Thursday, August 15, 2013
I thought
Home...
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
When...
If...
Believe...
Believe in magic.
Believe in others.
Believe in yourself.
Believe in your dreams.
If you dont...
Who will?"
Jon Bon Jovi
Rumi
Be a smile for those who have no reason to smile.
be a light for those who live in darkness.
Rumi
Because God sends hope in the most desperate moments.
Don't forget, the heaviest rain comes out of the darkest clouds.
I can hear you already...
This weekend...
I just wanna...
Busy...
136?
I get it...
96...
Gotta get back in bed...
What other man...
relax...pretend I'm there with you laying your head on my chest listening to my heart knowing all is right with the world...
relax...shhhhhhhhhh...go to sleep as I run my fingers through your hair...
I understand...
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Rumi
Be patient, even if every possibility seems closed.
The friend has secret ways known to no one else.
(yes she does)
Are you getting email alerts?
Cause every time I post something it gets viewed right that second...
Maybe I should be the one being scared?
and by the way...with what I'm offering...you should be chasin after me...just sayin...lord knows you've probably chased after less...
think I don't know you...woman please...
I just get tired...
What don't make sense is...
Why would "John" just appear a year and 1000's of text later? Like it's a surprise to him now?
and if "John" was Travis? Why didn't he have any more to say after I saw him in Cookeville? It never bothered him at all till just now? Like he didn't know I was pursuing you? That dog just don't hunt...
And why so over the top with the threats?..."I'm gonna make it my point in life...with our incomes...I'm gonna call your cell carrier...gonna hack in your account and cause HIPPA violations" on and on and on..hit me right after I had just woke up as well...took me a lil by surprise...I was expecting YOU on the phone...
Fits a pattern of behavior however...one's an accident, two's a trend, three is a pattern...
This dog just don't hunt, it just don't...not after I done said all I did and been everywhere I done been...sombodys scared shitless she done found the real thing...yeah, Ive been called a wild man a time or two...thing is there's only one woman on this earth I wanna be wild with...wonder who that might be Lucy?...
You better treat me like a king is all I got to say...
You wait...
I see...
"...Ink by late fall, here by Christmas, ceremony late spring, Destin next fall..." Why you keep looking at it if you're so "scared"? You're so full of shit, always have been...
'I fell in love with her the third time I was ever around her, I've been chasin her for over a year, she won't give me the time of day"."That's an act, she's not like that, she's not that cold-hearted"...Like I didn't already know, woman please...
I'm tired of the nonsense...
Monday, August 12, 2013
69...
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Your future life...
House paid off...
Quiet country living
Garden
Swing
Sunsets
Bike Rides
Fires
Camping
Weekend getaways
Awesome step son
Concerts
Kayaking
Festivals
Fairs
Hammock
Sunday Naps
I could go on and on, but you get the idea...
You are commanded to be couragous. To get what you want you're gonna have to do what you thought you never could, it's the way it works sometimes sweetheart...I'm here to help any way I can, but this is your battle, no one elses...
Rumi
for paper can be erased.
Nor is it etched on Stone,
for stone can be broken.
But it is inscribed on a Heart
and there it shall remain
forever.
Night beautiful, sweet dreams, stay safe, Love you...
Rumi
who is your begining and your end.
When you find that one,
you'll no longer expect anything else.
Rumi
For your silence to break,
For your soul to shake,
For your love to wake!
They got your back as well...
Im not going to go into all the gory details but the first thing you have to do is admit that there is a problem. Then you have to want to fix the problem. Then you get to the point where you actually take the steps necesary to correct the problem. Sometimes depending on the severity and the length of the abuse this step can need to be drastic. It's just the way it is.
