Big Leather Couch

Check out the other participants by clicking on the link to the left...and join in!

You can register for free at playlist.com and type in a band name and BAM the song will be there to assist in building your playlist.

Travis lays out some guidelines for this meme and they go like this:

1. Grab the banner, make your post title Five on Friday, and be sure to link back here.

2. Go to Playlist.com to make your play list of five songs. Choose a particular theme to share with us. You can simply post the play list, or you can add a little summary about what you are sharing.

3. No tags, but feel free to invite your friends to play along if they need a post topic on a Friday.

What a week!Spent last weekend celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Joan and Vince. Friday, family dinner. Saturday, St Joseph's Dinner Dance at the Italian American Club (yes on St. Patrick's Day! St. Joseph's was Monday) and then Sunday mom made two trays of lasagna and they had a total of 20 of us with cocktails and lasagna!

phew....

This week at work has been a total mess... came back to 400 emails! And been catching up ever since.

Tomorrow we have a 4.5 hr drive since Peter is starting his first game of the season - WHY COULD IT NOT HAVE BEEN A HOME GAME!!! ugh....for the drive - 9 hrs total for a 2 hr game!

Much happened in the world this week... I have things to say. But they will wait until next week as today is MUSIC!

The theme...didn't I just say it? MUSIC

Just 5 songs that have caught my attention this week from my iTouch as I worked. Without the music (played low enough that not even the person in the cube next to me can hear) my head would have exploded!

There was dancing last evening and if you have any desire to know what occurred then you need to get over and visit TRAVIS of "Trav's Thoughts" because he will let you know everything...

HAPPY 23rd Birthday Matt.

Yup...23 years ago tomorrow my whole world changed forever.
And I would not change that fact for anything!
He is doing the 6-year college merry-go-round
First a teacher, then a psychologist and finally law enforcement
But he has gotten his act together acing all his classes this semester.
If you never read my 20th Birthday tribute to my son, find it HERE




CONGRATULATIONS to
Brother Rich & SIL Cindy
on their 27 Anniversary on this day!

They only give seeding for the top 4 teams and R.I.T. beat the #2 seed Denver in round 1 of the tournament. Bracket details are found

HAVE A GRAND WEEKEND ALL!

With the wedding (WOW coming up on 5 months) and then into the holidays, I have strayed from the music love that I have always shared here on The Couch...so today some cool music news and then our first song posting in almost five months!

This came up on the Radio Happy Hour last night and I think it is the coolest thing in the world...

Check this out...get a bracelet made from the guitar sting of your favorite musician...not cheap, but the money goes to the charity of choice of the artist...find out more at WEAR YOUR MUSIC

Great birthday, Valentines Day, Christmas gift! Comes in a recycled CD case with a certificate of authenticity!

This in from Marvel Comics, Sony Records and those bad-a** rockers, AC/DC:

Through a unique collaboration between Marvel Studios and Columbia Records, AC/DC’s music will be featured in Marvel Studios’ “IRON MAN 2,” the sequel to the 2008 blockbuster film. In addition, Columbia Records will release the album AC/DC: Iron Man 2 on Monday, April 19, 2010. AC/DC: Iron Man 2, features 15 classic AC/DC songs selected from ten of the band’s studio albums, ranging from 1976 to 2008. The complete track listing can be found below.

Pre-orders began yesterday, January 26th, at Walmart.com for the AC/DC: Iron Man 2 CD and at Amazon.com for a deluxe version of AC/DC: Iron Man 2 – CD+DVD and two LP vinyl packages. The film opens internationally beginning on April 28, 2010. In the U.S. , the film will be distributed by Paramount Pictures and is scheduled for release on May 7, 2010.

The debut video from AC/DC: Iron Man 2 is the AC/DC’s classic album cut “Shoot To Thrill,” which was filmed live last month in Buenos Aires during the band’s highly acclaimed Black Ice World Tour, the second highest grossing world tour of 2009 according to concert industry trade publication Pollstar. The video also incorporates exclusive footage from “IRON MAN 2” and debuts today worldwide. Check www.acdc.com and www.marvel.com for more information. “Shoot To Thrill” was originally recorded for the band’s 50-million selling album Back In Black, one of the best selling albums of all time.

“Jon Favreau’s vision and passion for AC/DC’s music blend seamlessly into this incredible film” said Steve Barnett, co-chairman of Columbia Records.
"The music really underscores the high energy and excitement of the film.”

