|
Wednesday,
August16-2006
Peters Wood Park:
Pittsburgh, Pa.
What a glorious evening in a beautiful setting at this
outdoor ampitheater. A very respectable crowd gathered
for this celebratrion. The Mystic Knights kicked things
off with a groove, then brought Tony Janflone to the
stage. Tony sang great, in spite of his sore throat and
played some serious guitar. His three song set gave him
the chance to roam around the crowd while spankin da
blank. Jill West was next up. Jill really got the joint
rocking with her big voice and strong persona, she seems
to be getting more and more comfortable as an
entertainer. Next up, da dork boy, yea that's right, my
hero, ME!
I started my
thing off with the ole Wilber Harrison tune "Work
Togather", slippin n' slidin on my ole white tiger
stripped g-tuned strat. The next tune, the ole T-Birds
latin blues, "Walkin To My Baby" got Mystic Knights
guitarist Craig King bringing it to the table. What a
strong player this guy is. I ended my set with "Shake
Your Moneymaker". Some very cute young ladies got up to
sing with us and really turned on the crowd. Enter Shari
Richards, she is a bad lady. I got back up on stage
after watching Shari sing a couple lines because I
wanted to be a part of this moment. As I looked around I
saw Jill West and Tony Janflone both sneak back on
stage. By the end of the show we played an hour over the
time limit and nobody wanted to go home. Gil Snyder was
dancing center stage out of sheer joy, powerful. Rythm
section, Max on bass and Joe Cunningham on drums earned
their bones tonight.
Saturday,
August12-2006
Moondogs: Blanox, Pa.
Small crowd
with a big heart. These kind of nights can be a whole
lotta fun. I got stupid and we all laughed our asses
off. "Shackin Up" was the musical highlight for me. The
slide guitar solo lifted me off the ground. Whitey
Cooper and Harry Bottoms both stood out all evening
playing just the way I need a rhythm section to play
for me to be at my best. Thanks guys, for proppin dis
ole lovedog up.
Friday,
August 4-2006
The Boardwalk: Strip
District, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Young people attracted to this venue's meat market
atmosphere and older folks looking to hear the blues
filled the riverside club. The Mystic Knights brought
local singer Sweaty Betty on stage first.
Wil E. Tri,
the area's finest blues harp player came on stage next
and blew his face off. What a joy it is to hear and feel
the power and glory of Wil E's impressive musical power.
Spending my entire life in bars, I've heard countless
people try to play the harmonica. When it's done right a
warm feeling just over takes my spirit. Unfortunatly it
is very seldom that the blues harmonica is in the hands
of someone that can speak the language. I think people
should have to pass a test to carry a "Blues Harp
License". By the time I got to the stage, the meat
market crowd was long gone. I kicked Chuck Berry's
"Round n' Round" and felt pretty good. After a couple
jams Chizmo Charles took over the stage. I hung around
just for fun. Chiz sang to Sweaty Betty, Sweaty Betty
sang to Chiz. Craig King played guitar behind his head.
How he do dat? Gil Snyder banged da keys and Joe and Max
kept it all together. It is a little sad to realize that
I have absolutely zero meat market appeal left. Did I
ever tell yinz how I used to be young and pretty like
Conway Twitty...................? |
