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Saturday, March 31-2007
Moondogs:
Blanox, Pa.
Whitey, Harry, and I did a short but sweet first set
that included a Happy Birthday song and shout out to
Sue, a long time Moondog’s real music fan.
“Boilermaker”, “Somethin’s Cookin” and “Bulldog” got it
all rolling, “We Come A Long Way” and “Norman” closed
out set one. We brought out Vinny Q to play guitar with
us for the second set. I’ve been hanging with Vinny
lately, teaching him our tunes. Ole V.Q. is really
getting the hang of what it is we do. “Nightclub” came
rippin outta da box with bad intentions. The stakes were
going up. “Reddy Freddy” sounded just the way daddy
likes it. Kind of like a garbage truck rolling down the
alley. “Heat of the Night” had an urgency that I hadn’t
felt in a long while. I like the effect Vinny brings to
our music. “Nothin To Lose”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “That
Girl”, “Burnin Up”, “Lovedog”, “High Times”. That’s a
whole lotta old Norman songs in a row, but it felt good
doing it. We then did four newer tunes back to back.
“Son Of A Gun”, “You Go Your Way”, “Shackin Up”, “Who
Dat Do Dat”. Vinny sang the ole Arthur Alexander tune
“You Better Move On”. Jill Simmons got up on stage and
sang “Million Tears” and “Route 66”. This lady is really
sounding strong. Set three featured “Weekend”, “Easy
Money”, “Ole Number 21” and “Smoke Two Joints”. This was
a good rockin night.
Friday, March 30-2007
Excuses:
Southside, Pittsburgh Pa.
This was one of those, ya
shoulda been there kinda nights. All we did was laugh
and rock. There were about five or six other bands in
the house, just checking it out. A gang of roller derby
chicks were also rocking with us, celebrating a
birthday. The two hour first set was full of musical
highlights, “Hells Highway” & “End Of The Line” were my
favorite performances. Set two took off where set one
left off. We let a guy from the audience come up and
play harmonica. Normally I wouldn’t let that happen but,
I was in such a good mood cause we was having so much
fun. Rather than have this guy blow over a blues tune,
we played “Lovedog” and gave him a chance to rock. It
turned out to be a good thing. “Loverboy” hit a high
mark, as did “Weekend”. This was one of those, ya
shoulda been there kinda nights.
Friday, March 23-2007
Old Large Hotel: Large Pa.
What a beautiful building the ole hotel is. We had a
blast playing for some folks that had never seen us
before. Spending our breaks, hangin wit club owner
Skinny, was quite an experience. This guy was cracking
me up. Also saw some regulars in the house, love dat.
It’s always a gas to play in a room that sounds good. We
got a special request from Ron da wrestler, for “Who
Were You Thinkin Of”-the ole Freddy Fender classic. This
seemed to please the natives, I watched as their faces
lit up to da happy sound of da music. I watched “Sick n’
Tired” calmly git under their skin without any fanfare.
“Yesterday’s Gone” set da tone for subtle groove
appreciation. Harry’s bass had a big sound all night. We
did a version of “Steeler Nation” that really kicked.
When was the last time YOU heard a polka dat kicked?
Saturday, March 17-2007
The Starlite: Blanox, Pa.
Not a huge crowd but a lotta
fun was had on this St. Patrick’s day. We had a bearded
man dressed in green walking around asking folks if they
wanted a lap dance. I took advantage of the opportunity
to talk a whole lotta sh*t on this festive drinking
holiday. And it was good. “Till The Cows Come Home” got
things going. “Nothin To Lose” rang out in all it’s
glory. “This Ain’t Gittin It” was like a pile driver. I
gotta start callin dat tune more often. “Ole Cow Died
Wit a Rag in His A**” got everybody’s attention. Shout
out to dear friend Jake Banta da Pennsylvania plow boy,
who taught me dat number. Ole buddy, Chuck Kohler sang a
couple Elvis tunes and then closed out the night singing
“For The Good Times”. For the good times indeed. Chucky
has a special touch with a few Elvis songs, sometimes
ending up on one knee, very theatrical. Love the
theater. Maybe next time he’ll add a few karate chops to
his performance, I look forward to that moment. Ran over
to Moondog’s on my break and saw Glenn Pavone and his
Cyclones rippin. “Hey bartender gimme a shot and a green
beer”.
Saturday, March 3-2007
Billy's Road House:
Wexford, Pa.
Lottsa young folks hangin out
early doin some nice booze work, good for bidnit. How
about Harry and Whitey just laying it down on this snowy
evening. The tempos and the dynamics-so natural. Making
it look eeeeasy. "Somethin's Cookin" stood out, as did
"People Takin Care". We sang "Happy Birthday To You" for
Carol, then rocked an ole Chuck Berry classic, "Oh
Carol". I remembered most of the words, Whitey sang the
verse to me that I forgot on the break. We got a special
request for an old tune, "When Will I Ever Learn". Any
damage that was done to this song in our perfomance was
well over shadowed by the song itself. I had forgotten
what a wonderful tribute to losers all over da world dis
ole tune is. I gotta learn how to play it. Know it? I
Wrote it. "Ain't It Amazin" and "Son Of A Gun" are my
two favorite songs to play at this point. Set two got a
lil' goofy, folks was dancin all wild n' havin a large
time. "Nightclub" got off major. "Sick n' Tired" soothed
the natives, and it was good. |