“Music is an integral part of the Tony Stark and Iron Man experience, and we are pleased that Columbia and AC/DC are taking part in the franchise’s phenomenon. Through this relationship, the band is delivering fans supercharged Iron Man branded music through all our combined consumer touch points, from the movie to retail outlets and even virally with the debut of the new video,” said Tim Connors, Chief Operating Officer, Marvel Studios.

Jon Favreau returns to direct “IRON MAN 2,” with Robert Downey Jr. reprising his starring role as the larger-than-life leading character, along with Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L. Jackson.

AC/DC: Iron Man 2 Track Listing:
1. Shoot to Thrill
2. Rock ‘N’ Roll Damnation
3. Guns for Hire
4. Cold Hearted Man
5. Back in Black
6. Thunderstruck
7. If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)
8. Evil Walks
9. T.N.T.
10. Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be
11. Have a Drink on Me
12. The Razor’s Edge
13. Let There Be Rock
14. War Machine
15. Highway to Hell

The Avett Brothers announced their 2010 spring tour dates. With their album I and Love and You debuting at number 16 on the Billboard charts and selling over 40,000 units during the first week alone, these North Carolina rockers haven’t shown any signs of slowing down.

On the heels of an extremely successful 2009 year with their critically acclaimed Rick Rubin produced album I and Love and You, and an extensive electrifying US tour, The Avett Brothers gear up to remind fans just how powerful a musical force this quartet is. Beginning their spring tour on February 4th in Athens , OH the band will travel throughout the US and end up in Cumberland , MD on May 28th

Tour Dates are:
2/24 - Athens , OH - Ohio University
2/26 - Ithaca , NY - State Theatre
2/27 - Cleveland , OH - House of Blues
2/28 - Indianapolis , IN - Egyptian Room @ Murat Centre
3/02 - Columbia , MO - Missouri Theatre
3/03 = Midwest City , OK - Rose State PAC
3/05 - Minneapolis , MN - First Avenue
3/06 - Milwaukee , WI - Turner Hall Ballroom
3/07 - Chicago , IL - House of Blues
3/09 - Ann Arbor , MI - Michigan Theater
4/17 - Oakland , CA - Fox Theater
4/18 - Reno , NV - Grand Sierra Theatre
4/20 - Boulder , CO - Boulder Theater
4/21 - Boulder , CO - Boulder Theater
4/23 - Tucson , AZ - Rialto Theatre
4/24 - Mesa , AZ - Mesa Arts Center/Ikeda Theater
4/25 - Indio , CA - Stagecoach Festival
4/27 - Sacramento , CA - Crest Theatre
4/28 - Santa Barbara , CA - Arlington Theatre
4/29 - San Diego , CA - House of Blues
5/02 - Wilkesboro , NC - MerleFest
5/28 - Cumberland , MD - Del Fest: Allegany County Fairgrounds

One of my all time favs from the genius that was Frank Zappa...

Today - a new post:
Part 2 "Saturday In The Kitchen" -
Pork Chops With Mustard Sauce
and Beef & Spinach Patties

Come Take A Seat At My Table

Welcome to 2010 and the 956th post on The Couch. Sometime Q1 2010, I will make my 1,000th post here...

I have not been very prolific the last two plus weeks due to business and the holidays, but am hopeful to get back to my 5-day a week schedule.

Though, it appears that some people have been able to read my posts by my only putting one up every 4-5 days. From the 14th of December until the end of the year I only made 6 posts! Maybe some will cheer and say "THANK THE GODS"...

I was interested in that. I have seen a slight decline in comments over the last quarter of 2009. Was it my writing? Was it just a lack of interest in the bloggosphere?

Many people who once blogged have slowed drastically due to their participation in other social medias with Facebook taking the lead and Twitter also becoming more popular.

I have the Facebook account, but am not an active participant. I wonder if I would spend more time there if it were available on my work account. Though I feel I am more Blog-centric then Facebook.

Facebook has opened up new readers to us bloggers, allowing our posts to be linked to our Facebook accounts and I get comments on my blog posts over on my Facebook account.

I also know there are some who read - either there or here - who never ever comment. I might get an email with a response to something I have written...but nothing in the comment area.

I wondered...did my visits decrease over the last three weeks or were people still coming by to check and see if I had posted?...not everyone has Google Reader, which alerts you to when a new entry is posted.

Also, how does my not posting reflect over the course of this year and in relationship to last year? So we went to the numbers to find out...

In December of 2008 I had 21 entries. For those 21 entries, I had a total of 514 comments - an average of 24.47/day.

This year for the month of December, I had 12 entries. For those 12 entries, I had a total of 213 comments - an average of 17.75/day.

Now, there were a few days this year where I did not respond to your comments. I rarely one-to-one respond as many do, so if I say that I respond to 3 comments per answer, you could add 5 comments per day making my average for this year closer to 22/day.