Victims generally believe that things are all their fault. It's not. What has been happening would have been happening with someone else if it wasn't you. It's what abusers do. They abuse. It's their fault. Lots of times what keeps someone "hooked" is the moments of clarity where you can see what attracted you to the person in the first place. That, "if we could just be like this all the time" feeling that you know deep in your soul is just never going to happen. Intermitent reinforcement is a powerfull psychological tool in the abuser arsenal. They don't even know they are doing it. It's all subconsiuos. The unintended side effect is the victim stays around a lot longer than they should. Guilt is also a common feeling among abuse victims as if somehow they could have fixed things or they must not be good enough or this person wouldn't be acting this way. It's nonsense, don't allow yourself to feel it. This is very easy for someone with a fragile sense of self or who is very insecure to buy into. Don't do it. The truth is we all deserve to be treated with courtsey, respect and dignity, and if someone truely loves you, they want you to be the person they know you want to be. Doesn't matter if it's family, friends, husbands, wives, etc. (Nicholas told me once he thought he might be gay, I didn't flip, I just looked at him and said just as seriously as I could, "I don't care if you turn out to be a polka-dot hermapherdite, I just want you to be happy, not successful, not rich, just happy...he just looked at me like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Our relationship has blossemed even more from that point on as he knows, no matter what, I will accept him. Now days he doesn't know if he is bi/gay/straight, but the more girls seem to come around to him the more he seems to lean in the straight direction lol). Point is, when people truely love you, they want you to be you, not somebody they think you should be, but who you really are. Isnt this what our creator really wants for us? I think somebody said once "he wants us to be with somebody we can truely be ourselves around". Why on earth would we want or accept any less? To do so is to invite misery into our lives.
Other things "John" said and other misc things that have been buzzing around the back of my cerebelum like a pack of annoying gnats:
"With our income we will make you miserable I will spend... blah blah blah..." Really? The "With our income..." part, dude, that was my line, sorry, nice try...More like he is mooching off of your income to support himself. Every address I ever found, shortly after, he shows up. Can he not find someplace to live and work on his own?
Abusers alienate their victims from their families and their friends so there is no support network in place. To me, from the outside looking in, this seems to be what has happened here. "It's like he brainwashed her or something". It's a recurring theme in abuse cases. "Your not good enough", "No one else would want you". After so long hearing it people start to believe it. It's just not true. Ofcourse some one else wants you. Someone who would love and cherish you and encourage and support you, in all your endevors. To me, this is where "John" has made one of his his biggest miscalculations. You already have a support network in place. It's ready. It's been ready. People know all about you. My family and friends will love and accept and support you the second they see you. All you have to do is make up your mind to come. I'll marry you the next day. When you come to be with us, wheres John going to go? He won't be able to weasel his way in this time. Sorry dude, gigs up. He is making two other gross miscalculations as well: 1) that you won't ever have the guts to do what your going to do someday as this situation is obviously unlivable at this point and 2) for some reason he thinks I'm scared of him and his bull shit. Let me just tell you this, my son lives at my house, all he has ever wanted is peace and calm in his life. We're almost there. You think I'm going to let this drunk abusive jack ass show up and ruin our calm and peace and quiet that I have worked all my life for? Does that even remotely sound like something that I would ever even begin to let happen Lucy? I told you a long time ago. Mess with me, thats one thing, mess with my boy? Oh, let me tell you, you aint ever even begun to see shit yet. The only occasion I ever had more adrenaline pumping through my veins than I did when I wrecked the bike was when I was driving to the hospital the night things went down with Nicholas and his mom. Trust me when I tell you it's not something he wants to be around and see. This is all without even mentioning you in the equation. Do you see my point? So when you come be with us, where is "John" going to move to this time since he obviously can't be with you? Tell City? Owensboro? Where is he going to work? What is he going to do to mess with us? Sheriff lives less than quarter mile down the road. He keeps an eye on the properity as he knows I'm in Louisville frequently. Even when not on duty he checks out my home when driving by. Christian (far left in pic, lives in the trailor behind me) flips out if I drive my step moms truck home, or he so much as hears a strang noise coming from my place. My friends don't just have my back, they got yours as well. Shit just will not happen. If he thought he was going to scare me away yesterday, he was sadly mistaken, all he did was strengthen my resolve and my commitment to you. You've got to do the work, but I'm here to help, every which way I can. He will be the outcast with no friends or family if he comes to our little community, they just don't last long. Real men don't threaten, they just do. He showed me who he really is yesterday. To say the least, I'm not impressed. If it was true what he said, if you were truely scared on my behalf, there would not have been 30+ page views yesterday, or 20 the day after the Black Crowes show, or the 21 the day after our court date. So I thank you for that, I know whats up. "Years if that s what it takes..." meant every word
.
