Blues Fest 2003
Unlike Friday, Saturday opened with near perfect weather. While it was not very hot, Nick Curran and the Nitelifes were. Curran is known both for his retro look--shades and fedora--and retro sound, backed by Paul Klemperer on sax (tenor and occasional baritone), Damian Llanes on drums, and long-time band member Preston Hubbard on standup bass.
Curran had an unusual style of playing that minimized bends but had him pulling hard on his guitar strings. In another unusual move, he played the “whammy bar” on his guitar throughout an entire song. Curran and the Nitelifes covered a wide range of styles in their set, including rock and roll, surf, jump blues, Chicago blues, ballads, and jazz.
Chicago harmonica player Carey Bell was absent due to illness, but his band showed up, led by guitarist Steve Jacobs. A number of local players filled in for Bell, including Mike Metallia on harp.
Blues Fest acts Illinois Slim and Mary Hawkins provided vocals; Slim had played Friday and Hawkins played earlier that afternoon. Sarah Ayres Rhythm Recipe also did a blistering set.
Unfortunately, her singing was so spirited, Ayres was unable to compete the following night for the finals of the “Lehigh Valley Idol Search” at Indulge Restaurant.
Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson has performed with his Magic Rockers since he was a band member behind Magic Sam in the sixties and Muddy Waters in the seventies. Johnson was relaxed but energetic, playing for nearly two hours with backing that featured Lynwood “Cookie” Cooke on sax.
Johnson made his way through Muddy Waters standards like “Mannish Boy”, his own classics that included “On Your Way Fishin’”, “In My Younger Days”, and “Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On”, and the national anthem of the blues, “Sweet Home Chicago”. The sixty-four year old Johnson had such presence, his invitation to “meet me with no drawers on” sounded as if it would be far more than just a meeting of the minds.
- Dave Howell
(This article first appeared in The Morning Call newspaper.)
Curran had an unusual style of playing that minimized bends but had him pulling hard on his guitar strings. In another unusual move, he played the “whammy bar” on his guitar throughout an entire song. Curran and the Nitelifes covered a wide range of styles in their set, including rock and roll, surf, jump blues, Chicago blues, ballads, and jazz.
Chicago harmonica player Carey Bell was absent due to illness, but his band showed up, led by guitarist Steve Jacobs. A number of local players filled in for Bell, including Mike Metallia on harp.
Blues Fest acts Illinois Slim and Mary Hawkins provided vocals; Slim had played Friday and Hawkins played earlier that afternoon. Sarah Ayres Rhythm Recipe also did a blistering set.
Unfortunately, her singing was so spirited, Ayres was unable to compete the following night for the finals of the “Lehigh Valley Idol Search” at Indulge Restaurant.
Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson has performed with his Magic Rockers since he was a band member behind Magic Sam in the sixties and Muddy Waters in the seventies. Johnson was relaxed but energetic, playing for nearly two hours with backing that featured Lynwood “Cookie” Cooke on sax.
Johnson made his way through Muddy Waters standards like “Mannish Boy”, his own classics that included “On Your Way Fishin’”, “In My Younger Days”, and “Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On”, and the national anthem of the blues, “Sweet Home Chicago”. The sixty-four year old Johnson had such presence, his invitation to “meet me with no drawers on” sounded as if it would be far more than just a meeting of the minds.
- Dave Howell
(This article first appeared in The Morning Call newspaper.)