Not far off.

But, as I said...I am not a blogger who gets as many comments as others. I have a large group of non-commenting readers (some call them lurkers...but I do not like that term.

How did my visits differ from quarter to quarter this past year I wondered...First a look back at 2008 by quarter:

And then 2009

This is interesting to me. The growth from the first half of the year to the second half is almost 50%.

While in 2009 the 3rd quarter was where we had the most visitors...This does make some sense as the month of September brought in over 5,400 visitors - no doubt to read about and view pictures from our wedding and honeymoon.

Also, people did not return as much this year as they did last year...

The next two graphs show the huge decrease in visitors from December 2009 as it relates to the same time last year...a drop of almost 800 visitors...(the January figures are not relevant as the 2008 graph is for all of January 2009)

This Week - a dinner we posted here last September:
"Grilled Salmon with Crunchy Sweet Mustard Vinaigrette"

In the last week, I have been on other sites and been involved in discussions on the music industry and recording technologies, and specifically two certain aspects.

My friend TRAVIS from "Trav's Thoughts" also sent me a link to an article which I thought made some excellent points regarding the first technology.

The article is by Tony Sclafani, msnbc.com contributor, and can be found HERE, discusses the frequent use of AUTO-TUNE.

Some of the tuneage at the top of the charts today would not exist without Auto-Tune.
“Blame It” by Jamie Foxx and T-Pain, “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga and “Right Now (Na Na Na)” by Akon - all Auto-Tune Tuneage.

You American Idol fans...remember the night your ears bled when Paula Abdul sang her new song? Well, the recording you listened to as Paula lip-synced her way through a bevy of young nubile men, was all Auto-Tune.

How much of the music we, the consumers, purchase today can be recreated in a concert environment? Well, that presumes you are not watching a recording-aided concert anyway. What happened to the days when singers sang, using their own voice?

Did it all really begin back in 1988 when that evil villian Frank Farian duped the world into the fantasy of Milli Vanilli?

Or should we go all the way back to the year 1976 when one Peter Frampton used the sinister Talk Box to hypnotize the rock world with the song "Do You Feel Like We Do"?

Is this just the progression that is inevitable in the music industry with technology taking the 'artistry' out of writing and recording music? Or does it take the artistry out of the music?

That depends upon the listener I suspect. I can tell you that I was one of those mesmerized by Frampton's use of the talk box. Would we have the hits of the 50's and early 60's without the over-dubbing being done in the studio?

Les Paul was a pioneer in the art of layering guitar parts, one on top of another, in the studio And his introduction of the 8-track recorder in 1958 shot the music industry ahead. Now, it was possible to record each instrument independently (Up to 7 of course - one for the vocals), allowing the drummer to 'fix' that run they missed on the first take.

So from the days of over-dubbing, we are now buying music that just might be totally 'mechanized'.

In so many ways this new technology is a tremendous bonus for the music industry, or rather for the music-buying public. The ability for an artist to record their own music, edit it, burn it to disc and market it, has put us all smack-dab in the middle of the renaissance age of music.

Do a Google search for music recording software and the number of hits is over 22-million. Now, I will not tell you there are that many different programs you can use, but there just may be half that amount!

Audacity, Acoustica, GarageBand, n-track...take your choice...those are just four...become a recording star...

Or will you? In the end, I would like to think that the music lovers of the world will ensure those who are trying to get famous will only do so if they have talent.

OK, before I get, HEY, U2 sequence their CDs...I am talking in general here, ot specifically. And I understand why it does not really matter what song follows the one before it for most artists today.

They feel that their music will be bought on i-Tunes or Rhapsody or downloaded illegally and in 80% of those cases, the buyer will be purchasing one or two songs form the CD.

Those of you closer to my age will remember when you would pluck your money down for that new album - vinyl, large, came in a cardboard wrapper with pictures and sometimes that cardboard opened and there was even more magic inside with words from your 'heroes' or more pictures to see - and running home to tear off the cellophane, putting the disc on the turntable, gently lowering the needle to hear that initial scratch, the the stylus fed into the groove and the first strains of music would fill your room.

As you listened, you looked at the album...read the liner notes...and listened. When the sdie ended, you flipped it over and listened.

Start to finish. An artist could tell you an entire story. Could let you escape into a world they created for a little over an hour.

The most known of those would be The Beatles ground-breaking SGT PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND and TOMMY, The Who's historic rock-opera...but albums like King Crimson's COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING and Led Zeppelin's first three albums are all creations made to be heard start to finish.

