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No small talk this issue - just the recommended weekly allowance of music:
Barclay 3 at Café Montmartre, Madison, Feb. 2: While most musicians focus their efforts on one band, there are others who build their strength and versatility with multiple projects. Drummer Jim Barclay and guitarist Joel Paterson kick up the R&B with Jimmy Sutton's Four Charms, but this incarnation - with the Mighty Blue King's Hammond B-3 organist, Pete Benson, takes a cooler groove - the bluesy soul/jazz of '60s organists such as Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, and - at perkier moments - Booker T. & the MG's.
Eddy Clearwater at Luther's Blues, Madison, Feb. 2: See the review of his Reservation Blues CD in this issue.
Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets with Sam Myers at the Club Tavern, Middleton, Feb. 7; and at Mugzee's, Rochester, Feb. 8: Mid-week shows are tough, but that pesky day job shouldn't get in the way of this show. These guys are perennial Handy award nominees, and for good reason. Guitarist Funderburgh has the jazz master's gift of subtlety down pat, while long-time bandmate Myers has the pipes most blues vocalists can't match. He's also a great harmonica player and storyteller - on and off the stage.
Asleep At The Wheel at Luther's Blues, Madison, Feb. 8: The coolest thing about these guys probably isn't that they've landed six Grammy awards between 1979 and 1996. Nor do I think it's their perseverance in promoting western swing for the better part of thirty years and 22 albums. No, my reason to tip the ten-gallon hat to Ray Benson and his fellow pickers is that they actually convinced just about all the kings and queens of the past and present Nashville scene (plus Shawn Colvin, the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Merle Haggard, etc.) to pay musical homage to the man that did more than anyone to promote western swing, Bob Wills. And in the process, that album, Ride With Bob, just happened to earn six Grammy nominations - and win two more awards for Ray & Company.
Willie Kent & the Gents at the Up & Under Pub, Milwaukee, Feb. 10: Another perennial Handy nominee and winner, Kent's fluid, inobtrusive instrumentation has backed dozens of sessions on Delmark and other labels. He's ventured up front to cover more vocal work in recent years, with equal success. He often travels with some of Chicago's best female vocalists - and with veteran band members uniquely able to kindle passion from familiar passages without transforming them.
Sandra Hall at Scott Street Steak & Pub, Wausau, February 14: Sure, it's that dreaded holiday...so, guys, if you want to get your girlfriend/wife REALLY angry (and you know that's ALWAYS a certainty, so you might as well get it out of the way), sit near the stage and play right along as Hall makes you part of her bawdy blues show. You'll learn a few new bump-and-grind moves while she serenades you with that husky voice resonating from her big...er...lungs. For those of you unattached, keep your eyes open for who ISN'T going home together that night.
Potawatomi Mardi Gras Celebration: The Neville Brothers, Feb. 14; Wayne Toups, Feb. 15; Beausoleil, Feb. 18; Buckwheat Zydeco, Feb. 20; Dr. John, Feb. 21; and Geno Delafose with French Rockin' Boogie, Feb. 22: Every February, the Louisiana zydeco and Cajun bands hit the road for big Mardi Gras shows across the country. But to get almost all of them together during a nine-day run is pretty astounding. Also pretty sharp is the dual booking of Buckwheat Zydeco and Geno Delafose at the First Avenue in Minneapolis on Feb. 21.
Duke Tumatoe at The Roost, Beaver Dam, Feb. 21; and Heroes, Green Bay, Feb. 22: When Indianan Tumatoe first recorded, roadhouse rockin' blues bands were just catching fire. Since then, guys like Thackery, Thorogood, and the Vaughan Brothers have made big splashes on the national scene. And Tumatoe - whose entendre-encrusted songwriting has most of 'em beat by miles, still roams the biker bars of the Midwest. Pretty cool to live here, huh?
Other pretty cool shows: Bo Diddley at Potawatomi Bingo & Casino, Feb. 7-8; Johnny Rawls at Mugzees, Feb. 9; Mel Ford & the Fairlanes Reunion at the Harmony Bar, Madison, Feb. 9; The Whispers with the Dells at the Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, Feb. 11; Joe West & the Sinners at Ken's Bar & Grill, Madison, Feb. 16; Jimmy Burns at Luther's Blues, Feb. 17; the Harmony Bar's Mardi Gras with the Mardi Gras Band and Cajun buffet, Feb. 24; and Sonny Rhodes at the Silver Moon, Darien, WI March 3. |
