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Some of you know I've been busier than usual during the past couple of months due to factors beyond my control and music shows have helped me keep my sanity at the more stressful moments. So now when things are looking a bit better on one front, what happens? A month flooded with club shows, that's what. Well, so much for catching up on my sleep. Here are my picks of shows worth staying up late for.
Deke Dickerson & the Ecco-Fonics at Gil's Café, Milwaukee, 10/5: Dickerson is a master guitar instrumentalist conveying every nuance of old Bakersfield country, rockabilly, and western swing. But unlike many of his other west coast cousins, he's not as lock-step into twangy vocals. Highlight: "The Rockin' Gypsy," where his double-neck guitar gets a workout from whomever is riding shotgun for him. And bring extra $ for Deke's record shop!
Amazing Crowns with Hi-Fi & the Roadburners and Bleed at the Avalon Theater, Milwaukee, 10/6: I can't recall ever seen a more energetic stage act than the Crowns - with the exception perhaps of Jello Biafra/Mojo Nixon or Iggy Pop. Musically, they range from old school punk to crisp rockabilly - if not in the same song, then surely between songs. Their working-class approach to rock is emphasized with their appropriated Teamster's-design T-shirts. Perfect.
Bobby "Blue" Bland at Luther's Blues, Madison, 10/13: If ever you needed proof of Bland's influence, tally the covers of "Turn On Your Love Light" that '60s garage bands recorded. Considering his 40-plus years in the business, he's still a captivating balladeer - after minimizing a bad habit for "snorting" growls in concerts a few years back.
Son Seals with Eddie Shaw & the Wolf Gang at the Crystal Corner Bar, Madison, 10/13; and the Up & Under Pub, Milwaukee, 10/14: If nothing else, Seals is one of the toughest fighters not only surviving a gun shot to the chin from his wife, but also complications from diabetes that forced amputation of one leg. When a weakened Seals made his first appearance after that bout, Shaw and band were there to offer him musical and emotional support. Vocally, Seals has almost recovered all of the old fire in his belly. His guitar work kicks up a notch with Shaw's backing thanks to the dueling challenge from Shaw's lightning-fingered son, Vaan.
Rusty Zinn at the Club Tavern, Middleton, 10/13: Yes, THREE excellent shows in the Madison Area on one night. Damn. Zinn's mastery of vintage blues guitar chord work, taut picking, and note bending (with subtle echoes of Albert King and Albert Collins) is ear-catching. But while the patina of the past is there (and Zinn's wardrobe is a part of it), there's a freshness to his recordings that declare he's part of the 21st Century, not the middle of the 20th.
Junior Brown at Automatic Slim's, Neenah, 10/19: His booming voice is one of the few to rival Sleepy LaBeef, but that's not Brown's only mark of distinction. His real-world lyrics "Highway Patrol" and "My Wife Think's You're Dead" are true bar-room sing-alongs. Then there's that fancy instrument he plays - part Telecaster, part lap steel - the one-of-a-kind, self-invented "guitsteel." When he breaks into the Chantays one-shot wonder, "Pipeline," it's hard to believe lap and pedal steel guitars weren't mounted on surf boards.
Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers at Luther's Blues, 10/19; and the Up & Under, 10/28: Piazza was one of the first white west coast harp players - and has a recording history back to '67. But his luckiest break was landing the knockout in both looks and piano instrumental prowess - Honey Piazza. Their interaction all but defines call-and-response. Don't overlook the group's guitarist, Rick "L.A. Holmes" Holmstrom he's one of my top picks in the biz (one of my other faves, Duke Robillard, plays just 5 days earlier 10/14 - at Luther's. Valhalla!!!)
Dave Hole at Witz End, Stevens Point, 10/25; and at the Crystal Corner, 10/28: Hole is not a performer for blues purists…but for those who can appreciate the complexity of slide guitar instrumentation fretted from above the board rather than below (an adaptation he invented while recovering from a sports injury), Hole has the "awe" factor. His recent Under The Spell CD on Alligator has more subtlety than earlier efforts.
Dave Clark & the Blues Swingers at the Milwaukee Ale House, 10/27: Having had the privilege to back Chicago jump blues pioneer Floyd McDaniel on his last sessions, Clark's band captures that genre more authentically than just about any other act. It doesn't hurt to have several members with jaw-dropping resumes, including at least one former Count Basie sideman.
Doug Hoekstra with Kat Parsons at Mother Fool's CoffeeHouse, Madison, 10/28: I haven't given many write-ups to singer-songwriter shows, but this one featuring two artists with Chicago roots - stood out. Hoekstra captured me with his elegy to one of my fallen hero icons, Sam Cooke; his recordings are craftily accented with electronic and avant-garde percussion. Parsons' vocals are more shrill by comparison; I was most drawn to "Framing Caroline," title track to her latest release.
Other recommendations: Willie "Big Eyes" Smith at the Roadhouse of Carlsville, 10/7; buxom Candye Kane at Automatic Slim's, 10/8; Anson & the Rockets with Sam Myers at the Irish Spring House, 10/20; Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs at the Milwaukee Ale House 10/18 and the Harmony Bar 10/21; New Orleans' Brint Anderson (all around Southeastern Wisconsin in mid-October); and the WMSE Benefit/Live CD Recording at the Up & Under, 11/2. |
