Magic Slim and the Teardrops
December 1, 2001
Famous Dave's, Mpls
Photography copyright © 2001 by Tom Asp, all rights reserved.
December was a very good month for blues. We especially had a strong contingent from the Windy City - always nice to hear some of that great post-war style electric Chicago blues.
Magic Slim (Morris Holt) put on one of the better shows I have seen him do in some time. He said his manager was making him wait until the last set before he could start drinking, which was good to hear and he actually took the stage after his band played just one or at the most two songs, another nice touch. Slim was smiling a lot and you could tell he was having a great time on stage which meant the audience was also in for an even better time. There are few bands better at playing this raw style of Chicago blues.
And speaking of bands, Slim has an uncanny ability to always have some of the best musicians backing him up. Of course he had John Primer on second guitar for more than a decade. James Wheeler played guitar for a time and tonight (with his regular guitar player, Jake Dawson, unable to make this trip) he had John McDonald filling in. If you were at the Delta Blues Cartel show recently you recognized John as the lead guitar player in their "gansta" band. Joining John was Danny O'Conner on bass and local resident Alan Kirk (sans shirt later in the show) on drums.
If you missed this show, get his new CD, Snakebite (on Blind Pig Records).
Click on the CD cover to order this CD NOW!
Studebaker John and the Hawks
December 6, 2001
Famous Dave's, Mpls
Photograph copyright © 2001 by Steve Felling, all rights reserved.
Studebaker John Grimaldi is another purveyor of the that traditional Chicago blues sound, playing both slide guitar and harmonica. In addition to his Twin Cities appearance he played up in Duluth, over in St. Cloud and was the main attraction for the La Crosse, Wisconsin Area Convention & Visitor Bureau's Winter promotion, "Wintertime Blues Celebration on the Mississippi." This promotion featured the distinctive blues photography of Tom Asp and was held at Doc Powell's Restaurant on Main Street.
Studebaker John is a potent force on stage and his harp playing, influenced by the likes of Big Walter Horton, Junior Wells, James Cotton and other lesser known but equally inspirational Chicago harp players, is true the tradition without John being afraid to try out new ideas. And his slide guitar playing harks back to the days of Hound Dog Taylor, the player who inspired John to take up the slide. This is always a good show.
Studebaker John's new CD on Evidence, Howl with the Wolf, can be purchased by clicking on the CD cover art.
Carey Bell
December 7, 2001
Famous Dave's, Mpls
Photograph copyright © 2001 by Ray Stiles, all rights reserved.
Carey Bell is always a delight to watch play. He just seems to have so much fun whenever he is on stage blowing his harmonicas. An alumnus of the Muddy Waters harp chair, Bell is also thrilling to listen to, especially his chromatic harp work. A cousin of Eddy Clearwater, you can often catch him playing at "The Chief's" new Reservation Blues Club in Chicago.
Carey has a number of fine albums out including the seminal Harp Attack, with fellow harp-mates Junior Wells, James Cotton, and Billy Branch.
You can get a copy of this album as well as some of his other harder to find imports by clicking on the cover art.
Michael Burks
December 14, 2001
Famous Dave's, Mpls
Photograph copyright © 2001 by Ray Stiles, all rights reserved.
One of the truly remarkable guitar players on the blues circuit today, Michael Burks plays his axe with a passion. Michael grew up learning his blues music from the southern soul and blues veteran's who came through his father's juke joint. He not only learned from them, he played with them and his thirty years experience shows. His guitar playing is pure blues (not rock, not funk) and his powerful vocals gives Burks a dynamic one-two punch that is both refreshing and thrilling to watch and listen to. Taking a chapter from the Luther Allison stage show Michael also doesn't like to take too many breaks. In fact his first set at this recent show was over 2 and a half hours long.
His keyboard player made a joke about the length of his sets prior to the show by saying he better get to the restroom now or he was going to be in trouble later.
Definitely one of the bluesmen to be on the watch for and not miss his next Twin Cities appearance. In the meantime you can listen to his new release on Alligator Records, Make It Rain, by clicking on the CD cover.
Joe T. Cook and the Longshots
December 20, 2001
Whiskey Junction, Mpls
Photograph copyright © 2001 by Ray Stiles, all rights reserved.
