Famous Dave's, 5/30/98 Photo © 1998 by Ann Wickstrom. All rights reserved |
The band took the stage promptly at 9:00, facing a packed house, many of whom were still contending with their barbeque sauce. James was sporting his trademark cap, a maroon suit, and ... well ...
a MOSTLY white shirt. He was quick to point out that even he had a bit
of a mishap with the sauce.
The four-piece band is made up of seasoned blues
veterans Mike Vlahakis on keyboards, John Lindberg on bass, and Kenny
Arnold on drums; Arnold has played with Solberg off and on for three
decades, most notably in the Milwaukee-area band Short Stuff.
There is no mistaking Solberg's sound. He produces a
distinctive ring from his blonde Gibson and his voice always has a
slightly devilish, "we're havin' a good ol' time" character to it. As
for Vlahakis, he is a top-notch keyboard player who can easily fill a
large room with his full chords.
The band showcased quite a few songs from their new
(third) CD, L..A. Blues, a tribute to Solberg's main man for many years, Luther Allison. They included the title track, "L.A. Blues", "Must Be a Reason", Bob Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man.", and "Wally World U.S.A.", dedicated to the bus driver/CD & T-shirt proprietor/hot rod custom car builder from Eau Claire who can always be found sitting at the side of the stage at a James Solberg gig.
The crowd was a little slow to get going, but about
half-way through the first set a slow song filled the dance floor.
Solberg accomodated a fan who requested "Cheaper to Keep Her" from One
of These Days, and another highlight was "Let's Straighten It Out" from
See That My Grave is Kept Clean, with Lindberg providing very nice
harmonies. Solberg gave us a taste of his "talking" guitar, and also
managed to break a string about halfway through the night, causing him
to switch to a black Les Paul.
Unfortunately, the crowd thinned out during the second
set. Perhaps those who left were hearing about the havoc that Mother
Nature had been wreaking on the outside world and were anxious to get
home to survey the damage. Solberg & co. have some return engagements
lined up for Minnesota later this summer so keep your eyes open and come witness this energetic performer, a true blues soldier.
This review is copyright © 1998 by Ann Wickstrom, all rights reserved.
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