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Gig Updates May 2, 2008- Friday Night Excuses: Southside- Pittsburgh, Pa. Later that same evening……….me and my men strapped it on…….fool groan…….man style……. like so many times before…….. We’ve opened shows with “Bulldog” many times, but never before had we played it to a shuffle groove, it was Whitey’s idea. The two hour first set had a couple, two, three moments, okay? “People Takin Care” da solo on “Somethin’s Cookin” snapped my girdle…………ouch……”Son Of A Gun”, Harry sang a couple numbers n’ folks was like, crying out his name n’nat. Set two kicked with me sending a song out to my ole friend, Bob McKeag, who was playing down da street……..anyway, “Last Night I Had A Dream” gave me the opportunity to blow the arrangement of the song, during the guitar solo. But let me say, our recovery was outfrigginstanding. “Loverboy”, “Who Dat Do Dat”, “Hells Highway”, which by the way, ole bud Mark Anderson who was in da house said how much he liked dat tune, luv it when dat happens. ……………….let me just say that at this moment in time, I’m proud as a ruttin buck to rock wit ya…………..you feelin me?................................ May 2, 2008-Friday Evening Carnivores: Oakmont, Pa. This solo acoustic performance was a lot a fun. When I showed up, singer John Vento was on stage with a percussionist and a guitar player. They did a mix of originals and covers and sounded good doing it. As I was getting set up, Craig the doorman from the dog house, suggested I start my show with “ole cow died with a rag in his a**”…………and so on and so forth…………..so I did. Cool…… “I’m A Man” felt righteous, “Playin In A Rock n’ Roll Band” also did me proud. I was glad that the songs held up, as it’s been a while since I’ve played solo acoustic. “The Morning After” didn’t hold the crowd’s attention, but I didn’t seem to mind cause I was diggin it. A quick take on “Steeler Nation” was received in an underwhelming fashion, but “Ole Number 21” showed hard. “Son Of A Gun” ……..I did a song that I’ve only played once or twice, “The Beneficiary”. Glad I got the chance to play it. “I Was Blind” served as a great closing song. My ole buddy Shades, of “The Offenders”, was in the house so I asked him up to sing a kicking “Dead Flowers” folks was feeling it……….singer song writer Bill Deasy took the stage as I was runnin out da door (I had another gig to get to). Anyway, dis Bill Deasy sounded really good……………. April 25, 2008-Friday Moondogs: Blawnox, Pa. Some gigs are a walk in the park, some gigs are a struggle. On this eve I struggled the whole way thru. I hope it didn’t show, but I’m sure it did. The small turnout was as supportive as they could be, so I’m thankful for that. Regardless, I spent all night trying to find the sweet spot. I called” Tequilla”, da ole instrumental, early in the set just to get us going. Ya know, something different? It worked, but I couldn’t keep the fire burn’in. “Over Said and Done” was another good call. Whitey and Harry were both playing well, which helped to keep my mind in the game. We did “I’m A Man” and “The Morning After”, just for something different. “How You Like Me Now” was a highlight. Hey…………it just wasn’t my night…………..there’s one thing you can count on……………..I’m going to get my mind right………dat’s a lead pipe lock………… April 19, 2008-Saturday Moondogs: Blawnox, Pa. Things got rolling in a most casual fashion with
“Lazybones” and “Git By”. We found our groove somewhere between “People
Takin Care” and “Yesterday’s Gone”. A brutal take of “Nothin To Lose”
was very well received. Some knucklehead yelled out for “Poor Little
Rich Kid” and we was goofy ‘nuf to try it, it had been awhile. Let me
say, there were some highlights, and there were some lowlights. But the
truf is, it was a kicka** first set. “Hoochie Mama” gave set two a
casual send off. “Graceland” realized some of the potential it has to
rage. “I Hate A Nickel” and “If I Had A Child” bof cooked da fat off da
bone…………Lick it up…………after pledging my lifelong support to those
loveable losers, the Bucs, we performed “Ole Number 21” young Katie
Ramone, who was celebrating a birthday, sang “Dead Flowers” and “Chain
Of Fools”. Harry sang “King of the Road” and got some noise out of the
white trash in the house. Whitey sang “Try Me” and put some romance into
the mix. We sent a tune out to our favorite bartender, Mary. “Rainbow”
