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Gig Updates May 23, 2008-Friday Moondogs: Blawnox, Pa. Whitey, Harry and I took the stage at 10:00 sharp. We did a kicka** opening set. “Boilermaker”, “Son Of A Gun”, then a stoned out version of “End Of The Line” that hit it’s mark. “Weekend” floated out dere somewhere, den floated back. “Ain’t It Amazing” and an inspired “That Ain’t Gonna Happen” closed down Act 1. A short pause and we got back onstage, this time with Mr. Warren (Kingfish) King on guitar. A blistering take of “I Hate a Nickel” kicked it off, followed by “If I Had a Child”. Then “Nightclub”, a song Kingfish included on his James Docherty produced, solo album a few years back. “Hoochie Mama” gave the rhythm section a chance to lay down a lazy groove that was a gas to jam wit. A laid back take of Elvis’s “Burn’in Love” was a tribute version of the tune that me and da Fishman used to do in da Diamonds back in da 70’s……….woof………The ole Cannonball Adderly classic “Mercy Mercy” was something WK brought back from FLA, where he spent a few years working with some of the best blues players in the solar system at King Snake Studio. “Sidewalk Romeo” was smoking. “Minimum Wage” poured off the stage like hot lava. A song WK and I wrote back in 1979, “Burn’in Up” took on a different feel. “Walkin The Dog”, “Into the Mystic” both did the job a good ole cover tune is supposed to do. “Barefootin” ended the set, but we came back with “Moneymaker”. I think everybody in da doghouse enjoyed seeing WK strap it on…………..I know I did…………… May 16, 2008-Friday Jeffries Landing: Beaver, Pa. It was good to see a bunch of ole buds, Artie, Ro, and Glitter. Good folks, crazy, but good. We didn’t play our best early on, but like good self respecting working class musicians we kept our ears on. One lick led to another and before ya know, da rocks startin ta’ bop. Luv dat. “Graceland” hit home as did “We Come a Long Way”, the rest of the first set was a struggle. We come out spankin for set two with “Nightclub” and an inspired “Son Of A gun”. I’m starting to find the sweet spots in that number. “Weekend” got a huge response. Set three was a tribute to Elvis, sort of. Although I do recall a tough take of “T- Bird” somewhere between “Burn’in Love”, “Are You Lonesome Tonight”, “Suspicious Minds” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love”…………hey man…….strappin on a guitar and jamming some Elvi was always cool………always will be………. May 10, 2008-Saturday Scottdale Fireman’s Club: Scottdale, Pa. There was a lotta back n’ forth bullcrap between me and the crowd even before we struck a note. Luv dat! “Mr. Right Now” and “Weekend” hit hard early on. Both “Boilermaker” and “T-Bird” held their own in the first set. A special request for “What the F*ck” got the room equalized the way daddy likes it. Problem is daddy likes it too much. “High Times” and “Burn’in Up” pleased the long time Pittsburgh Rock n’Roll folks. Some guy in the bar yelled up to the stage, “play the first song ya ever wrote”. I looked at Whitey and he said, “Reddy Freddy”……..so that’s what we played…..towards the end of the night, some folks hit the dance floor………Harry got the biggest applause of the whole show when he sang “King Of The Road”. Katie Ramone helped us close out the show singing an ole Ike and Tina rocker and “Let it Bleed”… did I mention how much fun we had at this show, folks in Scottdale like to laugh…………… May 2, 2008- Friday Night Excuses: Southside- Pittsburgh, Pa. Later that same evening……….me and my men strapped it on…….fool groan…….man style……. like so many times before…….. We’ve opened shows with “Bulldog” many times, but never before had we played it to a shuffle groove, it was Whitey’s idea. The two hour first set had a couple, two, three moments, okay? “People Takin Care” da solo on “Somethin’s Cookin” snapped my girdle…………ouch……”Son Of A Gun”, Harry sang a couple numbers n’ folks was like, crying out his name n’nat. Set two kicked with me sending a song out to my ole friend, Bob McKeag, who was playing down da street……..anyway, “Last Night I Had A Dream” gave me the opportunity to blow the arrangement of the song, during the guitar solo. But let me say, our recovery was outfrigginstanding. “Loverboy”, “Who Dat Do Dat”, “Hells Highway”, which by the way, ole bud Mark Anderson who was in da house said how much he liked dat tune, luv it when dat happens. ……………….let me just say that at this moment in time, I’m proud as a ruttin buck to rock wit ya…………..you feelin me?................................ May 2, 2008-Friday Evening Carnivores: Oakmont, Pa. This solo acoustic performance was a lot a fun. When I showed up, singer John Vento was on stage with a percussionist and a guitar player. They did a mix of originals and covers and sounded good doing it. As I was getting set up, Craig the doorman from the dog house, suggested I start my show with “ole cow died with a rag in his a**”…………and so on and so forth…………..so I did. Cool…… “I’m A Man” felt righteous, “Playin In A Rock n’ Roll Band” also did me proud. I was glad that the songs held up, as it’s been a while since I’ve played solo acoustic. “The Morning After” didn’t hold the crowd’s attention, but I didn’t seem to mind cause I was diggin it. A quick take on “Steeler Nation” was received in an underwhelming fashion, but “Ole Number 21” showed hard. “Son Of A Gun” ……..I did a song that I’ve only played once or twice, “The Beneficiary”. Glad I got the chance to play it. “I Was Blind” served as a great closing song. My ole buddy Shades, of “The Offenders”, was in the house so I asked him up to sing a kicking “Dead Flowers” folks was feeling it……….singer song writer Bill Deasy took the stage as I was runnin out da door (I had another gig to get to). Anyway, dis Bill Deasy sounded really good…………….
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