I am sure you can add to that abbreviated list and will do so in comments, and I encourage you to do so.

This is not so much "I miss the old days" as much as "I miss when they did it for real"...

What do you think?

Then I have to calculate the types of mailings and the print run splits and work on estimates and send out Requests for Quotations..

And did your head explode yet? LOL

It was chilly and rainy here all day long...yuk...

Finally got home late and had to seal and freeze all the meats I bought at the grocery store yesterday. Got to eat dinner at about 8:30pm and sat down to watch the World Series.

Next thing I knew, my eyes were beginning to flutter and I had not written one word of this post...

So, here is the brilliance you get for today! LOL

Remember...all next week is NEW MUSIC TUNEAGE TUTELAGE!!!!

Come on by and find some new music...maybe you will hear something that causes your auditory senses to tingle and you can put in your case for receiving the CD.

Now I just found out that a couple of the artists are no longer sending out CDs, not sure I will feature them next week or not, but if I do I will alert you to the fact that they will not be available for give-away...but will direct you to a place you can order them.

Am I even making sense today?

Make sure you shoot over to MATT MAN'S and MICKEY-T'S sites to find out how much trouble they got into yesterday as Mickey is visiting Bagwine, OH!

And then finally, today I received a very very cool gift in the mail from my friend LeeLee. It came with a letter in which she writes:

"When we were visiting North Carolina recently, I stopped in a favorite little gift shop in Raleigh. I heard this lovely music playing in the background. Being curious by nature especially about music I like, I asked who the artist was. It sounded like Leo Kotke, but more than anything it sounded very American and very Southern.

He told me it was by a North Carolinian named Etta Baker and he heard the music on NPR (of which I am a fan). He recalled that buying the CD was a help to Music Maker Foundation.

I was intrigued and when I got home I did a little research and found the CD. Knowing you enjoy excellent music and like a story behind the music, I thought this would be something you would enjoy. Ms. Baker certainly is a talent...and I am certainly a fan.

These recordings were made in her living room and in the first song you can hear a bird singing along with her playing. How fantastic."

Well, LeeLee, you are most certainly correct in that I love excellent music and also love the story behind the music and I am THRILLED by this special gift!!!

From the CD, we find out the following:
"Etta Baker of Morgantown, NC was born in 1913 and has been playing guitar since she was 4-years old. She is the premier woman Piedmont blues guitar instrumentalist. Her only contemporary was the late Elizabeth Cotton of Carrboro, NC. Etta maintains a beautiful yard and garden. She is constantly working on new arrangements as she plays guitar everyday. These recordings were made at her home and yes, a finch really did fly in her living room, sat atop the door and performed a wonderful duet" - Tim Duffy.

None other than the brilliant Taj Mahal wrote:
"Possessing a stunning beauty her husband refused to let her travel and perform away from home....This gracious grandmother was the was the source of a great deal of joy and surprise when I found that she still played guitar after I had heard her early recordings in the 60's. One of the signature chords of my vocabulary comes from her version of "Railroad Bill" This was the first guitar picking style that I ever learned."

Ms. Baker recorded a CD with Taj entitled ETTA BAKER in 2004 that I am going to have to track down and appeared on a CD entitled 10 DAYS OUT- BLUES FROM THE BACKROADS, with Kenny Wayne Shepard which also includes a DVD that shows Kenny & Etta playing guitar in her kitchen.

From the sheet that LeeLee included:
Music Maker Relief Foundation strives to help true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day to day needs. We support the health and well being of these legendary musicians.

I had to share a couple of the songs on this CD (recorded in 1999) with all y'all today. The CD is entitled RAILROAD BILL. The first tune is Ms. Baker along with her friendly finch and is entitled "Carolina Breakdown". Then we will let you hear the title track "Railroad Bill"...and finally, one of my all time favorite tunes which was a staple for the Grateful Dead in concert "Going Down The Road Feeling Bad". The entire CD is filled with gems like these.

Been a wild week around the bloggosphere, and I am getting worn out with talk of the upcoming election, so I am going to turn next week into a full week of Tuneage Tutelage featuring new bands.

Music is universal it is the one thing that, no matter your political leanings, people can agree on. Well, some may like a band or artist and others may not enjoy the same band or artist, but I have never heard an argument started over music.

Sure we have all lived through the "TURN THAT CRAP OFF" calls from our parents as we blasted 'our' music in our rooms as teens, but a fight on the playground? I have never witnessed one, have you?

I went to begin downloading music from some incredible new artists and for some reason the download feature has been turned off. Well, one good thing is all I have to do is request CDs and they are sent to me toot-sweet!