always puts a smile on her face……….. The Thirsty Ear: Columbus, Ohio All we did was rock strong in Cowtown, and ya man, there is life on da planet. The club owner Dan said a few words, then the best dressed man in Cowtown, Mr. Bruce Nutt, introduced us, and da fur started flyin. “Lazybones”, “Boilermaker”, “Ready Freddy”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, young folks and older folks was down with it. Luv dat. “If I Had a Child”, “End of the Line”, “We Come a Long Way”, “Somethin’s Cookin”, not much dancing was going on, but you could feel the energy that the music was creating. Luv Dat. We went old school with “High Times” and “Nothin To Lose”. We went to church with “Sick n’ Tired”. Folks were shouting out, as Whitey Cooper wrapped his soulful vocals around this very appreciative gang. “Graceland” was a standout. “Hoochie Mama” got me off. Luv Dat”. The first set closed out with “That Ain’t Gonna Happen” and “I Seen Too Much”. A few ole pals came out to the show from Lima, Ohio area where we used to do what we called “Red Eye” concerts back in the 70’s. Ain’t nothing better than seeing ole buddies. “Nightclub”, “Son Of A Gun”, “Mr. Right Now”, and a slamming version of “Who Dat Do Dat” kicked set two. “Weekend”, “Ain’t It Amazin”, “Minimum Wage”, we got a special request for “Just like a Woman”. We closed the show with “Smoke Two Joints”. On the way home we took a wrong turn and ended up on High Street, as the young folks were pouring onto the streets at about 2:30 in the morning. Like I said before there is life on da planet. Luv dat. April 5, 2008-Saturday P.D.’s Pub: Pittsburgh, Pa. The sound on the stage was great. The better it sounds, the better you play. “Lazybones”, “Till the Cows Come Home”, “Somethin’s Cookin”, “Nothin To Lose”, “Loverboy” the joint wasn’t packed, but the strong support of the Swissvale gang carried the show. My people are a beautiful people. Set two, “Son Of A Gun “and “Weekend” both crushed. Freddy Fender’s “Camero” turned into “Steeler Nation” which set up “Ole Number 21” which led to “When the Pen’s Come Skating In”. It wasn’t planned, but it came off rather well. “Easy Money” was given an extended look during the last guitar solo, we had a little fun wit dat. Young Katie Ramone jumped onstage to shout out “Mojo” with some sass. All we did was what we came to do………….and it was good………. April 4, 2008-Friday Michael O’Mally’s: Youngstown, Ohio “Bulldog”, ”Lazybones”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, everything was coming right on time. Whitey’s drums sounded like cannons, luv it. “Son Of A Gun” was killing. “Loverboy” n’ “Nothin to Lose”, both songs written in the 70’s, yet both songs sound so strong today, luv it. “Minimum Wage” was the tune that got folks on da flo. Set 1 ended with “Smoke Two Joints” pourin off da stage like lava. “Boilermaker” boiled, ole bud Cornel yelled out what’s da name a’ dat tune, “Hey bartender, gimme a shot, and a beer”. “Hoochie Mama” brought smiles to folk’s faces. Some guy yelled out, “You’re OK for a Pennsyltuckian”, we accept you, one of us. “Send You Back” got the boogie man going. Chicks was workin da dance flo, luv it. Fast Freddy, did some loud n’ proud MC work on the breaks, shredding words at a rapid fire pace. All in all, a great time was had in Y-Town. “Nightclub” and “Burnin’ Up” were hilites of set 3. Don’t think I spelled hilites right…………………..cool April 1, 2008- Tuesday Moondogs: Blawnox, Pa. This April Fools Day celebration was a salute to 19 years in business for a local institution, Moondogs. Whitey, Harry and I kicked started the joint wit “Bulldog”. I wasn’t playing my best, so it took me a while to get rolling. By the time we hit “Two Story House” and “Hell’s Highway” we was operating. Somewhere early on we faked our way thru “Pipeline”, don’t know why. Enter……… Mr. Mark Stutso, vocalist. We backed Stutso thru a strong set of soulful renderings. “Million Tears”, “Victoria’s Secret”, “If I Had A Child”, “You Go Your Way”, “Heart Break Shake” and the powerful “Three Times Your Fool”, which kicked a ton a’ tail. “I Hate a Nickel”, “Bow Legged Woman”, this one made me a little nervous cause blues legend, Jimmy Thackery was in da house hangin. Playing a slow blues in front of a master ax man like Thak freaked me a touch. Pull yourself together greezeball; it ain’t like you’re total chopped liver. The always jumping “Send You Back” closed out Stutso’s show in a rave up style. Me and the guys did a hot second set that started wit “Nightclub”, “Son Of A Gun” and kept rockin till we did an amazing version of “Smoke Two Joints” that lasted almost 10 minutes, wish I could hear a recording of dat. Ole friend and future potentate, Bob Adelman, sang “Runaround Sue” to help us say goodnight. Congratulations Moondogs, many more years of great music………………….ya can’t replace an institution……………..word
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