WeenieCampbell.com
Country Blues => Saturday Night Fish Fry => Topic started by: doctorpep on May 10, 2008, 05:12:36 PM
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I'm just curious to know if anyone will be going to the Red & Hammond show this coming Wednesday in New York City. I'm looking forward to the show and will be glad to write a review/synopsis of the event.
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It would take a lot to get me back to that tourist trap, but I'd be interested to know what other blues clubs you like in the city. (The last time I was at B.B. King's was a New Year's Eve, which may have contributed to my negative reaction, but I prefer more low key clubs like Terra Blues).
JTBlue
I'm just curious to know if anyone will be going to the Red & Hammond show this coming Wednesday in New York City. I'm looking forward to the show and will be glad to write a review/synopsis of the event.
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Check out Banjo Jim's. More of a bar than a club and Blues are only occasional fare, but at least its not a clip joint
The East River String Band and the Otis Bros. both play there.
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Thank you, Mr. O'Muck!
I'll check that out. And I see that they have an early set, which is a good thing for those of us who have to be up in the morning. :)
JTBlue
Check out Banjo Jim's. More of a bar than a club and Blues are only occasional fare, but at least its not a clip joint
The East River String Band and the Otis Bros. both play there.
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I posted a review of a show of Louisiana Red's and Honeyboy Edwards at BB Kings last year in the review section here at Weenie.
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I asked a friend about Terra Blues and he said it was horrible. However, I think the place looks low-key and fun, but I'm just going by the website. I think it'd also be a lot easier to meet and speak with the musicians there than it would be at B.B. King's place, even if the guys who play at Terra Blues aren't as well-known as the musicians at King's. Frankly, I don't give a damn about how famous someone is anyway!
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Terra Blues has more of a mixed bag of musicians, but it is not horrible. I've been there many times. Most nights there is an early (7-ish) solo acoustic set followed by a bigger band later. It is an intimate setting where you can definitely meet the musicians and you won't feel ripped off (a la B.B. King's).
JTBlue
I asked a friend about Terra Blues and he said it was horrible. However, I think the place looks low-key and fun, but I'm just going by the website. I think it'd also be a lot easier to meet and speak with the musicians there than it would be at B.B. King's place, even if the guys who play at Terra Blues aren't as well-known as the musicians at King's. Frankly, I don't give a damn about how famous someone is anyway!
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I thought I'd give a little review of last night's show. I thought that the venue was very nice and the food was great, although a bit pricy. There were some nice pictures of Johnny Shines, Furry Lewis, Son House, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy, among others, on the walls. Before the opening act came out, Louisiana Red came out just to test the equipment and make sure that everything was as it should be. The opening act then took the stage. Their name was the Papa Hoodoo Medicine Show. They did "It's My Own Fault, Baby", which was done by B.B. King, and perhaps also Lowell Fulson (?). Their lead singer, who was also their bass player, sang in a mediocre fashion. Both guitar players were very good in the technical sense, though, as a Country Blues snob, I often find myself simply not interested in electric Blues-Rock.
Louisiana Red then came out and did two or three acoustic numbers, including "I Almost Lost My Mind" and a song about the United Nations and Castro that was originally recorded in 1960. The Papa Hoodoo Medicine Show then came out and joined him, and Red sang a tribute to Muddy Waters. "Let Me Be Your Electrician" was another song that they did. Throughout all of this, Red failed to measure up to my expectations and seemed lost. His playing wasn't sharp and he occasionally forgot lyrics. His voice sounded great, though. I think this is just a case of a musician who keeps touring despite being at an age when he should be relaxing and playing for fun, and not playing for a living. I hope nobody out there is insulted by my comments. I'm not trying to be rude or nasty. Also, throughout all of this, there wasn't anyone to adjust Red's amplifier or give him a different guitar (that was tuned differently). I thought this was pretty inexcusable. Someone should have been out there to help the man. Red relied on one of the guitar players from the Papa Hoodoo Medicine Show to help him, but, seeing that he couldn't do much for him, he simply gave him his electric guitar instead. Red also told us a story about how the necks of two of his guitars got snapped off during his airplane ride over to New York City.
Next up was Lance Lopez, a young guy from Texas who struck me as a Stevie Ray Vaughan/Jimi Hendrix imitator. Though he was a very good guitar player in the technical sense, his music was atrociously loud compared to everyone else on the show. He covered Robert Johnson's "Stones In My Passway" in a hard rock fashion. He did Stevie Ray Vaughan mannerisms that are present on the El Mocambo dvd. This was not my cup of tea and seemed to go on and on. I thought that this guy was, by far, the worst act of the night. I shook my head while in a state of great irritation.
Next up was John Hammond, who took the stage and said "Wow. That certainly was different. You're lucky to be here with such a VARIETY of musicians". Obviously, the Lopez guy was not his cup of tea either. Hammond turned in his usual great performance. He did three of his originals from his new album, a Lightnin' Slim tune, Buddy Guy's "My Time After A While", Skip James' "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues", Robert Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen" and Muddy Waters' "Can't Be Satisfied", which he used to close his set. The James song was introduced by him saying "I first recorded in 1962, and the following year, all these great Blues artists were rediscovered- men like Son House, Bukka White, Skip James!"
Cornell Dupree & The Soul Survivors were the final act. They were great! I wasn't previously familiar with Dupree, but I really enjoyed the music. They opened with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's "Things Ain't What They Used To Be". All and all, this was a very mixed night of music and not one of the better shows I've been to. However, the nice atmosphere, location of the place, food, and being allowed to take pictures of the performers was great!
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Thanks doctorpep for the somewhat favorable review.
I agree with you on the amp scene with Red, man I couldn't get that soundman to do a damn thing for Red, so all I could think to do is to hand over my Tele to him.
Glad you enjoyed the rest of show and thanks,
PB
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You're welcome. Ah! I was unaware that one of the musicians who played the other night was a Weenie Campbell member! In that case, I should state my feelings more clearly: I really enjoyed your guitar playing, and would have loved to see you and the other guitarist (is his name Lenny Lane? Please forgive my ignorance) do an acoustic set. I didn't mean to indicate that your band was bad at all. The guy you had on the keyboard was also excellent. Furthermore, if it weren't for you guys, Red would've been completely lost. So, thank you!