Bob Margolin: Only After Midnight

March 11th - The devil arrived late, just after the stroke of midnight, but Bob had been on-stage since 9:30 pm. The Surf Club booked virtuoso Blues guitarist Bob Margolin, who played in Muddy Water's band from 1973 - 1980, in hopes of pulling in a big crowd and furthering their tradition as the musician's joint in the DC area.

By my count, there were 30 seats filled at the start of the first set (not counting those participating in the pool tournament on the other side of the bar), and only 18 for the second set. The night prior, at the State Theater in Falls Church, Margolin and The Nighthawks managed a crowd of just 121.

Margolin started the first set as if he were late for the last train home to High Point, N.C. He settled in around the fourth number and proceeded to play with his typical precision. However, the only vibe onstage was provided by bass player Tom “Mookie” Brill, and DC legend Big Joe Maher on drums. Mookie plays an upright bass, circa 1940, as if he was born with it in his hands. With a rockabilly voice to match his slicked-back DA hairstyle, he took on the vocals for some Elvis tunes and showed up the headliner. Mookie spent the 90’s with Carey Bell and Hubert Sumlin.

Big Joe: is there a better blues drummer? Not only does Joe have ‘the touch’ on the drums, his voice is heaven sent and Margolin gave him plenty of space to let it soar.

So, what about Bob?

Bob’s an incredible guitarist -- look at his history. Muddy placed him at his right elbow for eight years. He was onstage for The Band's "Last Waltz". He's recorded with Muddy, Johnny Winter, Pinetop Perkins, Herbut Sumlin, to name a few. He's been on several Grammy winning albums. He's shared the stage with just about every Blues great in the past forty years.

Tonight he appeared to be going through the motions -- until midnight that is. Sure, he played the guitar very well and the song list covered the spectrum from Piedmont to Chicago Blues, with some rock-and-roll tunes for spice. But he was doing some funky affected baritone vocals on more than a few tunes -- which is something wanna-be Blues players do cause they haven’t lived the life and have no experience in their voice. Despite his legendary talent the vibe wasn't with him. He was playing without any soul. It was about the midway point of the first set that I found myself thinking about leaving. There was laundry to do, carpets to vacum, movies to watch, and photos to edit. He really wanted to catch that southbound train and I wanted to point my steel horse westward.

But then, the bewitching hour came and brought with it the devil. Bob played that final hour like the W.C. Handy Award for 2005 Guitarist that he is. He could have stopped when the crowd diminished. But he didn't -- he grew stronger and played with more emotion.

He finished by asking the remaining dozen, or so, fans for song suggestions. "We'll play anything you want" he shouted.

And so they did for three songs -- ending with Bob playing the stand-up bass while Brill took over on his goldtop Les Paul singing John Lee Hooker's anthem "Boom, Boom, Boom."

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Copyright 2006 12Bar
Images may not be used without permission.

Smokin with Mary Shaver

March 10th - It doesn't get any more real than Mary Shaver and the Smokin' Polecats.

Mary sings from her heart and with more energy than that drumming bunny. Polecat's Dave Sherman on guitar and Roger Edsall on harp are two of the best on the Eastern Seaboard.

Throw 'em all together in Half Moon Bar-B-Que's upper room and the vibe is as sweet & tangy as the sauce downstairs.

Scheduled to play until midnight, the music finally stopped after a crowd demanded encore near 1 am.

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Copyright 2006 12Bar
Images may not be used without permission.

African Blues Legend Ali Farka Toure Dies

BAMAKO, Mali - Legendary African musician and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Farka Toure died Tuesday, March 7th of cancer, against which he had been battling for some time. He was 67.

The Ali Farka Toure Foundation said the "bluesman of Africa" died at his home in Bamako, the capital of the West African country.

Toure collaborated with Ry Cooder on his 1995 album "Talking Timbuktu," which won him his first of two Grammys.

He has cited Western musicians John Lee Hooker, Otis Redding and Ray Charles among those who inspired him.

Toure was one of the orginators of the Mali Blues music genre and released nine albums between 1976 and 2005.

His album with Toumani Diabate, "In the Heart of the Moon," won the Grammy for Best Traditional World Music Album this year.

Toure was born in the northwestern Mali village of Kanau, the tenth son of his mother, in 1939.

• Listen to an interview with Ali Farka Toure from NPR's All Thing Considered.

• His record label, World Circuit Records, said that he had just completed work on a new solo album.

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Copyright 2006 12Bar
Images may not be used without permission.

Guitar Shorty Starts a Fire

March 3rd: There was fire on stage and no one wanted to put it out. Guitar Shorty burned red-hot with his four-piece band and never cooled down.

His first set destroyed any thoughts of Jimi, Stevie, and Muddy from memory. With a rack of G&L guitars and one MusicMan given to him on his birthday by Leo Fender, Shorty made friends with everyone. He played from the stage, the dance floor, and the parking lot.

While a fantastic show, there was a bit of excessive guitar jamming and Hendrix style distortion. But Shorty and Jimi were friends and played together. It was Shorty's tribute to his pal -- and he did it well!

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Copyright 2006 12Bar
Images may not be used without permission.

Fat Tuesday

A standing-room only crowd welcomed
Roy Carrier & The Zydeco Night Rockers to the Surf Club stage
for their Zydeco Mardi Gras Party Tuesday night.

Joining Carrier for a spicy mix of New Orleans attitude
and Delta Blues was surprise guest Robert Lighthouse.



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Copyright 2006 12Bar
Images may not be used without permission.

Jamie Lynch & Robert Frahm

The Future of DC Blues!
Ice House Cafe, Herndon, VA
Feb. 24, 20006

No one left. The first set ended and no one left the restaurant.

The second set finished and the crowd appeared to be larger. Such is a performance by the Jamie Lynch Band with Robert Frahm. They've honed their talent upon a solid foundation of traditional musical values and Blues history.

Jamie's voice goes down like a well-mixed whiskey sour; just the right mix of sweetness and a smokey bite. She performs with ease, holding a wine glass casually in one hand which conjures up visual memories of Janis and her ever present cup of drink.

Though apparently comfortable onstage and with her song selection her singing was a bit cautious at times. I kept waiting for her to break-free and sing with more feeling, and volume, on a few songs. Perhaps it was the intimacy of the room (tables are positioned right against the small stage) or a bit of timidity. But this is nitpicking a fine performance.

Robert played as he usually does; tone to the bone. His dog-eared P90 loaded Gibson hollow-bodied guitar and Clark tweed amp sing like they’ve walked the Delta up to Chicago – soaking up all the vintage vibe along the way.

Like I said earlier, no one left. The Ice House Café is an upscale restaurant, with two bars, set in a clubby atmosphere. Folks visit to dine atop linen covered tables and hear a bit of jazz, or to meet friends after work for conversation and drinks. They are not the type of patrons who settle for bad music. There is nothing to distract your attention; no pool tables, no dance floor, no long-distance walk to the door. Jamie, Robert, and the band, held court like the royalty the future offers them.

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Copyright 2006 12Bar
Images may not be used without permission.