I clicked about 8 "Send Me The CD" buttons and am hopeful they begin arriving shortly.

When I receive all this new music, I immediately load them into my iTunes to be stored forever, so with this collection of music, I will offer each CD to one lucky guest who leaves a comment expressing a true love and desire for the artist/band in question.

So stop around next week, be introduced to some some new music and possibly end up with it as your own!

You know what makes me smile more than anything else these days? Leaving work, pulling up in front of my apartment and finding my beautiful Nancy waiting inside with with some delicious scallops wrapped in BACON waiting and being able to sit and talk for an hour or so...I do loves me some BACON!

It does not happen every night, but when it does it makes the rest of the evening so much more bearable. I do think about when it can happen every night...

The World Series is on as I type up this post and the Phillies have started off with a bang.

Honestly I don't really care which team, the Phils or the Rays win this Fall Classic, but I do hope we are in for a full 7-game series with a ton of adventure.

I think the Rays, being such a young team began the game a little starry-eyed. As we move into the third inning they are making a little noise with the bases loaded and only one out.

Recently I received my second TiVo back from New Jersey...Hi, My name is Vinny Bond and I watch a lot of TV...!

But even cooler, in the box was my collection of Hardy Boys books. All original, some in perfect condition, some rough condition. I read them with a vigor when I was young and remember sharing them with Matt when he was a boy. Now I hold on to them to, hopefully, share them with a grandson some day...NO RUSH Matt! LOL

Double play and the Phils get out of trouble...

Going to share two today, both from albums we recently shared with all y'all...another from the new AC/DC BLACK ICE CD and another from the great Bob Dylan TELL TELL SIGNS...

ENJOY....

Let's recap Friday and Saturday at the Beale Street Music Festival. Friday was a crappy day in terms of weather. It drizzled all day and then about 3:00 pm the Tornado warnings began popping up throughout Arkansas. The storms were all heading in lines toward the Memphis area, so there were many reports on the TV.

darlin' Nancy was not going to be joining me on Friday as here eldest son was supposed to be playing baseball. When the game was canceled, she could not attend as the boys were at home.

So about 5:00 pm, I got in the car and made my way downtown. After parking the car, I walked to Tom Lee Park. No rain falling yet.

After grabbing a couple of beers and a Sausage and Peppers Hero, I made my way to the Tennessee Lottery Blues Tent and found a seat, center aisle third row.

Lil Ed and The Blues Imperials took the stage a few minutes after 7:30 pm. The band is from Chicago, IL and they just rocked. The band is comprised of Lil’ Ed Williams, Guitar & Vocals; Michael Garrett, Guitar & Background Vocals; James “Pookie” Young, Bass & Background Vocals and Kelly Littleton, Drums. We will try and get some of their music uploaded in the next few days.

Here is some upcoming dates for the band. They are a lot of fun and darn good musicians.
May 08, 2008 Blues Music Awards Tunica, MS.
May 10, 2008 Smoke On the Water Festival Pine Bluff, AR.
May 16, 2008 B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted Chicago, IL.
May 17, 2008 B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted Chicago, IL.
May 20, 2008 Over the Mountain Rockton, PA.
May 21, 2008 KClinger's Tavern Hanover, PA.
May 22, 2008 Narrows Center for the Performing Arts Falls River, MA.
May 23, 2008 Mokalaki Golf Club Franklin, NH.
May 28, 2008 Iron Horse Music Hall Northampton, MA.
May 29, 2008 Gerald Veasley's Jazz Base Reading, PA.
May 31, 2008 Western Maryland Blues Festival Hagerstown, MD.
Jun 07, 2008 Chicago Blues Festival 2008 Chicago, IL.
Jun 12, 2008 PRIVATE Chicago, IL.
Jun 14, 2008 Greeley Blues Festival Greeley, CO.
Jun 20, 2008 Riverfront Blues Festival Fort Smith, Ar.
Jun 26, 2008 Murphy's Lounge Omaha, NE.
Jun 27, 2008 Dickie Doo Sedalia, MO.
Jun 28, 2008 Bear Creek Blues Festival Slater, MO.
Jul 19, 2008 BBQ & Blues Too Festival Waterloo, IA.
Jul 26, 2008 Firefighter's Blues Festival North Liberty, IN.
Aug 09, 2008 Diamond State Blues Festival Newcastle, DE.
Aug 10, 2008 Heritage Blues Festival Wheeling, WV.
Aug 16, 2008 Madison Ribberfest Madison, IN.
Aug 22, 2008 Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA

I was sitting next to two guys who had traveled from Edmonton, Canada just for the festival.

