Storyville
@ The Cabooze, January 24, 1997


Grissom, Shannon, Holt
The Cabooze, 1/24/97
Photo © 1997 by Tom Asp
All rights reserved.
This show can be described in one word -- Wow! The night Storyville was at the Cabooze was a Good Day For The Blues. "Good Day For The Blues" is the single from their new album A Piece of Your Soul and has my vote as one of the best blues/soul songs of 1996!

Storyville is: Malford Milligan on vocals, Tommy Shannon on bass, Chris Layton on drums (Shannon & Layton both formerly with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble), David Grissom on guitar (formerly with Joe Ely, John Mellancamp), and David Holt on guitar (formerly with Carlene Carter, Mavericks). Their music mixes soul and Texas blues/rock to form a blend of modern day blues that has the potential to reach out to a wider audience and bring a new following to the blues. The name Storyville comes from the notorious red-light district of New Orleans. Even though the band members individually have quite a musical history, they try to function as "one unit" when writing and performing their songs so they can get that "band" dynamics working.

Storyville brings to the stage a mixture of blues, rock and soul that is unique. You start with the rhythm section of Layton and Shannon providing a solid groove foundation. Add to that two of the finest blues/rock guitar players on stage today in Grissom and Holt. The final ingredient that makes this more than just another one of "those" Texas blues/rock bands is the superb soul drenched vocals of Malford Milligan. This guy can sing the blues with a soulful voice that brings back the heydays of the 60's. His voice incorporates the finer qualities of an Al Green with the roughness and feeling of Otis Redding. Just one listen to A Good Day For The Blues or A Change Is Gone Come from their Bluest Eyes debut album and you know you are listening to a major talent -- reminiscent of the emotions elicited by Otis Redding or Sam Cooke.


Malford Milligan
The Cabooze, 1/24/97
Photo © 1997 by Tom Asp
All rights reserved.
Milligan's stage presence is also a sight to behold. He stands well over 6 feet tall and is like a jercky, whirling dervish, in non stop motion while on stage. He has so much energy -- it was almost like watching Joe Cocker on speed. The sweat was just pouring off him like a rain storm. If you were anywhere down front you were getting wet too.

The band is equally adept at both the classic rock/blues and the slower ballads. Malford's voice is such an integral part of Storyville's sound that when it is highlighted with the band a little softer sounding in the background its just a joy to listen to. The guitars then come in at just the right moment with some outstanding solos that complement the whole sound.

During the show Malford said we ain't gonna let you outside tonight. They were there to entertain and boy did we get a show. It seemed like the show was building up to the song A Good Day For The Blues, which came about midway through the set. With just a guitar and vocal introduction they launched into what had to be the highlight of the show. This song, written by Grissom brought everything to a crescendo that, to my delight, was able to be held throughout the remainder of the long set. This show ranks right up there as one of the top half dozen of 1996 for me. By the way, these guys are some of the nicest people, it was a pleasure meeting them and their entire road crew. The next question is, when will they be back? If you missed them the first time around, you are in for a real treat when they return.

STORYVILLE Homepage!

Mailbox E-mail Ray Stiles at: mnblues@aol.com


Copyright © 1997 by Ray M. Stiles. All rights reserved.