Your mom knows, your brothers know, your sister knows, and now I know "John" knows...I saw that twinkle in your eye in Yahoo Chat. It was the same twinkle that was there when you came down the steps at Kindred. Time hasn't disapated it in the least, nor has it disapated the twinkle in my heart for you either...Know why Lucy? Cause it's never going to...peace
Saturday, August 10, 2013
My conversation with "John"...
It's funny. I know your going to check here and see if there was anything posted. It's the last safe place for me to message you, so I will. Great minds think alike. No wonder you went away. He found out about POF, text, Yahoo etc...everytime I thought you were running from me, it was actually him finding out about you :-(...This love is devine, it flows from on high, fear comes rom an evil place, love defeates evil everytime...eveytime.
John is scared, his emotional punching bag is slipping away from him, he can feel it, hell, I can feel it or he wouldn't be responding the way he did today. I pray for your saftey. Going forward, I will only seek to communicate with you from here. Only because I know you can see this at your work on computers there. Do a bunch of page views by opening and closing the browser tab and I'll see it and I'll know to continue posting. I'll see the number of page views, (they don't count my own) and I 'll know you saw what I had to say. Nobody else ever looks at this anymore but you. I'll never post anything unless it's for you. Consider this a shrine to our love dingleberry.
No wonder you mask the numbers. It's not that you want to, you feel you have to to protect yourself from him. That's sad. It's no way to live your life. But that's a choice you are making. If that's something you feel like you have to continue to live with, thats the choice you have made and you will live with the consequences of those decisions for the rest of your life. I have no doubt, he has threatened your life, his life, my life, etc...It's what they do. It's no way to live...
John said some interesting things in our conversation. He was going to file this complaint and that complaint and he had been to the sherrifs office with you and done this and done that. I wouldn't have done any of that. I would have just went with you to file the harrassment charges. I don't know how many text there have been over the last year, 1000's...to go now and say your scared for your physicaly saftey? Prosecuters where I live would have told you to change the number. He said he was going to hack into work and make all kinds of HIPPA violations in my name etc etc etc...so he obviously knows a lil about me. He said he will come where I live. Okay. Agian, who is stoping him? Be a bully to a bully and they crawfish everytime. I saw the look in his eyes in Cookeville, he wasn't so emboldened then. Easy to hide behind a phone. But why all the threats? Just do it if thats what he wants to do, nobody is stoping him. "I will make it my point in life...blah blah blah..."...he said. Maybe it scared others away in the past and they thought this just aint worth it. Well I aint them and theirs wasn't true love. "John" doesn't scare me. I tell Nicholas all the time. The people that threaten to do things all the time? They never do it. People that do things don't threaten others with it. They just go do it. "John" is threatening things these days only because "John" feels threatened. Thats pretty easy to see. His emotional punching bag is slipping away from his control. Once your mind has been expanded sweetie, it never fits back in the same box..."It's like he brainwashed her" the neighbor said. Now I know in no uncertian terms what she meant. Even Nicholas could figure that one out. He also said something of the effect of "...so just go to the bar...". Tells me all I need to know about him right there. That's what he would do, that's probably what he does while your at home alone and miserable. I don't go to bars, never did, never will, really just never saw the attraction. Funny how people think we must all think like they do. That's him projecting himself onto me. How about "No Thanks".
You don't have to live this way, you just don't. Your making a choice to do so, based largely on fear. It's understandable and since your saftey from any more of his abuse is paramount at this point then I will not text or email. Only post things here.
Tina Turner was abused every which way by Ike Turner. Sexually, physically, verbally, emotionaly, for years and years on end she endured this. Finally one day after a brutal beating she walked into a Hotel in Beverly Hills, nose bleeding, black eyes, bloddy lips...her voice quivering, the desk clerk just looked at her like "what is this?" It was Beverly Hills. She told him she didn't have a penny, she didn't have a credit card, but she needed a room or she was going to be dead. The clerk, agianst all rules, got a room for her, she nursed herself back to health, got the restarining order agianst Ike. Eventually she paid the money back to the hotel. Went on to have a wonderful solo carreer she never could have had with Ike. To this day she credits that hotel clerk for saving her life and for helping her see she COULD get out from under Ike's control.