During Lil Ed the rains began. We could hear it pounding on the tent roof and through the openings could see the lightening show that was being produced by Mother Nature. Where better than to be in the tent with the blues making the air alive with electricity.

At 9:15 pm Charlie Musselwhite and his band hit the stage. 63 years young and Charlie was looking like he was ready to play all night. I had heard some of Charlie's music, but never seen him live. The Teamster had told me a number of times that he is a show not to be missed. He speaks the truth.

This man has a truly wonderful voice for the blues, with so many stories to tell from his life. He can also blow one mean harp. Add to that, his new guitar player Matthew Stubbs.

Earlier that day, Charlie and Matthew appeared on the local news show. Here is a link to that video: Charlie on WREG.

That same day, Charlie was honored with a Brass Star located outside B.B.King's On Beale Street. You find these brass stars in the sidewalk, ala the stars given to movie stars out in LA. Congrats Charlie!

He rocked the tent as the rain came down in buckets outside. Matthew is a hell of a guitar player and has just joined Charlie's band. It was fun to watch them interact on the stage with Matthew moving to end his solo riffs and Charlie just egging him on to play more and more.

If you have never seen Charlie Musselwhite, try and make it a point to see him as he tours. You will not be disappointed.
5/14/2008 Snow Goose Theatre Anchorage, AK
5/15/2008 Snow Goose Theatre Anchorage, AK
5/16/2008 Juneau Jazz & Classics Juneau, AK
5/17/2008 Juneau Jazz & Classics Juneau, AK
5/31/2008 Western Maryland Blues Fest Hagerstown, MD
6/7/2008 Harmony Festival Santa Rosa, CA
6/8/2008 Pittsburg Blues Festival Pittsburg, CA
6/14/2008 Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival - Cannery Casino & Hotel North Las Vegas
6/29/2008 Monterey Bay Blues Festival Monterey, CA
7/2/2008 The Triple Door Seattle, WA
7/3/2008 Monteith Riverpark Albany, OR
7/5/2008 Waterfront Blues Festival Portland, OR
7/25/2008 Calgary Folk Music Festival Calgary ALB, Canada
7/26/2008 Calgary Folk Music Festival Calgary ALB, Canada
7/27/2008 Ironstone Amphitheatre Murphys, CA
8/1/2008 Notodden Blues Festival Notodden, NORWAY
8/2/2008 Notodden Blues Festival Notodden, NORWAY
8/6/2008 Blue Wing Blues Festival Upper Lake, CA
8/7/2008 Summer Nights on the Green Windsor, CA
8/9/2008 Crystal Bay Club Casino Crystal Bay, NV
8/24/2008 Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival Edmonton ALB, Canada
8/31/2008 Long Beach Blues Festival Long Beach, CA
9/6/2008 Southside Shuffle Port Credit ON, Canada
9/21/2008 Great Atlantic Blues and Beyond Festival Halifax NS, Canada

After a short beak and the moving of people in and out of the tent, I ended up next to a great guy named Don. Don and his wife had come from Pittsburgh to meet other family from Cleveland and Corpus Christie, TX to attend the Festival. He was a great guy and he might even be reading this right now as he took the address for The Couch. It was funny...the whole group had marked out which stages and acts they wanted to see, but kept coming back to find Don. His response each time was "I am here...I will be here...If you need me, you can find me HERE."

Next up, the closing act of the night. It was immediately known that this was going to be an interesting evening as two acoustic guitars and a drum set were set up on stage.

Keb' Mo' took the stage all alone and then introduced his son (who he referred to during the night as Keb' Jr,. Kevin Jr., K-2 and Keb 2). The kid was no more than17 but did a fine job on the drums. Keb'? Well he was on fire.

All acoustic, he had the entire tent mesmerized for a good 90 minutes. Playing acoustic guitar and blowing the harp. His encore was done all alone on the stage and was a perfect end to an almost-perfect evening - well it could not be quite perfect as darlin' Nancy was not there.

Check out the link for his touring calendar, as we can not cut and paste it. Note, he will be appearing with Taj Mahal on the west coast in June. Something you should check out.

We headed home and again, the rain let up which was great. Arrived home around 2:00 am and climbed into bed.

Saturday, darlin' Nancy came over and we headed for the park around 4:00 pm or so. Again, there was not a lot on the schedule worth getting there early. It was overcast, but no rain in the forecast.

We shot into the blues tent again and caught the last few songs from Kenny Neal, a young rising star on the blues circuit from Baton Rouge, LA.

