Once again the good people of LaCrosse put on a great musical display on the first and last nights of Oktoberfest. The first Friday, Sept. 26th, was Blues Night with three excellent blues guitarists featured in Big Daddy Billy Cade, James Solberg, and Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials. Headliner night, the last night of Oktoberfest, featured three national headliners in Canned Heat, Black Oak Arkansas, and Pat Travers. For the price of a single $5 festival button, fans could take in all this music, music on the other nights, and all the other festival events. The unusually warm weather and exceptional locally brewed beers made for a great party atmosphere both nights. Music fans did not go away disappointed.
Blues Night Sept. 26, 2003
Local resident and Chicago native Big Daddy Billy Cade kicked things off with his scorching blues guitar and strong, husky, expressive vocals on “Sweet Home Chicago.” His use of the wah-wah pedal and his own unique guitar style allows him to put his own tasteful spin on this blues classic. Big Daddy’s set was heavy on B. B. King numbers, since he is one of his biggest influences and he does a dead on tribute show to Mr. King. Big Daddy managed to play with all of B. B’s distinctive style and class, while doing a strong job on vocals with his husky, raspy voice that he can bring high with passion. On “Rock Me Baby” Big Daddy’s sensuous King-style guitar and powerful vocals were complemented by local radio personality Brucie Bumchuckles tasteful blues harp. Big Daddy’s soulful playing on King’s “I Play the Blues for You” was subtle, emotionally powerful blues guitar and passionate singing at its best.
Big Daddy has two solid keyboard players in “Jukebox Eddy” Vespa on keyboard and James “Hurricane” Hockney on the B-3. The latter is the most experienced member of the band, having played with many blues and R&B legends, including Freddie King. They add a great richness to the band’s sound. Young, talented drummer Bill “The Hawk” Tourville provides the youthful energy and enthusiasm, while solid bass player Dave Armstrong rounds out the rhythm section. Big Daddy offered up some solid covers with “Every Day I Have the Blues” to “Hootchie Cootchie Man” to “Born Under a Bad Sign.” He took his blues guitar from low, subtle and soft to howling, screaming, and wailing, all the while maintaining great tone. Big Daddy’s finish with “Let the Good Times Roll” was a strong, enthusiastic finish to a great opening act. The crowd roared and clapped their approval, clamoring for more.
Next up was James Solberg, one of the top blues guitarists on most anyone’s list. James kicked things off with his buzzing, blues guitar on the beautiful, soulful original, “The Hand You’re Dealt,” which is also the title cut for one of his CD’s. James has strong, expressive vocals, as he showed on “Buzz Me Baby.” Here his passionate, rising vocals matched his searing guitar licks. James played great, low buzzing riffs, followed by high, piercing licks that rang out over the crowd. Since he has new players on drums and bass, James played many more covers than he normally does. Drummer Allen Kirk and bassist Danny O’Connor once formed Magic Slim’s rhythm section. Both are strong, veteran players. The Implacable Larry Byrne continues to provide the great grinding, expressive Hammond B-3 sound behind James.
One of the covers James brought back, which years ago he used to open his shows with, was “Cheaper to Keep Her.” This cheeky, humorous number, sung with knowing feeling by James, had him stopping in the middle with a public service announcement for the men in the crowd about the perils of divorce, or even thinking about it. Another great number was “Bad Love,” the song he wrote with and made a hit with Luther Allison. James’ echoing, lingering guitar licks and great, shouting vocals made this number one of the highlights of his show. James showed off a few other things he seldom does, including a great, finger-picking guitar solo that the huge crowd responded enthusiastically to, roaring for more. Without stopping he moved right into Hendrix’s “Hey Joe,” nailing the guitar lines and singing with passion as Larry played some great B-3 behind him. On “Talk to Me Baby” James cut loose with some great ringing slide guitar. His controlled slide guitar added another dimension to the song.
After working the dancers in the crowd into a sweaty, passionate frenzy, he dropped things back down with an incredibly soulful, emotional cover of “St. James Infirmary,” which he covered on his CD, See That My Grave Is Kept Clean. This dark, heavy, atmospheric song perfectly fits James’ expressive, soulful guitar that he brought up with searing passion, as well as his great, passionate vocals. Larry’s dark, heavy playing on B-3 added to the mood and power of the song. James stood at the front of the stage, holding and bending his guitar strings to their limits: a master blues guitar player wowing the crowd with his great talent.
Closing out blues night, Lil’ Ed roared on to the stage with his wildly expressive, rollicking slide guitar, great energy in constantly dancing and moving, and passionate, fast vocals. Ed danced and shook with passion, smiling brightly, occasionally looking surprised at what his energetic, emotional playing on guitar produced on “Boogie Woogie Momma.” Dressed in a bright blue fez, blue pants, and red sneakers, Ed seemed to have only one speed throughout his entire show: overdrive. While most of his show consists of up-tempo, hard charging blues fueled by his fast, ringing slide guitar, he brought things down occasionally for some slower, soulful playing. “Cold Hearted Woman” was a great blues grinder that gave Lil’ Ed a chance to play some slow, soulful, subtle licks and the dancers a chance to hold on to each other and catch their breaths.