Sweetheart, I'm your hotel clerk. When the time is right, a year from now, two years from now, tomorrow, whenever...pack a bag in the middle of the night when he is passed out asleep and come start your new life with us. I will not let any harm come to you that I myself can prevent. This is my promise, this is my dream, this is what I will work hard everyday of my life for, all day, every day, till the end of days...peace.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Why you should never eat at Austin's Restaurant in Louisville KY.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Forth of July Playlist...
Chuck Berry - Back in the USA
Amos Lee - Freedom
Shooter Jennings - 4th of July
The BoDeans - Freedom
Smashing Pumpkins - Geek USA
The Byrds - Chimes of Freedom
The Beach Boys - Surfing U.S.A.
Crosby Stills and Nash - Find the Cost of Freedom
John Mellencamp - R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
Dave Matthews Band - Cry Freedom
Steve Miller Band - Living in the U.S.A.
Junior Brown - Freedom Machine
Bruce Springsteen - 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Keith Urban - Freedom's Finally Mine
Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove
Lenny Kravitz - Freedom Train
Soundgarden - 4th of July
Luther Allison - Freedom
U2 - 4th of July
Rage Agianst the Machine - Freedom
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - First Flash of Freedom
X - 4th of July
Toots Hibbert - Freedom Train
Lucinda Williams - Metal Firecracker
Martina McBride - Independence Day
John Mellencamp - Justice and Independence
U2 - Freedom for My People
Monday, June 13, 2011
Black Keys White River State Park 61011
The Black Keys brought their brand of lo-fi, blues based garage rock to Indianapolis's White River State Park on Friday June 10th, 2011. While I am not sure that this performance would have won over any new converts to the band, judging by the reaction of the faithful that were in attendance that evening, everyone seemed pleased with the show.
Opening the show was Booker T (of Booker T and the MG's fame). It's good to see a legend like Booker T back to recording and touring. It had been 28 years since Booker T had released a studio recording until 2009's Potatoe Hole (with the Drive by Truckers). Booker T gave a solid performance, offering up material from his new album, "The Road to Memphis" as well as material from his days at Stax Records including: "Green Onions", "Take me to the River", "Hold on, I'm Comin" and closing with "Time is Tight".
But this night belonged to The Black Keys. Their most recent album "Brothers" has launched the group into a larger audience than ever before, winning Grammys in 2010 for "Tighten Up" (Best Rock performance by a duo or group with vocal), and Best Alternative Music Album, for "Brothers". ("Brothers" was also Rolling Stone Magazine's #2 Best Albums of 2010.) Not bad for a group that recorded their first two albums in drummer Patrick Carney's basement on an eight track tape recorder.
I admit I came around late to the group, but felt "Brothers" was a solid offering and wanted to see what a Drummer and Guitar Player Duo could do in a live setting. Let's just say their live shows are like the Black Keys music, minimalistic and straight forward, no frills rock and roll. Except for a huge Mirror Ball during "Everlasting Light" and a large grid of lights that spelled out "The Black Keys" during their closing numbers, there were no special effects. Not a lot of audience participation either, just a steam roller hour and a half set I don't think anyone would want to get in the way of.
The playing of the older songs first with just Dan Auerback on guitar and Patrick Carney on drums, then later adding bassist Nick Movshon and Keyboardist Leon Michaels for the newer songs, did away with the awkwardness some artist struggle with of trying to mix the old material with the new. While some of the older die hard fans may have been aghast at the adding of bass and keyboards, true artist grow, evolve, and challenge themselves. Simply put, there's a reason "Brothers" has won the accolades it has.
Highlights of the set included: "Busted", "Everlasting Light", "Howling for You", Booker T sitting in on "Ten Cent Pistol" (My personal favorite of the evening) and "Tighten Up" on which Dan Auerbacmk's voice was stellar.
