Legendary
In The Media
January
8-15, 2006
Live From The Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise
Blues Thoughts and More! By BluesWax
Staff
Once
again the staff of BluesWax has taken to the high seas
aboard the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise! We are
coming to you live somewhere off the coast of Cuba on
our way to our first port, Montego Bay, Jamaica! The
sun is shining, the ocean is a Blues cocktail, and the
energy is like no other Blues festival on Earth. Just
like in the past we found a few folks enjoying the sun
and the amazing music, the good Blues folks to share
some of their thoughts on the cruise so far. You should
be here with us!
Before
we get into the thoughts from those on the ship enjoying
this Legendary cruise I want to give you some food for
thought...Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, Jimmy Thackery,
Joe Bonamassa, John Hammond, Anthony Gomes, Deanna Bogart,
Ronnie Baker Brooks, Lonnie Brooks, and Buckwheat Zydeco...that
was Day One, not including the jams! Does it get any
better?
But
let's hear from the folks on the Big Blue Boat... From
the Crow's Nest
Oh,
yeah! It's on again. The Legendary Rhythm & Blues
Cruise is sailing and we are here to tell you all about
it. Tough duty, but hell, somebody's got to do it. I'll
let the others tell you about all the awesome music
we have already heard. Each day here is like a full
festival! But there is more than just music here; there's
food, endless amounts of food. Meals and buffets and
snacks and unlimited room service and...well, you get
the picture. But there is more still!
Today,
Monday, Day Two is themed Come As Your Favorite Blues
Musician. I will leave that to your imagination. But
maybe even more than the music is the camaraderie of
all the new and old friends, musicians and fans, all
gathering together. The musicians get a chance to see
fellow travelers of the trade perform, and to perform
with them if they like. The Cruise is advertised as
everyone having a backstage pass and it is absolutely
true. There really is no backstage; it's the boat. And
we are all here together. A walk across the ship is
a trip of hellos and handshakes and "I'll see you
in bit." And you will.
There
are also several great workshops. This morning, in "Women
in the Blues," Millie Jackson shared her stories
of being a woman in the Blues. She was effervescent
and funny and a joy for every listener in the room.
She made it easy for her other panelists to relate their
stories. And Deanna Bogart, Deborah Coleman, and Ana
Popovic did just that. A reviewer hates to say, "You
had to be there," but you did.
Then
there was a photography workshop for all the shooters
in the crowd. "Up Close and Personal" featured
two of the industry's best eyes, David Horwitz and our
own Joe Rosen. This is the first of a trio of photography
workshops and Horwitz led this one. With great humor
he told the photogs that you don't need to buy tons
of expensive equipment to get good shots, you have to
take your time and be careful. If you would like to
see proof of how good these guys are, click over to
our Photo Gallery to see some shots that Joe took on
the ship.
Tonight
the lineup is killer, featuring Ana Popovic, Bob Margolin
and the Chicago Legends, Bobby "Blue" Bland,
and Buckwheat Zydeco leading an all-star pro jam starting
at 1 a.m. Tomorrow we Blues Blast Jamaica and get back
on the boat for more great Blues. If it was eight days
I'd be dead! See you Thursday!
----
Report #2
When we last spoke we had just set sail on
the ms Westerdam on our Blues journey towards our first
port, Jamaica, mon! Gorging on gourmet food and fruity
drinks all the while missing our hard-working colleagues
holding down the fort and shoveling snow and scraping
ice from their windows. Maybe missing is a bit strong!
Some
amazing music has taken place and very little sleep.
Water seems to be our best friend on this journey! Since
we left you on Monday the party has only taken a couple
of short breaks. The first break was the excursion into
Jamaica to shop at the local stores and the obligatory
journey to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for expensive
fruity slushies and free tequila shots. Not much Blues,
but plenty of good times with folks from the boat including
a few runs down the water slide! Regardless of the location,
Blues folks know how to keep the party on a roll.
During
the past twenty-four hours we have enjoyed the company
and music of Ron Thompson, Diunna Greenleaf & Blue
Mercy (with Bob Margolin holding down the duties on
bass!), Kenny Neal and Billy Branch, Phillip Walker,
Taj Mahal, Millie Jackson, Ana Popovic, The Chicago
Legends (one of the greatest congregations of Bluesmen
ever as Bob Margolin led the way with Willie "Big
Eyes" Smith, Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton, and
Hubert Sumlin all playing together), Tab Benoit, and
Bobby "Blue" Bland all played. That was just
Monday! Tuesday brought Jamaica and later on board Anthony
Gomes took the stage to welcome everyone back from shore.
Ana Popovic, Corey Harris, John Hammond, Deanna Bogart,
Joe Bonamassa, Ronnie Baker Brooks, and a special Whiskey
Store show with Tab Benoit and Jimmy Thackery rounded
out the scheduled performances. All of this was over
and the jams took control of the boat! Does it get any
better than this? Now for a couple of comments from
our contributors on board...As the song goes, "Every
Day I Have The Blues." I live in a Blues World
where I play it, write about it, and take spiritual
nourishment from it. I'm constantly aware that this
world is a very tiny part of the "real world,"
but when I'm on this cruise with all the musicians and
Blues fans, it really feels like that "real world"
gives way to one where everyone loves and enjoys and
invests in their love of this music. Next week I'll
be back in the "real world," but I'll be refreshed
and inspired by all the great music and company that's
here in such a concentrated dose. What a party!