Backed by solid, energetic players on rhythm guitar, bass, and drums, Ed powered the crowd through a show of great blues. “Closer Home to You” was a catchy love song, which saw Lil’ Ed stepping as he played slide guitar, his voice ringing out with feeling. He constantly mugs and laughs with the crowd, smiling and sharing his infectious energy and joy of life. On “You Better Leave that Computer Alone” he jumped up and down on the stage as he played. “Let It Roll” had Ed playing great jangling guitar riffs, before morphing into some wild ringing, repeating slide on this boogie blues number. Ed’s signature song, “Do the Alligator” is driving blues rock, heavy with bass and drums and his guitar ringing out over the top. He jumped, bopped, and danced around the stage, waving his guitar all over the place, directing his guitar licks and energy out to every corner of the crowd. Again Lil’ Ed brought it down, with the great grinding blues of “When the Dogs Get to Howling” encouraging the crowd to howl along. His fast, intense guitar fills, interspersed with slow, soulful lead kept things moving right along.
Lil’ Ed served up a solid cover of “Sweet Home Chicago” with his ringing slide guitar and great shouting vocals making the song his. His solid rhythm section and excellent rhythm guitar player made for a tight sound that sounded very large for only four pieces. Lil’ Ed was at his best on “Chicken Gravy and Biscuits,” a wild double shuffle delivered full throttle. This catchy, driving blues had the band serving up some solid vocal harmonies on the refrain, Ed’s wild slide guitar providing the quick, upbeat, intense energy that had the dancers moving with passion and the entire crowd bopping along, unable to resist the infectious energy flowing out from the stage. Overall Blues Night was again a big success, with a large crowd that was treated to three terrific blues guitarists who were all also complete performers with solid bands.
Headline Night October 4, 2003
Local blues rock guitarist Dave Rogers kicked things off with an energetic, great-toned cover of “Hideaway,” the Freddie King classic that allows guitarists to show their talents off in one song. Dave kept things rolling along, starting off with two short sets on the second stage and then playing during the set breaks for the main stage. He definitely has talent on guitar, as he showed in covering “Strong Persuader.” Dave’s strong, growling guitar, mixed with piercing licks and heavier, grinding licks on “Cold Shot” made it a powerful song for him. His strong husky vocals are perfectly OK for the blues and rock he plays, but with Dave the guitar is the thing.
On the fast rolling blues of “Rambling on My Mind” Dave delivered a solid guitar intro, followed by some great low, snarling riffs. His held, echoing notes and piercing riffs ringing out showed off his talents. Dave is not only talented, but bravely adventurous as he covered a number of Carlos Santana songs throughout the night, including a great version of “Black Magic Woman.” He nailed the guitar riffs, doing a very credible job in covering a unique guitar legend. Dave also played some Cream, Eric Clapton, and J. J. Cale. For all his talent, with solid backing players on bass and drums, Dave seldom plays far from home. He performs regularly in LaCrosse and the immediate area. But his day job is operating one of the best guitar shops in the Midwest, Dave Roger’s Guitars. He has a great inventory, and also a guitar museum on the second floor of his store. Definitely check it out, as well as the solid guitar work of Dave, if you get down to LaCrosse.
The first headliner of the night, and arguably the most enjoyable, was the great boogie blues sound of Canned Heat. While only one original member remains, Fito De La Para has surrounded himself with great, veteran performers who carry on the irrepressible spirit of the original band. New front man Dallas Hodge is a great bear of a man, playing a great blues-rock, jamming guitar on his gold top Gibson and singing in a strong, hip voice. His playing on the opening number, “I Was Bad,” backed by a fluid, expressive harp by Stanley Behrens, got the crowd moving right away. The band came right back with Stanley on vocals for the boogie blues of “Bull Frog Blues.” Stanley handles the high pitched, penetrating vocals very well, also lending his talents at various times on harp, sax, and flute. “On the Road Again” had the spirit and energy of the original from the 60’s. The band also played new songs, which while updated for the 21st century, carry on the spirit and energy of their recordings from the 60’s and 70’s. “Same Old Game” is a song about maturing wisdom and resignation about how some things never change. The solid blues rock groove here, with great guitar by Dallas and John Paulus was enriched by Stanley’s solid blues harp. “Will to Make Believe” is a mellow, pop rock feeling number with great harp playing by Stanley and some solid vocals delivered by bassist Greg Kage.
“I’m Her Man” had the guys back to the boogie blues, with Fito providing strong vocals on a number with a roadhouse feel and sound. John added some searing blues guitar riffs, as Stanley played a bold, muscular harp. “1,2,3 Here We Go Again” gave the crowd some great, back-alley grinding blues. Stanley played a mean, dirty-toned harp as Dallas played slow, soulful expressive blues guitar, building to fast, furious fills that saw him shaking his head and guitar so hard he shook his cap right off his head. “Going up the Country,” which became the Woodstock theme song had Stanley again playing a mean flute and adding his high, expressive vocals. The huge crowd danced and roared with enthusiasm.