The question becomes, what do you do with a band that never planed on making it this big? How do you allow them to reach their new audience while remaining true to themselves and their music? I really don't have the answer to that question, and to be honest, for an hour and a half on a beautiful night outdoors in Indianapolis in June with some good company, I really wasn't worried about it, I just enjoyed the show.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Monday, October 25, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
JJ Grey and Mofro Headliners Louisville KY 10/15
On a beautiful October Friday night JJ Grey and his band-mates Mofro brought their funky brand of southern fried front porch soul to Headliners Music Hall in Louisville KY. JJ's second release for Alligator Records, Georgia Warhorse, is a solid offering, showing off the various styles that have earned this band a very loyal fan base. This show featured five songs from the new CD, it's always interesting when a band tries to merge old and new songs together.
For the uninitiated, JJ Grey and Mofro are a hard band to categorize, part Jam Band, part Blues Band, part James Brown meets George Clinton with a killer horn section funk and soul revue type of thing.
It didn't take long to see how the new songs would translate live. The opening number "The hottest spot in hell" was given the full throttle treatment that somehow seems lacking on the CD. As my friend said "I cant believe the difference between these guys live and the CD". The very funky "Dirt Floor Cracker" followed. It seemed obvious the party was on and old and new material could meld seamlessly together.
When people compare JJ's singing style to Otis Redding, it's easy to write it off as hyperbole. Anyone that heard " A Woman" on this night would understand this is simply not the case. Half the battle is simply getting your audience to believe you're passionate about that which you sing, and this is where JJ excels. "You guys came ready tonight", he said to an enthusiastic crowd, who then responded by singing along with the chorus on several occasions.
The Hercules Horns generally provide a powerful punch to Mofro's shows, and this night was no exception. There were stellar solos on "Orange Blossoms", "Everything Good is Bad" and the fan favorite "Ho Cakes". "Georgia Warhorse" the title song from the new CD, was as low down dirty blues as it gets. The encore consisted of two songs "King Hummingbird" (again off the new CD), which is probably better left to JJ's solo acoustic sets than a club setting, and another funky fan favorite "On Fire".
If you like all things southern fried, with healthy side portions of Stax inspired (not ripped off) soul, and some funky horns for a sweaty good time, go see these guys live. As another person in our group said "They're fun".
The problem with uncategorizable bands is, no matter how passionate and talented, the record companies don't ever seem to know how to market them to their appropriate audience, so breaking out to a mainstream audience is very difficult. Meanwhile the Justin Biever's and Jonas Brothers of the world get rich, while talented bands like JJ Grey and Mofro are relegated to sweating out a living on the road touring relentlessly. Somehow I get the impression JJ and his band mates don't really mind. As JJ would say... "ba bap a lam bap a lam...on fire...."
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Monday, December 7, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
The 09 WC Handy Blues Festival Playlist
Okay so these are the songs on the 09 Handy Play-list. Some are actual songs performed by the artist that were there, some are the originals that were covered by artist @ the 09 Handy Fest, some might be the only song that I had by that artist, some might be a song that wasn't performed by a particular artist but I wish it had been...you get the idea...Artist are showcased in the chronological order that they appeared. I think this years playlist has a wide variety of blues sub-genres in it and it flows pretty well with possibly a few exceptions. The goal here is for people to find something they didn't expect to like, and wouldn't have found otherwise...
Track 1 "Stack o' Lee Blues" By Mississippi John Hurt. Eric Bibb opened both of his sets with this song. This song later morphed into what is now know as "Stagger Lee". Not the greatest of sound quality but what do you expect from something that was recorded in the early 30's? It tells a great story if you can make it out. Guess where Mississippi John Hurt was born? Yep, Alabama, go ask Joe, he can tell you all about it.
Track 2 "Shine On" By Eric Bibb. Awesome song. Only song of this Grammy nominated artist that I had in my collection. Wasn't played at the 09 Handy Fest, but feel like it showcases Mr. Bibb's talent in a big way.
Track 3 "What you gonna do now?" By The Tommy Castro Band. Song comes from his #1 album (On the Billboard Blues Charts, yes there is such a thing) "Gratitude". Love the horns. The Gratitude CD came out around the time that David and I attended the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, so it's kind of special.
Track 4 "Big Sisters Radio" By The Mighty Mike Schermer Band. The Tommy Castro band performed this song at this years festival. Me and Dave were like "Who does this?!", "Who does this?!", "We have this song!" We couldn't remember for nothin'...Bout three songs later I was like "It's The Mighty Mike Schermer Band!" If you like this song I guarantee you will like the whole CD.
