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May 28 -
2004
The LongVue Lounge: N. Versailles, PA - Call
Jackie if lost at 412-823-9602
9:30 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. - Fri.
"Lazy Bones", "Till The Cows Come Home"...Hey that
ryhmes! Cool huh?! Norman was playin hot right from the
start. Whitey's drums sounded giant tonight. Not a full
house, but most were there to hear the old Pittsburgh
rock n roll, so it was a good time. Norman played "White
Trash Tragedy" and it really struck a chord with the
locals. A special request version of "Nothin To Lose"
highlighted the second set, as did a rock shuffle
version of the old classic "Route 66".Where did that one
come from?! "Burnin Up" and "That Girl" turned on the
older Norman fans. Norman's b.s. seemed to ring so true.
Whitey Cooper sang and impromptu version of "Blow Me"
which is the song title...a new genre "Doo Wop Porn".
Then Norman yelled out..."You Girls like red peter's
don't ya?" Norman's crazy.
Notables in attendance: Tim & Debbie, Wayne &
Ruth, Rat N Betty Lou
May 27 -
2004
Map
Parkway Tavern: 312 Center Rd, Monroeville, PA
15146 (412) 372-8199
8 p.m. - 11 p.m. - Thurs.
Norman struggled the whole first set to get control.
Control of what? Control of guitar, control of his band
and control of the audience capishe? He always does, he
just makes it look so easy we don't even notice. I
noticed there was a definite lack of control. But, in
true Nardini style, he did not give up, he dug in and by
the second set his guitar was ringin, his band was
hummin and the b.s. was oozin out, soothin the
masses...and all was right with the world. Norman got a
request for an old one, "Red Hot Lover". The guys
immediately jumped on it and although they hadn't played
it for at least 5 years, they gave it a beatin. I hope
he keeps playin that one. Whitey Cooper sang a great
version of James Brown's "Try Me". Norman also played
two new songs "This Is Where You Kiss Me" and
"Graceland". The night closed out with a special request
for Freddy Fender's "Who Were You Thinking Of". Hey
Poncho. hey Seeesco, I think we better went.
Notables in attendance: Nancy, Jillian, Bruce
May 22 - 2004
Map
Excuses: 2526 E. Carson St. (South Side),
Pittsburgh, PA (412) 431-4090
10:30 p.m. - 2 a.m. - Sat.
Norman's nuts! Period! Tonight he was havin fun singin
different words. Tonight's words were "Impetuous",
"Powerball" and "Panties" . He said he thought "Panties"
is the most fantastic of words. Then he used it in a
sentence as in "have you seen my panties?" Then answered
his own question. "No, But I will sniff around for
them". Norman played his new song "This is Where You
Kiss Me" and got a great reaction. He said it might be
worth learnin. He also did another new song "That Girl
Must Be From Graceland". Watch out for this song, I got
a feeling about it. Great version of "Little Things"
tonight. Also, a crushin "Poor Little Rich Kid". Norman
talked about the South Side tonight and how much he
loved it down there, even though the crowd comes in late
and is hopped up on goofballs. Norman kept bitchin about
bein a short person all night, so bartender Alisa
brought him out a phone book to stand on. You should
have seen him up there with that big smile on his face.
Seein things from a tall person's perspective for the
first time. It was beautiful.
Notables in attendance: Patty & Ron, Debbie &
Dale, Mr. & Mrs. Bubba all the way from wild and
wonderful West by God Virginia, Nick, Higgy, Osh,
Angelo, Hockey Hall of Famer Mike Lange
May 21 -
2004
Map
McArdle's Pub (click for their website!) 2811
Lincoln Way, White Oak, PA 15131 [412] 754-3722
9:30 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. Fri.
A rainy stormy night but the band played on. Tonight in
the first set Norman talked about a new song he wrote
this week. As he was talking about this romantic number,
he decided to try and play it right then. I wonder what
Whitey and Harry thinks when he b.s' s like that? It's
called "This Is Where You Kiss Me". It starts off filled
with romance but ends up being another of his white
trash tragedy's sure to put a smile on your face. Is he
a prophet?! Harry seemed to have a big smile on his face
all evening. The second set saw Whitey Cooper come up
front and Norm's cousin Pete Oddo on drums. Late night,
Norman and Harry changed the background vocals on "Got
My Mojo workin" to "We've Got Pete Oddo workin" It was
hilarious hearing them singing it and watching Pete
pound the skins at the same time. Guess you had to be
there. Norman seems to love playing hot guitar behind
Whitey's soulful vocals. A friend brought out a
beautiful new white Fender Stratocaster and let Norman
have his way with it. It ain't a virgin no mo dog!Last
but not least, there were many tall men and women. We
call it "Land Of The Giants" This one tall beautiful
young gal around 6'4" in a mini skirt age 22 kept
walking past Norm. He said "Just what I need, a girl
half my age and twice my size. I could die tonight. He
asked "Anybody have a shoe box" I couldn't stop laughing
all the way home about that one.
Notables in attendance: John & Karen and Mike, Andy
Oddo and a herd of young bucks.
May 15 -
2004
Map
Carhops: 2500 West Liberty
Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15226 412-561-5015
9:30 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. Sat.