One of the most touching songs the band played was their beautiful tribute to old friend and blues great, John Lee Hooker, “Here’s to You.” Greg provided the vocals on the heavy, catchy, driving beat of this song. “Chicken Shack & Boogie” had a Louis Jordan, jump blues feel with Stanley’s mean sax riffs and John’s ringing, piercing guitar riffs powering the song. The band moved to the front of the stage and kicked their legs out in unison. They closed out their solid show with two of their classics “Let’s Work Together” and an encore of “It’s the Same All Over.” Both songs have a timeless message and quality that, along with their solid new music, makes this band as current, relevant, and enjoyable as ever.
Black Oak Arkansas then stormed the stage with their own unique brand of what they call raunch and roll. Starting with “Ashes to Ashes” front man Jim Dandy proved to be as energetic, sinister, and edgy as ever in strolling, jumping and dancing around the stage as the powerful drums and bass and two guitar attack powered out a solid rock sound behind him. When he sings “we’re a wild bunch” and you look at the band and recall their history, you have no doubt they still are. With his long blonde hair, gray stretch pants, and knee high black boots Jim Dandy was at his raunchy, suggestive, lascivious best as he strutted back and forth, shouting out the vocals on “Hot, Hot Ride.” This is a rough and tumble looking group that loves playing the raunchy power rock that propelled them to rock stardom in the 70’s. “I Hope I Get Some Sleep Tonight” was dark, hard-edged rock with an authentic feel to it. Jim Dandy is still a strong singer and showman, even if his figure may not be right for stretch pants anymore. He worked the crowd like a master, talking to them in a heavier than normal voice that was deep and growling, much like his vocals.
Jim Dandy led the band through the power rock ballad, “Heartbreaker,” with his head back, mouth wide open to shout out his vocals, two screaming guitars, one playing a mean slide, hard, fast drums, and building shaking bass. This was over the top singing and performing at its best. Jim introduced the song “Elijah” as being about a 105 year old man. Then he proceeded to roar out his vocals and play washboard on a song that was country rock, with an almost gospel reverence to it. The crowd responded by wildly cheering and screaming their approval. Jim Dandy introduced the next song by commenting “They’ve always told me I’m not alright in the head, and maybe they’re right!” Then he launched into “Fever in My Mind” screaming lyrics over two howling guitars, crazy eyed with wild antics as he jumped and moved about the stage. Jim Dandy really let it all out on their old hit from 1969, “Hot and Nasty.” This heavy, raunchy song about sex had Dandy sneering out the vocals, shaking his hips, faking an orgasm, and pushing aside the monitor speakers so he could kneel down and interact with the fans.
Black Oak served up some gothic rock on “Mutant Monsters,” Jim Dandy screaming and rasping his vocals on this hard edged, dark, and nasty rock and roll. "Lord Have Mercy” was driving hard rock with Dandy’s growling vocals making a plea for mercy on his soul. The band closed things out with a loud, infectious delivery of “Jim Dandy to the Rescue” which early in his career Dandy had adopted as his personal theme song. All in all this is a band that still plays hard and really seems to still enjoy doing it. And the crowd loved it all.
Pat Travers closed things out with his hard-edged rock guitar backed by loud, pounding drums and bold, throbbing bass in his power trio. Travers’ smoking, searing guitar was one of the loudest I’ve ever heard as he worked his way through “End of the Rainbow.” He had to shout and scream his vocals just to be heard over his guitar riffs and backing band. A large crowd of fans stayed to see and hear the 70’s rock guitar master ply his craft. “Case of the Blues” was a solid blues rock number, with Travers taking his guitar down low for some mean, snarling riffs. His strong, expressive vocals blended well with his powerful guitar licks. Travers achieves a rich, slightly distorted tone healthy with reverb. He loves special effects, as he showed on “Crash and Burn” constantly changing and switching effects, using the wah-wah pedal, and employing heavy handed guitar riffs with a quick hand slide. Travers brought things down a little bit on “It Will Heal with Time” as he played some powerful, screaming, howling blues guitar, even playing one handed. His strong, passionate playing moved the crowd on this power blues grinder.
Travers continued to wow the crowd with his powerful guitar and passionate vocals. His song written for his son, “Elijah” featured wailing rock guitar and emotional lyrics, delivered with strength and passion. The crowd that stayed pushed up as close as they could to watch and hear him play. They seemed to love everything he did. Dressed in jeans and a tropical shirt, he had a fan blowing his long back hair back. Travers’ cover of “Down from the Whipping Post” was delivered with his smoking rocking guitar and solid vocals. Travers has the power rock guitar down cold with some hard blues influences thrown in for seasoning. It would be nice to hear him bring things down a bit, perhaps show his versatility and talent with some more subtle playing. In any event, the crowd enthusiastically greeted his entire performance and his performance served as a solid ending to a great Oktoberfest and a solid night of music.
LaCrosse is an easy just under three-hour drive from the Twin Cities. In the fall the changing color of the leaves add to the beautiful scenery along the Mississippi River Valley. There are ample hotels, motels, good restaurants, and good music clubs in town. Be sure to consider a trip to Oktoberfest for some great music and tasty beer next fall.
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