Track5 "Serves Me Right to Suffer/Syndicator" By John Lee Hooker w/Van Morrison. Maybe the most unapproachable song on the play list for the uninitiated? Just a hunch... Also known as somebody please stop my porch from spinning at 3 AM music. The Tommy Castro Band's version at the Handy Fest included Tommy strolling thru the crowd soloing. For reasons it would take way to long to explain here in this forum, this song holds a special significance for me. I do loves me some John Lee...
Track 6 "Meet me in the City" By Junior Kimbrough. A blues band from Wichita, Kansas introduces me to a Northern Mississippi Hill Country Blues-man that I had never of before. Whats not to love about that? Had to go find the CD. Not a bad song on "The Essential Junior Kimbrough" Moreland and Arbuckle did a fine job with this number at the Handy Fest. I can still hear their version in my head.
Track 7 "Bring It On Home" By Willie Dixon. Don't get me started bout Willie Dixon and what he wrote or played bass on, the list is simply too long, lets just say The Doors, The Stones and a ton of others owe a huge deal of gratitude to Mr. Dixon. What's not to love about this song? Lil Walter on Harp (I believe?), Hubert Sumlin on guitar. If you were wondering where Zepplin got that shit from, well, they got it from here. The Nighthawks did a most admirable job with this song Sat. afternoon.
Track 8 "Woke Up This Morning" By The Alabama Three. Song has appeared the last few years at the Handy Fest. Tommy Castro plays it as his lead in number which kind of gets everybody all fired up. This year the Nighthawks played it live, stripped down without all the special effects, samples and loops, and they played it very well.
Track 9 "Mystery Train" By Elvis Presley. First time for everything I suppose, Elvis makes the Handy Fest Play list! Song was written by Junior Parker and Sam Phillips borrowing heavily from the Carter Family's "Worried Man Blues" and was the flip side of Elvis's "I forgot to Remember to Forget" which spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Counrty Charts in 1956. The Nighthawks once agian whippin out some old school stuff here. Always loved this song. Odd case where the flip side of the single became the more memorable song.
Track 10 "Spoonful" By Howlin Wolf. "I came out and I didn't have no money and I've been Howlin ever since" Wolf says in "The Howling Wolf Story". Howlin Wolf on vocals, Willie Dixon on bass, Hubert Sumlin on guitar, Otis Spann on piano, how much better does it get? The Rock - n - Roll Hall of Fame listed it as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll, and Rolling Stone Magazine list it #219 in their 500 greatest songs of all time. To see Hubert Sumlin playing this live (with The Nighthawks) was just awesome, he's 80+ years old and it looked like he was having the time of his life. I changed my ring tone and the wallpaper on my phone in tribute to Mr. Sumlin after seeing him live.
Track 11 "Killing Floor" By Howling Wolf. Most people have heard the Hendrix version of this song, particularly the live version from Montery Pop. Opening riff in this tune just absolutely kills me. Mostly the same suspects as listed above, Howling Wolf on Vocals, Hubert Sumlin on Guitar etc...Not played at this years Handy Fest, but it should have been!! Hubert Sumlin and The Nighthawks could have played this song and "Spoonful" and walked off the stage and I would still be raving about it to everyone.
Track 12 "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" By Stevie Ray Vaughn. Played by Albert Cummins at this years handy fest...winds kickin up, banners blowing all over the place, dark clouds rollin in off the river and Albert says, "it's just Jimi passin through..." pretty unforgettable stuff. Something cool about havin a Henrix cover follow a song that Hendrix covered in the flow of this years play list.
Track 13 "It's 2 AM" By Shemekia Copeland. Her set got cut short due to rain and I don't have any of her newer stuff, but me and Dave (and Black Cloud) saw this woman absolutely tear the house down in front of 30,000+ people with this song.
Track 14 "Hold that Train" By Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials. From their Alligator Records release "Full Tilt". I couldn't tell you where I even found this, but I had a hunch and did a search and sure enough 1 lone Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials song shows up in my collection. I don't even know if they played Saturday night (due to the rain) or not but after hearing this I would have liked to have seen them. Maybe next time.
Lookin forward to readin some comments...
