Gig Updates

May 22, 2010-Saturday

Scottdale Firemans Club: Scottdale,PA

This 10 o’clock hit was strong from the first stroke. I always tell the younger guys, “da more ya play, da better ya play”. Aafter last night’s show, & dis afternoon’s show, which were both long, hot, n’ hard, we was makin it look easy. A steamy “Help Me”, the ole Sonny Boy number, & a herky, jerky “Rebel Rouser”, the ole Duane Eddy thang, da stage was set for organized mayhem. “Somethin’s Cookin” poured across da lanoleium floor like lava. “The Blues Come Blowin In” is really startin to come off well. I’m startin to find da sweet spots in da guitar solo sections. “Rock n’ Roll City” did what it’s ‘spos to. “Hoochie Mama” got the whole joint singin along. Someone shouted out for “Burnin Up”, so we burnt it up. Harry Bottoms crooned “King of the Road” & folks hooted n’ hollered. I think “Shit House Rat” made as good an impression as a song named “Shit House Rat” could make. “Boilermaker” lit up set two as did a rippin “Little Things”. This being Brice Foster’s second gig behind the tubs with us, I thought it was time for his first lead vocal. So he took a crack at the ole Eddy Floyd classic, “Knock On Wood”. Except for forgetting a few lyrics, he done right. “Sick n’ Tired” came down sweetly, I’ve been doing some different lyrics & I did remember them. We spanked out “Smoke Two Joints”. At this point, I called Mike Vale up to the stage to sing harmony with us on “I Shall Be Released”. Mike is the bass player from The Shondel’s of Tommy James fame, but he was hittin da high notes on da chorus and blended beautifully with handsome Harry Bottoms. Break time……..set three was casual but strong “Somethin Yogi Said”, “Look What You Done”. “Help Me Make It Thru The Night”, the ole outlaw Kris’s tune, cooled things down before we got a buddy of ours, Pat, up onstage to sing a couple standards, “Ain’t No Sunshine” & “Before You Accuse Me”. This gave me a chance to focus on playing with Harry & our new drummer, Brice……..luv dat……..I can’t remember what da last couple tunes were……….I was toast……….  

May 22, 2010-Saturday

Narcissi Winery: Gibsonia,PA

Rain was fallin when Harry & I joined Drummer Tom Compton onstage for a couple introductory instrumentals. By the time Shari Richards joined us onstage we played da clouds from da sky, & da sun started shining. Shari’s voice had some pain in it. She, like Harry & I, played da night before, & this winery show kicked at high noon. OUCH….. But the pain turns into gain when da band is playin strong. We did great takes on “Million Tears”, “You Go Your Way”, “Look What You Done”, “Three Times Your Fool”, “Minimum Wage”, as well as “Let the Good Times Roll”, “Teeny Weenie Bit”. I sent out a shout to some ole buds of the late great Warren King & played “Peter Gunn”, Tom Compton had a cool feel that added something……Shari closed out the show croonin “I’d Rather Go Blind” & “Work Together”.

May 21, 2010-Friday

P.D.’s Pub: Pittsburgh, PA

This was drummer Brice Foster’s first show with me & Harry. Brice came over to my place and I walked him thru some tunes, that was the extent of our preparation. Regardless, I walked onstage with a lot of confidence that this was gonna be fun. I was right. We kicked things off real lazy with a couple shuffles then we smacked around “The Blues Come Blowin In” & “Somethin’s Cookin”. We did some of the newer laid back numbers. “Burnin’ Up” was rollin along just fine when I remembered that I saw Phil Brontz walk up to the stage n’ stash his sax just as our set started. So I called Phil up to the stage mid song to right the wrong that I committed by not callin him up BEFORE we started the tune.  Phil sounded great. And as always, he never sounded like Kenny G, know what I mean? After our break we did “Boilermaker”, “Little Things” and some special requests. We then brought singer Mike Flosemi onstage to sing. I axed ‘em what he wanted to sing, n’ he said “It’s All Over Now”. Truth is, it was just gittin started. Soon as I busted out the intro, folks started comin up on da dance floor……..luv dat. We then did unique takes on two ole standards, “Shake, Rattle n’ Roll” & “Ring Of Fire” with Phil makin his tenor sax sound like a trombone, & Mike goin down for da low notes on that manful melody. This was a cool lineup of players. When Mike stepped off stage I called another long time Pittsburgh rocker onstage, Bill Toms. I axed ‘em what he wanted to sing, n’ he said, this tune I just wrote, cool. We got some basic things straight, real quick n’ in a hurry then ripped up dis rocker. Bill said he wanted to try “Shake n’ Finger Pop”, the ole Junior Walker tune. So we followed him thru. It was a real blast playin behind Mike n’ Bill tonight, & havin Phil blowin goose made this a natural high.

Stay tuned for the latest updates! Better yet, come to one of the shows and experience "The Manful Handful" himself, first hand!

[ Norman Nardini Friends Links ] [ July-2010.htm ] [ June 2010.htm ] [ May-2010.htm ] [ April-2010.htm ] [ Feb-2010.htm ] [ Jan-2010.htm ] [ December-2009.htm ] [ November-2009.htm ] [ October-2009.htm ] [ September-2009.htm ] [ August-2009.htm ] [ July-2009.htm ] [ June-2009.htm ] [ May-2009.htm ] [ April-2009.htm ] [ Mar-2009.htm ] [ Feb-2009.htm ] [ Jan-2009.htm ] [ December-2008.htm ] [ November-2008.htm ] [ October-2008.htm ] [ September-2008.htm ] [ August-2008.htm ] [ July-2008.htm ] [ June-2008.htm ] [ May-2008.htm ] [ April-2008.htm ] [ March-2008.htm ] [ February-2008 ] [ Jan-2008.htm ] [ December-2007.htm ] [ Nov-2007.htm ] [ Oct-2007.htm ] [ September-2007.htm ] [ Aug-2007 ] [ July-2007.htm ] [ Jun-2007.htm ] [ May-2007.htm ] [ Apr-2007.htm ] [ Mar-2007.htm ] [ Feb-2007.htm ] [ Jan-2007.htm ] [ Dec-2006.htm ] [ Nov-2006.htm ] [ Oct-2006.htm ] [ Sept-2006.htm ] [ Aug-2006.htm ] [ July-2006.htm ] [ June-2006.htm ] [ May-2006.htm ] [ Apr-2006.htm ] [ March-2006.htm ] [ Feb-2006.htm ] [ Jan-2006.htm ] [ December-2005.htm ] [ April-2005.htm ] [ Mar-2005.htm ] [ Feb-2005.htm ] [ Jan-2005.htm ] [ Dec-2004.htm ] [ Nov-2004.htm ] [ Oct-2004.htm ] [ Sept-2004.htm ] [ August-2004.htm ] [ July-2004.htm ] [ June-2004.htm ] [ may-2004.htm ] [ april-2004.htm ] [ march-2004.htm ] [ feb-2004.htm ] [ jan-2004.htm ] [ dec-2003.htm ] [ nov-2003.htm ] [ oct-2003.htm ] [ sept-2003.htm ] [ aug-2003.htm ] [ july-2003.htm ] [ june-2003.htm ] [ may-2003.htm ] [ april-2003.htm ]