"Curtis Salgado"
It would be hard to find a more low-key blues personality. He announced himself by saying, "I'm Curtis Salgado from Portland, Oregon," instead of reciting the usual, "How ya'll doin' out there?" And he was almost apologetic when he later introduced his fine harp playing, saying, "This looks like a crowd that likes harmonica."
But the power was there when he began to sing. You could feel the soul in Salgado's vocals, which were strong but never overdone. He's a storyteller instead of a screamer, singing about relationships as if he has lived through each one of them.
In a show unfortunately cut to an hour and a half due to time constraints, he went through Chicago blues, Louisiana music ("the land of red beans and slot machines"), rock and roll, and funk.
At times it seemed that at least half of the two hundred or so audience members were on the dance floor at Emmaus's Owl's Nest. It was hard to resist energetic numbers like "Wiggle Outta This," "I Feel So Good," and "Money Must Think I'm Dead," the latter from Salgado's new release "Strong Suspicion" (Shanachie 2004).
By the time Salgado ended with James Brown's "Sex Machine," the audience was ready to keep going, even though it was Sunday night and most were past their Party Machine years.
Before Salgado, three bands competed to represent the LVBN at the Blues Foundation's International Blues Competition. The Mary Hawkins Band won over Sarah's Blues Recipe and the Dave Mell Blues Band. As one of the judges, I can say that it was a tough call trying to choose between three fine female vocalists (Sarah Ayres and Ellen Mell in the latter two bands).
- Dave Howell, 6/04
(This article first appeared in The Morning Call newspaper.)
But the power was there when he began to sing. You could feel the soul in Salgado's vocals, which were strong but never overdone. He's a storyteller instead of a screamer, singing about relationships as if he has lived through each one of them.
In a show unfortunately cut to an hour and a half due to time constraints, he went through Chicago blues, Louisiana music ("the land of red beans and slot machines"), rock and roll, and funk.
At times it seemed that at least half of the two hundred or so audience members were on the dance floor at Emmaus's Owl's Nest. It was hard to resist energetic numbers like "Wiggle Outta This," "I Feel So Good," and "Money Must Think I'm Dead," the latter from Salgado's new release "Strong Suspicion" (Shanachie 2004).
By the time Salgado ended with James Brown's "Sex Machine," the audience was ready to keep going, even though it was Sunday night and most were past their Party Machine years.
Before Salgado, three bands competed to represent the LVBN at the Blues Foundation's International Blues Competition. The Mary Hawkins Band won over Sarah's Blues Recipe and the Dave Mell Blues Band. As one of the judges, I can say that it was a tough call trying to choose between three fine female vocalists (Sarah Ayres and Ellen Mell in the latter two bands).
- Dave Howell, 6/04
(This article first appeared in The Morning Call newspaper.)