rock mash-up and seem more concerned with getting people to drink than their music.
I soon tired of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and wandered down the Strip only to end up in a crummy little casino called O'Shea's which had a couple of surprisingly good bands. This was the closing band for the night. They are a cover band but at least they do it well and with enthusiasm.
This was the first band I saw at O'Shea's. A little cornier and but still entertaining and a better use of time than losing your shirt at the roulette table. Overall, Las Vegas remains a town that is primarily about gambling and breasts and that probably is never going to change. At least there are a few interesting musical experiences available for those of us that are looking for such things. And of course, there is always Donnie and Marie.
Midnight Express take their turn in the competition.
I saw some great blues music last Saturday at the 7th Annual Blues Challenge sponsored by the Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania. The blues challenge is an all day contest to determine the area's representatives (one band and one solo act) to the International Blues Competition held each February in Memphis. (I haven't a clue why there are having the competition now other than they might need the time to raise some money to help sponsor the contestants.) The bands started at 1pm and were allowed exactly 20 minutes to highlight their skills. I was generally impressed by the quality of the bands at the competition. I had seen about half the bands before and about half I had either never heard of or had not seen before. The sad thing is it made me realize how few live music venues exist in the Pittsburgh area and the odds of seeing any of these bands again soon are slim and none. Jill West and the Blues Attack won the award for best band. Jill's band always puts on a solid show although I have to say I've seen her run through this exact set of songs every time she enters this competition. Chris Yakopcic won the solo category. He is certainly a talented musician although his brand of country blues isn't my favorite style. Below you will find video clips from most of the bands and a few examples of the jam session that occurred after the competition.
I had never heard of Melinda before but she has a great blues voice and a style very reminiscent of Bonnie Raitt.
Wayne and the Wild Root were impressive for featuring a complete horn session and a lead singer in a trench coat and sunglasses. Okay.
Chuck Beatty and Stanley J did some nice acoustic work. Chuck's voice has a definite Howling Wolf quality to it.
It's been a while since I have seen Dave Iglar's band. They always put on an energetic show and he is a good guitar player. His daughter plays saxophone and....that is all I am going to say.
I had heard of The Blues Junkies but never had a chance to see them before. They play good melodic party blues.
My old favorite Jimmy Adler was great as usual. I would have picked him to win but I think his particular style is perhaps not as user friendly as Jill West's.
Ron Yarosz and The Vehicle was last year's winner and they were impressive again this year. Ron is known for playing a B3 organ but he only played it on one song so I just got him on harmonica.
Midnight Express was a band I had not heard of before the competition. They are a good, if unexciting jump blues band.
Jill West and Blues Attack performed a professional set as always. This clip features Greg Krupa, their excellent guitarist.
Here is the winner of the solo competition. A little too much thumping and growling for my taste.
It had been awhile since I saw Angel Blue as well. Her band is always fun to watch and Angel always puts on a decent show.
She doesn't look like your typical blues singer but Nancy McKeen can really wail. I hope she plays more gigs in the Pittsburgh area soon.
I've seen Craig King before and this was not one of his better nights. He seemed almost sleepy during most of the set. I guess we had all had a long day at this point.
First song of the blues jam after the competition. I'm not sure if Angel Blue knew all the words but she faked it well.
A nice relaxed version of Bill Wither's Use Me to close things down.