Then darlin' Nancy and I decided to get something to eat and decide how we were going to tackle the multiple stages. We ended up deciding to watch Watermelon Slim (real name Bill Homans). Another treat for all those who were in attendance. Watermelon plays the slide guitar as it sits on a table and has one of those truly "blues" voices.

You can catch him at the following gigs:
May 2008
1 Rogers, AR The Bayou
2 Little Rock, AR Cajun's Wharf
3 Memphis, TN Beale St. Music Festival
8 Tunica, MS Blues Music Awards
9 Bixby, OK BBQ & Blues Festival
10 Springfield, NE Soaring Wings Vineyard Blues Festival
11 Wichita, KS Sam's Place
13 Fort Smith, AR Landry's (Slim solo)
15-17 Marksville, LA Paragon Casino
18 Dana Point, CA Doheny Blues Festival
23 Dallas, TX Pearl
24 Oklahoma City, OK Will Rogers Theater

June 2008
2 Nashville, TN Bourbon St Blues
3 St. Louis, MO BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups
5 Toledo, OH Blue Devil
6 Cobourg, ON Cobourg Legion
7 Kingston, ON Lions Club Hall
8 Toronto, ON Waterfront Blues
12 Columbia, MO Twilight Festival
13 Eureka Springs, AR Chelsea's
14 Topeka, KS Varsity Blues
20 Gahanna, OH Gahanna Creekside Festival
21 Oxford, MI Hot Blues & BBQ Festival
22 Windsor, ON Bluesin' and Crusin' Festival
25-26 Winnipeg, MB Jazz Winnipeg @ Windsor Hotel
28 Newton, IA Bowlful Of Blues Festival
29 Osage Beach, MO Dog Days Concert Series


We then decided to leave our seats (third row center once again) to head over to the stage where Buddy Guy was about to perform. Buddy came out and blew the crowd away. He just tore through his set with a blazing guitar. At one point he left the stage and came out into the crowd. He then climbed on one of the risers set up for sponsors and played for two kids who were no more than 8-years old, even taking the little boys hand and letting him strum the chords.

Buddy is out on tour and you can see him at the following:
05/10/08 West Wendover, NV @ Peppermill Casino
05/30/08 Atlanta, GA @ Atlanta Botanical Garden
05/31/08 Owenton, KY @ Elk Creek Vinyards
06/12/08 Baraboo, WI @ Ho-Chunk Casino
06/13/08 Indianapolis, IN @ Indy Jazz Festival
06/14/08 Birmingham, AL @ City Stages
06/24/08 London, England @ Shepherds Bush Empire
06/25/08 Manchester, England @ Bridgewater Hall
06/26/08 Glasgow, Scotland @ Glasgow Int'l Jazz Festival
06/27/08 Birmingham, England @ Royal Symphony Hall
06/28/08 Somerset, England @ Glastonbury Festival
06/29/08 Liverpool, England @ Philharmonic Hall
07/01/08 Milan, Italy @ Live Club via Mazzani 58
07/02/08 Strasburg, France @ Strasburg Jazz Festival
07/04/08 Issy-les-Moulineaux, France @ Casino d’Eughien
07/06/08 Issey-les-Moulineaux, France @ Jazz A Vienne
07/11/08 Frankfurt, Germany @ Blues Garage
07/12/08 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Bospop Festival
07/13/08 Holland, Netherlands @ North Sea Jazz Festival
07/31/08 Reno, NV @ Silver Legacy Resort and Casino
08/28/08 Highland Park, IL @ Ravinia Festival
08/30/08 Milwaukee, WI @ Harley Davidson Celebration
09/12/08 Fredericton, NB, Canada @ Harvest Jazz & Blues Fest – Bud Light Tent
09/19/08 Fort Worth, TX @ Will Rogers Memorial Complex
10/04/08 Columbia, MO @ BCNB Roots, Blues & BBQ Festival
11/25/08 Brampton, Ontario @ Rose Theatre Brampton
12/06/08 El Paso, TX @ The Vann Pecan Farm

Quickly, we headed back to the Blues Tent for what I considered to be the show of the weekend. Pinetop Perkins and Hubert Sumlin along with Memphis' own Billy Gibson.

The set began with Gibson wailing on his harmonica. Then Hubert came out and strapped on the guitar and showed that even a 77-year old can still make the guitar sing. Living history on the stage no more than15 feet from where darlin' Nancy and I were sitting. The crowd going crazy...now this was perfection.

Hubert went off the stage and Billy Gibson introduced the legend, Mr. Pinetop Perkins. This icon - 95-years young - took the stage dressed to the nines and sat down at the electric piano. What followed was sheer joy. Singing the blues, playing juke joint piano and getting the crowd to just melt, Pinetop was worth every second he was on stage.