Now playing: Big Twist & the Mellow Fellows - 300 Pounds of Heavenly Joy via FoxyTunesThursday, July 16, 2009
Hubert Sumlin at WC Handy
I just can't believe I saw this man play live, for free, in Henderson Kentucky...It is a travesty that Hubert Sumlin is not in the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame with all the players that he has influenced through the generations..."lil red rooster", "back door man", "spoonful," "killing floor", "wang dang doodle", "how many more years", "evil", "smokestack lightnin" , or "shake for me" ring a bell? That's Hubert Sumlin on guitar...
There is simply not a rock guitarist worth their salt that hasn't been influenced by the man..."a true legend of the blues Hubert was born in Greenwood Mississippi and as a boy he was awed by the great blues players he heard live, like Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Charlie Patton, and the great Son House. Howling Wolf brought Hubert to Chicago and the rest as they say is history. Hubert contributed some of the most memorable blues guitar breaks ever heard on his Chess recordings with Howling Wolf in the 50's and 60's. Hubert has inspired generations of blues guitarist. Artist as diverse as Carl Perkins, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones have sought Hubert out as a direct connection to the roots of the electric blues guitar..."
The man is 80+ years old, has had one lung removed due to cancer, and here he was with the heat index registering at 100+ degrees, playing to the faithful. Do you think he was doing it for the money? Or do you think he was doing it because it is what he loves to do? When he came onstage the crowd stood up and surged forward to see this one of a kind blues legend up close and personal. Thanks WC Handy organizers for bringing an artist of this stature to the festival this year.
Now playing: Howlin' Wolf - SpoonfulMonday, July 6, 2009
Eric Bibb at the WC Handy Blues Fest
We were blessed enough to see Grammy nominated Eric Bibb on both Wednesday and Saturday. I had a song of his from a Blues Revue Magazine Sampler CD called "Shine On" and I loved it. I knew my buddy Dave was going to like him as well. My buddy Dave's always been more into the singer songwriter types than me so I knew this would be right up his alley. First song he opened both his sets with was Mississippi John Hurts "Stack o' Lee Blues". Which was the basis for a song that later became to be known as "Stagger Lee". Ask Joe where Mississippi John Hurt was born, it's kind of an inside joke but it's still funny. I asked Mr. Bibb if he was going to play "Shine On "during Saturdays set but he said that since he had recorded that particular song "with about 50 other players" that he might have to save it for the next festival when he has a band with him. I said "well it's a great song" and he said 'well thank you very much"...Thats one of the great thing about thw WC Handy Fest, the ability to see the artist up close...I Don't really remember too much about Wednesdays set (me and Dave both blame Joe for that!), but highlights from Saturdays set included, "Connected", "Saucer and Cup"(excellent word play) and "Kokomo". I hope he comes back I would love to see him again.
Tommy Castro at the WC Handy Blues Fest
Wow, what more is there to say? Me and Dave had a cd by this guy and we thought he was okay, then we saw him live 2 years ago headlining on Saturday night at the WC Handy and we were both absolutely blown away. When we saw he was going to be back on a Wednesday night with Eric Bibb opening we were both like "were there!" Best described as "blues rockin, memphis soul shakin, get down, get right, have a party tonight" music. The Trumpet player Tom Poole is a Grammy award winner and me Dave and Joe could all see why. The sax player Keith Grossman is an 18 year veteran of the Tommy Castro Band and is a BMA (Blues Music Association) nominated Instrumentalist of the year so you can imagine how awesome the horn section was. Tommy Castro himself is also a BMA award winner (also know as the Bammies) having won the B.B. King Entertainer of the year award last year. This makes two out of the last three years that the WC Handy Fest has had the reigning Blues Entertainer of the year award winner. Set Highlights included: "what u gonna do now", a cover of the Mighty Mike Schurmer Bands "Big Sisters Radio" and an awesome cover of John Lee Hooker's (if you know me, you know how I feel bout John Lee) "serves me right to suffer" (which for some reason still strikes a cord with me these days) which included Tommy walking through the crowd soloing...awesome...As Joe said ' he's not just a good player, he's an entertainer, a professional"...absolutely
Now playing: Tommy Castro - What You Gonna' Do Now?