Chip
Eagle
Publisher, BluesWax and Blues Revue
--
Bob Margolin
Chicago Legend and Senior Contributing Editor of
BluesWax Random Thoughts from The Big Blues Boat
Monday
Weather seems to be the pervasive topic of conversation,
what? It isn't 90 degrees and removing the top three
layers of your epidermis? Let it rain a little. Speaking
of rain, Millie Jackson, seasick from her stint in The
Vista Lounge earlier in the day took to the windswept
pool and kicked the weather's ass live on XM radio.
Her tear-jerking, heart-pounding, horn-heavy finale?
"Let It Rain," of course. As Millie explained,
she wanted the audience to believe she had "mystical
powers." She pointed to three corners of the compass
challenging the clouds to dare rain on her, then looked
behind the stage at one mean looking thunderhead and
said, "Oh, Shit." Her performance was magnificent
and her band overpowered the elements for her.
Tuesday
The trip to shore at Montego Bay will remain a secret
till someone else blows the whistle. Let's just say
Mougli and his crew reached supernova "Bob Marley"
state in just a matter of moments while I got soaked...and
then it rained, you feel me? I informed my spirit guide
if he would have brokered a better deal for the jewelry
he wouldn't need to go back there to get his reward.
I would have tipped him. As it stood I only had cab
fare left to get me back to the boat.
Speaking
of my return, on to the pool deck just in time for the
resurging drum solos as Anthony Gomes put on a "for
ladies only" vaudevillian act with some music thrown
in. I hope he sticks to playing next time I see him
this week. The boat has some serious guitar shredding
going on this year, which brings me to Joe Bonamassa
and his shred with substance approach in the Vista Lounge.
Highlights
of that show found Joe mining the Jeff Beck Group's
catalog again, this time for a righteous version of
"Don't Know Much About Love." His show really
never lets you take a deep breath as one song flows
into another, then sometimes back again. Case in point,
Blind Faith's "Had To Cry Today," which had
the aforementioned obligatory drum solo (a very good
one this time with extraordinary footwork), a drop in
sonic pressure as Joe showed off some nice volume knob
riding (he even looked back at the band at one point
and smilingly said, "I like that!") and some
yes riffing ala Steve Howe that us old heads still haven't
identified, but if you heard it you'd know it.
Whiskey
Store with a melding of Thackery and Benoit bands took
the stage next for tunes from The Whiskey Store CD and
some of Jimmy and Tab's solo stuff. Their version of
Tab's "Nice and Warm" had one of the best
solos I've heard from Jimmy on this trip. He gave the
assembly a tip of his leopard spotted fez to acknowledge
their applause.
Top
that off with a jam session hosted by Rod and Honey
Piazza that started around 1:30 a.m. in a rainstorm
they promptly shoed away and you have a typical day
in the life of a Blues cruiser.
--
Beardo, your Blues pirate
Senior Contributing Editor of BluesWax Bluesin'
The High Seas
Driving to the airport in Charleston, West Virginia,
a Country song, George Strait I think, came on the radio
with a line very apropos to the trip that lie before
me; "If Time is an Ocean, Life is a Trip."
So if the Blues was the ocean then the patrons of the
Rhythm & Blues Cruise are living a life of Trump-like
luxury.
Anything
can truly happen on this boat. On my way to see Jimmy
Thackery I found myself wandering the halls with Ana
Popovic, completely discombobulated as to our location
on the boat. "Can you tell us the way to the pool..."
she asked a petite stewardess, "...or outside,
or anywhere?"
A
jacket like the one worn by Thackery would've outshined
a lesser Bluesman. While his extravagantly radiant coat
was mentioned in more than one Monday morning brunch
conversation, it was always alongside his stellar showmanship
and unwavering technical ability. Towards the end of
his set came a slow burning number that sent every bent
note of every searing solo straight to the soul. It's
fun when the Blues gets rocked and it's been rocked
all week, but nothing beats a well-done, slow-rousing
Blues ballad.
I
witnessed two white-hot sets from Joe Bonamassa already,
and a tumblin' bout of acoustic music by John Hammond,
who adds a fantastic catalog of stories to his repertoire
of acoustic Blues numbers. He shared stories of hitting
the road with Big Joe Turner at 17, partially for being
a young Blues singer, mainly because he was the new
owner of some wheels. Then there's his lucrative relationship
with Tom Waits, the author of the songs on Hammond's
widely acclaimed Wicked Grin.
It's
becoming more and more obvious that the most magical
moments on the boat are products of the late-night jam
sessions. Ron Thompson added his unmistakable fire to
a jam hosted by Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers on
Tuesday night, and Charles Wilson, nephew of the late
great Little Milton, came out and belted a few notes
with Ronnie Baker Brooks, who is truly coming into his
own as one of the world's great showmen. He meandered
through the crowd with a spotlight so he could play
a solo with his teeth among the fevered fanatics all
over the pool deck. Even after putting on one of the
hardest working sets thus far, an encore was demanded
and granted, from the Chicagoan who is having no trouble
stepping out of his father's shadow.
I
can't even venture into all the amazing shows I've seen,
but here are some things I'm looking forward to over
this evening alone: Diunna has been building a buzz
for herself all week long and I've never seen Corey
Harris perform with his 5X5 band before. Millie Jackson
will be on around 11:30 tonight and I vow to make it
to the Mitch Woods Club 88 piano jam session.
--
Adam Harris
Contributing Editor of BluesWax
We're
half way through our Blues journey and the only thing
left to say is get your Blues self here in 2007! You
won't be sorry if you do and you'll be sorry if you
don't. So for now we leave you thinking about the great
times and even better music. Enjoy the Photo
Gallery and we'll see you aboard in 2007!
