march 13th - post BCBM kickoff

so, the kickoff show is done. all the gear has been packed up and the last rocks glass of jim beam has long been drunk. the show as a whole was a huge success for BCBM, and for all the bands on the bill. i know that the The Ten Foot Polecats most definitely made fans for themselves in Northampton, but they also got the ball rolling for building a deep blues audience in western Massachusetts in a huge way. i owe them for that - big time!

the breakdown of the show was like this. all the bands were there and ready to load in on time and got things up and running right on schedule. this was great because i didn't want to have any of the set times get cut because we had a curfew to work with. once every thing was all set, Jeff Norwood  got things started with a smokin' set of South Carolina goodness like only he can deliver. i'm  a huge fan of the title track of his latest CD "Push Pilin'" and of another tune he does called "God Damn South Carolina", both of these songs he performed at the show and both times were textbook examples of how all live acts should own the moment when performing. the stories behind the songs and the way he presents them almost as an integral part of the song is nothing short of brilliance. i truly wish that the late arrivals of the show were there to see this for themselves - they'll have to wait till the next time he's in our area again. i know i'm looking forward to it!

next up was my band Damon Reeves & Co. - we recorded the set and after a review (mainly for sound quality) i'd like to post it for folks to hear. Damon was completely in his element - hands down! when the guy is in the moment and the energy of the room is good, it comes back out to the audience in a great interactive performance. simply put the room was buzzing with a great kind of energy that makes playing live worth all the effort put into it.

The TFPC's jumped right up there and then the whiskey started flowing! Those guys are the real deal - all bullshit aside, what they do is play truly kickass hill country style down and DIIIIIIIIIIIRTY blues! i have been wanting to share a bill with these guys for a couple years now,  never seemed to come together until last night! those guys had the audience in the palm of their hand for the entire set. Jim Chilson's guitar work just sucks you right in to the song - while Jay's voice just just holds you there, the guy is pretty much Howlin' Wolf with a slight Boston accent! they do a nasty version of Robert Johnson's "Dead Shrimp Blues" which they played last night. Another song that just grabs me is "Tears on my windshield" - so friggen good!

we got wrapped up and loaded out on time. everything went off without a hitch. i cannot wait to do it again!

there were a few folks who made it out tot he show from Providence RI - which blew me away! James Keyes also made it out from Worcester - he's another artist i want to have play a show out here and think he'd also make some new fans out this way. I love that we had such a good amount of people show up for the event. i do feel that i made the right decision having the show at the basement. i feel that the vibe was great - small enough of a room to make it feel like it was really jamming. that's half the battle, really. if you put your event in too big a room all the energy you are hoping to have in there has too much empty space to fill. almost like it gets diluted to a point where you can't detect it.

still stoked and looking forward to the next one!


this tubby bitch needs another coffee...

-Beef... out!

 

lazy thursday night...

post dinner relax time with the family in the living room. kids watching alice in wonderland via netflix (the one with Ben Kingsley and Whoopi Goldberg), wife and i computing from our designated seats. couldn't ask for anything more! even knowing that tomorrow is friday only makes the deal that much sweeter.

got a phone call from a venue in greenfield. i had asked about a date in april so we could potentially hook up with a date for Smokestack & The Foothill Fury while he'll be in the area. unfortunately, i had forgotten that the date in question is the day before easter! what sketches me out is that the venue outright told me that past dates like that (holiday weekends) were usually tough to bring a crowd in for most bands. not exactly sure what i'm going to do. i'll pass the opportunity along and see what gets decided. christ - dude is from GA, i'd hate to have a dud of a draw because the easter bunny is throwing down.

here's a little Smokestack for ya'll to get a taste!

great stuff right!?!?!? i know, we'll have to see what we can do.


very anxious about saturday's show. we worked out our setlist for the night and i have to say - it's pretty friggen awesome, if i say so myself - which i do. we have a nice mix of tunes in there and they flow well together! i'm also really looking forward to playing with the Ten Foot Polecats and Jeff Norwood too. it might be a short show, but it's packed with some seriously fantastic music! here's a couple vids of the TFP's and Jeff:

have a lovely evening everybody - see ya saturday at 8!

-Beef