Hubert's Dates:
May 9
Wolf’s Juke Joint Jam 2
Waverly Waters
West Point, MS

May 10
Robert Johnson Blues Festival
Chautauqua Park
Crystal Springs, MS

May 17
Doheny Blues Festival
Doheny State Beach
Dana Point CA

May 24
Santa Cruz Blues Festival
Aptos Village Park
Santa Cruz, CA

June 6
Beale on Broadway
St. Louis MO

June 7
Gladstone Summertime Blues Festival
Oak Grove Park
Gladstone, MO

June 14
Blues On The Fox
Galena Blvd. on Broadway
Aurora, IL
with Kenny Wayne Shepherd

June 28
Carnegie Hall
105 Church Street
Lewisburg, WV

July 26
Piazza Blues Festival
Piazza Governo
Piazza Switzerland

August 7th
National Guitar Workshop
The Canterbury School
New Milford, CT
Appearing with Bob Margolin

August 8
Regatta Bar
Charles Hotel
Cambridge MA

August 9
Dutch Mason Blues Festival
NSPE-Truro Raceway and Exhibition Grounds
Truro Nova Scotia Canada

August 23
Edmonton’s LaBatt Blues Festival
Heritage Amphitheater Hawrelak Park
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Pinetop's Dates:
Sat 05/10/08 Crystal Springs, MS Chautauqua Park

Sat 05/17/08 Dana Point, CA Doheny State Beach

Thu 05/22/08 Nicasio, CA Rancho Nicasio

Sat 05/24/08 Aptos, CA Santa Cruz Blues Festival

Thu 06/05/08 Chicago, IL Grant Park

Thu 06/05/08 Chicago, IL House Of Blues

Thu 06/26/08 Toronto, ON Jeff Healey's Roadhouse

Sat 07/19/08 Somerset, KY Somerset Community College

Fri 08/01/08 "Notodden Blues Festival", NOR Sliperhallen

Sat 08/02/08 "Notodden Blues Festival", NOR Sliperhallen

Sat 08/23/08 Edmonton, AB Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival

Mon 09/15/08 Washington, DC Kennedy Center For The Perf. Arts

As we had left the stage area where we saw Buddy Guy, there was no way we would get close to the stage for Santana. The grounds were a quagmire by this point, so darlin' Nancy and I found a clear viewing area about 100 yards from the stage and listened as Carlos and band began to take off.

Would it have been great to have been closer to the stage...absolutely, but it would have meant trying to force through the crowd.

For the next 90-minutes, I got to hold tight to my baby and dance to the silky smooth music that comes from Carlos. Can't tell you the last time I was at a concert and got to enjoy it so much with someone so special.

They played new and old...they made the air sizzle.

A PERFECT end to a PERFECT day. All in all over 17 hours of music...I do not know of another three-day festival where you can get so much music for only $63.00 and where beers are only $4 and a sausage hero is only $4. They do not rip you off like so many other venues.

I did not go on Sunday. All of the acts I would have wanted to see were on at night and having to be at the airport at first light and trying to complete the special post for Thursday made me make a grown-up decision.

As I mentioned yesterday we had a technical problem with the camera, but darlin' Nancy is sending me the shots and when I get home I will try and make them usable and share.

Update on the state baseball tournament. Ernie's team won Saturday and are playing today. If they win the first, they move on. If they lose the first, they play the deciding game immediately afterward.

Next up for the Memphis In May celebration is the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest where teams from all over the world converge on Memphis to try and win some of the $90,000.00 in prize money and earn the bragging rights to carry on for the next year. Tickets? Just $7.00/day...can't be beat!

Then at the end of the month and event darlin' Nancy, the boys and I are planning to attend. The Sunset Symphony, the oldest event on the Memphis In May schedule. Also held at Tom Lee Park along the mighty Mississippi, it allows the masses an opportunity to enjoy the Memphis Symphony Orchestra along with a special guest each year. This year it is the Four Tops.

In 2007, for the first time, The Commemorative Air Force performed a tribute to World War II in a 60-minute air show. Since the air show was such an overwhelming success, Memphis in May is presenting this show in 2008, featuring World War II historic aircrafts the Corsair, Hawker Sea Fury, Stearman and the Russian Yak.

When the sun sets, the fireworks show will begin. This dazzling presentation will be orchestrated in part with the Symphony performance, and serve as the grand finale of the 2008 Memphis in May International festival.

This also costs just $7.00/person and you are allowed to bring in food and drink and have a wonderful day of music and food and friends.

No music today...sorry.