Someone in the audience yelled up to the stage "I'm
trying to help you Norman!" He immediately went into the
blues groove "Help Me" and was off and runnin. Looks Are
Deceivin" rocked. Norman talked some wild b.s. about
mating out of species. Before the show and during the
break, the new long talked about "Redemption" CD was
playing over the loudspeaker system. You could see the
people in the room grooving to that mantled Pittsburgh
rock n roll sound. Norman said it was being manufactured
as we speak. Meanwhile, the entire first set was an
orgasmic phenomenon. Second set started with
"Boilermaker" by request. Late in the set, Norman tried
that new unrehearsed song "Graceland" and it seems to be
improving. "Rock You" by request, "Friend Of Mine" by
request, then "Gorilla", a track from the new album gave
Norman a chance to make monkey faces and talk about his
favorite subject "Monkey Love".
Notables in attendance: Tommy, Mary, Nick,
Beverly, Patty & Ron, Ted, Doug and Angela, Martha
May 14 -
2004
Map
Moondog's: 378 Freeport Rd, Blawnox, PA (412)
828-2040
10:00 p.m. - 2 a.m. - Fri.
The first set was more music than b.s. and that's cool
too! "How You Like Me Now", "That's Enough bout Me",
"Last Night I Had A Dream", "Nothin To Lose",
"Yesterday's Gone". Not too shabby! Norman read the
words to a new song he said he wrote yesterday called
"This Is Where You Kiss Me". No one would pay attention
to him and it seemed to piss him off, but I think it
made him play his guitar hotter. He's crazy you know?!
Second set..."My Old Rock N Roll Guitar", "Little
Things", "Mr. Right Now", "Who Dat Do Dat", "Someone I
Can't Live Without". Once again, not too shabby! Local
celebrity Chuck Koehler got up and did Elvis' "Teddy
Bear", then a reggae version of Elvis' "Can't Help
Falling In Love". Ronny "Moondog" Esser got up and
kicked Merle Haggard's "Are The Good Times Really Over"
and David Allen Coe's "You Don't Have To call Me
Darlin". Then Chuckie Koehler got back up and did Kris
Kristofferson's "For The Good Times".
Notables in attendance: Gil & Sue, Mark the vet,
Grant, Ron & Patty & Chuckie
May 10 -
2004
Map
Carhops: Norm is special guest with Carhops House
Band that features Herman Granati
2500 West Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15226 412-561-5015
8:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. Mon.
Club owner/drummer Bruce Slogan loves to egg Norman on
and it's probably not a good thing. A lot of Norman
versions in the audience tonight. He seems to enjoy that
most of all. The house band backing Norman up is pretty
cool. Danny G. on guitar plays with a modern sound and
modern techniques but seems to blend pretty well with
Norman's traditional guitar style . Bass player Paul
Dahl of Donnie Iris's band always seems to have a smile
on his face and is ready to put in the third vocal
harmony. He also picks up Norman's nonchalant stage
signals pretty well. Drummer, Bruce Slogan, plays a
simple is best drum style that just naturally sounds
good. Keyboard player and vocalist Herman Granati is
just a badass in his own right on vocals and keys. A
nice casual version of the old blues standard "Help Me"
got the night started. "I Shall Be Released", "Walkin To
My Baby", gave everybody a chance to stretch out. The
set closed with a great version of "Work Together" with
Norman crushin on slide guitar. The second set featured
a great cast of jammers. Sugar Ray on vocals, Joe B. on
guitar, Rodney on guitar, Rhonda Z. on vocals and as the
night went on, some fine unidentified younger talent
took the stage. Norman came back up to end the night
with a crushin version of "Like A Rollin Stone". Herman
Granti's version of Steve Winwood's "Gimme Some Lovin"
was the encore ending of the night. Good times!
Notables in attendance: Our good friend
Maria from
www.bluesbiz.com By the way, if you ever want to
find out what's going on around town in the Pittsburgh
blues scene and who's playing where, you gotta
check out and bookmark
www.bluesbiz.com ! It has everything you need to
know. Plus, due to our inadequacy a couple cocktails we
forgot to write down the rest of the list who came. Hey!
It's a bar!
May 8 - 2004
Map
Driving Directions
Penn Monroe Grill: 3985 William Penn Hwy,
Monroeville, PA 15146 412-373-1180
10:00 p.m. - 2 a.m. - Sat.
The Penn Monroe usually brings out the best in Norman.
Tonight as hard as he tried, he couldn't seem to get
that relationship with the audience. You know when it's
all goin so smooth and it just looks so easy. But all
that aside, the guys played great tonight. Highlights
were "Heartbreak Shake", "Three Times Your Fool" and a s
smokin version of "Friend of Mine" sent out to a couple
of girls from Missouri. Norman talked about the
Mississippi River and how romantic it is, but no one
seemed to care. Whatever! Norman tried out a new song
tonight that sounded like it might get really good. It's
called, "That Girl Must Be From Graceland". He swore
he'd actually try to practice it. "Ready Freddy" by
special request, made Norman yell out "Redemption is
comin!" Is Ya Been Redeemed?! "Boilermaker" smoked. The
night ended up with "Heat of The Night" into "Smoke Two
Joints".
Notables in attendance: Dave & Carol, Rat N
Betty, Nancy |