Joe T. Cook is another of the often unsung blues talent that plays in the Twin Cities. If you do much traveling to other parts of the country and listen to blues where you go I think you will gain a greater appreciation for the caliber of talent we have right here in the Twin Cities. Its pretty amazing actually that we would have so many very good blues musicians. And its even more amazing they don't get the chance to play as often as they would like. Joe and his band the Longshots, led by John Franken on guitar and Joe T. on harp, play traditional style Chicago blues that frankly I never get tired of hearing.
In a future review/interview I will be brining you more background and history on the band. In the mean time Joe's most recent CD, "Long Shot" as well as "It Ain't Easy" and "Blues is All Around Me" are still available by clicking the CD cover. Or at Blue Loon: www.blueloon.com
Andy Bailey Band
December 21, 2001
Whiskey Junction, Mpls
Photograph copyright © 2001 by Ray Stiles, all rights reserved.
This was Friday night on the West Band with blues shows at both the Cabooze and Whiskey Junction. The Andy Bailey Band featuring Joe Juliano on guitar and vocals and Andy Bailey on keyboard and vocals is another in a long line of stellar Twin Cities blues bands featuring some of the best area blues musicians. Andy, a veteran of many years and many bands in the Upper Midwest has progressed into a band leader and composer in addition to his regular duties at the keyboard and on vocals. The culmination of all of this resulted in the band's new CD, Begin Again Lounge, released in 2001.
Tonight's show at the Whiskey had your typical Andy - Joe verbal banter of witticisms, jokes and snide comments that served as a good-natured undercurrent to a solid show of some outstanding blues/R&B/funk. At one point when Joe accidentally kicked over a pitcher of water near his electrical wires he quipped that this was like the flash flood in the movie, Oh Brother Where Art Thou. Andy played homage to one of his piano heroes, Johnny Johnson, with some good ol' time rock and roll. Fun show, very good band!
Click on the CD cover to search for similar music or email Andy for this CD: bcoolpiercing@uswest.net
Keller Brothers Band
Shannon Curfman w/Kenny Wayne Shepherd
December 21, 2001
The Cabooze, Mpls
Photography copyright © 2001 by Ray Stiles (Corey Keller) & Mark Fredell (Shannon and Kenny), all rights reserved.
As I said this was blues on the West Bank tonight with a triple header on tap. Over at the Cabooze the Keller Brothers Band with their new, trimmed down trio format and new bass player, Arron "Al" Bergstrom,
did more than warm up an audience for Shannon Curfman-they demonstrated again why they are simply one of the best young bands playing in the area.
This seems like an old theme now -- high quality blues musicians in the Twin Cities -- but the reality is you can go just about anywhere a blues band is playing and expect musicianship of a caliber not often found anywhere else. Yes we are spoiled and loving it and Mike Keller's grasp of playing the guitar always leaves fans shaking their heads in amazement. Click on this CD cover to buy the CD.
This was 16 year old Shannon Curfman's first appearance in town since her show last December at the Cabooze. She is now living out in California (just down the block from fellow Twin Citian/Fargoite Jonny Lang). She can often be found at home with friend Kenny Wayne Shepherd writing new songs for her next album. Kenny joined Shannon tonight for a few songs at the end of her varied set with some electric and acoustic guitar. This was a great opportunity to see some very talented young players. Click on the CD cover art to buy these CDs.
Big Bill Morganfield
December 22, 2001
Famous Dave's, Mpls
Photograph copyright © 2001 by Tom Asp, all rights reserved.
Now I didn't get out to see everyone I wanted to in December but it turned out to be a very good month for the blues in the Twin Cities. Since I didn't go out over the New Year's weekend Big Bill's show was my last one of the year. And it was a nice way to close out 2001. The son of Muddy Waters, Big Bill (living in Stone Mountain, Georgia since 1981) is carrying on his dad's name (Morganfield) as well as his style of blues (he even plays slide and you can see the family resemblance). I was actually surprised by the show. It was better than I was expecting and the added bonus of seeing Mojo Buford's smiling face and listening to his harp is always a treat. Mojo played with Muddy off and on for many years so this was a reunion of sorts. December was definitely a "blues" month! You can order Big Bill's and Mojo's CDs by clicking on the cover art.
Photograph copyright © 2001 by Ray Stiles, all rights reserved.
Carey Bell saying "bye for now!"
This review is copyright © 2002 by Ray Stiles, and Blues On Stage at: www.mnblues.com, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without written permission. For permission to use this review please send an E-mail to Ray Stiles.
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