Moreland and Arbuckle at the WC Handy Fest
Dave was busy with geo-caching and I had never heard of these guys so we took our time and didn't worry about tryin to make in at 12:00. We wish we had. Even on years where we are not completely sold on the line up, when we come around this one corner we see the river, the stage, the people, and hear the music something just happens inside. This year was just like that. Were a block away and Dave says he likes what he hears. Best described as "rural earthy blues with real drive and power"Aron Moreland says "we dig led zepplin as much as we do little walter" and thats just about what they sounded like. Mr. Moerland whipped out a "cigar box guitar" for a couple of songs. The thing is weird as hell and dave says it sounded like a bass and a guitar at the same time. I thought they were a local band, turns out they're from Wichita, Kansas. First blues band I have ever heard from Kansas. But hey, anybody that whips out a blues artist that I hadn't heard of doing a song I had never heard, well that's all right with me. Set Highlight was Junior Kimbroughs "Meet Me in the City" I actually had to go find it to include in the 09 WC Handy Fest play list. Turns out Junior Kimbrough is from Northern Mississippi and was close to RL Burndise, Fat Possum Records, the North Mississippi All Stars and all that crew. Enjoyed what we heard, hope they come back, wouldn't miss it next time.
Now playing: Junior Kimbrough - Meet Me In The City
The Nighthawks
This was Hubert Sumlin's back up band for the WC Handy Fest. They came out and played for about 45 minutes or so before Hubert came out and joined them. Dave really didn't like the singers voice that much, but what the hell? It's the blues right? Anyway, they were solid but nothing all that spectacular. I think the fact that we were so geeked up for Hubert might have had a lot to do with that...Set Highlights included: "Bring it on Home", Alabama 3's "Woke up this Morning" (also know as the Sopranos Theme song). This particular song has a history at the Handy festival, Tommy Castro played it as his introduction several years ago when he was headlining on Saturday night, and he did so again this year. This was the first time I can remember hearing an artist playing it live. Other set highlights included "Mystery Train" and Howlin Wolfs classic "Spoonfull" featuring Hubert Sumlin. Actually Hubert's whole set was awesome (set related post), but I thought these guys did a really admirable job on "Spoonful".
Now playing: Elvis Presley - Mystery Train
via FoxyTunes
Albert Cummins & Shemekia Copeland at the 2009 WC Handy Blues Fest
I decided to do both of these artist together as 1 Blog Post due to the fact they both had their sets cut short due to the thunderstorms that came in off of the river. I had heard of Albert Cummins a while back and I have a version of him doing "99 and a half", and I always really liked it and it seemed like he could really wail so I was looking forward to seeing him. We (me and dave) had seen Shemekia twice before, once at the Tampa Bay Blues Festival and once when she opened for Buddy Guy at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville so we knew what she brings to the table. Albert was inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughn, and SRV's back up band Double trouble thought enough of him to record a record together. Thats pretty high praise in my book. Rest of the band was a little bit lackluster, but hey it's free live music in the park the Saturday before fathers day so who's complainin? Somebody yelled out "Hendrix' and he said "do they let you play that down here?" He then launched into Voodoo Chile. A couple of minutes into it that storm kicked up the wind, and the black clouds came rollin in and Albert said "it's just Jimi passin through"...it was an awesome sight. Me an Dave always take cover in the caboose behind a building in the park, this was the second year we have had to do so, but we don't mind, we figure we're there for the duration anyway. Due to the rain Alberts set was cut short and Shemeika took the stage. She played some new songs off her new record and although I couldn't tell you the name of any of them I enjoyed them. She always bring a ton of energy to her shows, and seeing her do "ghetto child" acapella was very much worth waiting the rain out. Her Bass player makes the funkiest faces, and played a really skinny upright Bass that was crazy. The announcer said Shemekia's shoes (six inch spiked zebra stripped stilettos) were the best to ever grace the stage at the Handy Fest, but to me that honor goes to Ana Popovic's gold lame stilettos from last year. Something bout gold lame I guess... I tried and tried to get a good picture of Shemekias' shoes but the on stage monitors were always in the way.
Now playing: Shemekia Copeland - Ghetto Child
via FoxyTunes
