Columbus Blues Challenge 2007
-- Mike and Nancy Longo
Mike and Nancy Longo sent back a great report on the Columbus Blues Challenge that was held on October 14, 2007. Their words were…
It was a great day, great music, and a lot of fun. The people from the CBA were very warm and welcoming. We identified ourselves as being part of the BSWPA and they were so happy to have us there. We were admitted to the event at their member price. This is a courtesy they extend to anyone who is a member of any Blues Society anywhere. Their feeling is that you can’t join them all and we’re members together in the love of the blues. Mike and I both agree that it was a great day of the blues. Whiskey Dicks provides the venue every year and it was a really nice place for this event.
We used the programs that we were given to judge each act (Note from the editor: They had enclosed the paperwork. They did a lot of work to report on each band. It was impressive.) We did not always agree, but we did absolutely agree on the choices for the winners in each category. The following is a recap of our thoughts on the winners.
The day began with five solo/duo acts.
The first place winner was Walter Tore’s Spontobeat.
Nancy said: We had no idea what Spontobeat meant. Well, he calls himself Spontobeat because he makes up everything as he goes along. All the words and all of the music completely are spontaneous. He is literally a one-man band. He played guitar, harp, and drums. He was the consummate professional on every level. We loved this guy!
Mike scored: Mike scored this band the highest on the scorecard and agreed with the judges.
The second place winner was Damian Knapp.
She said: This guy played a nice slide. He was a good musician and had a nice stage presence. He did mostly original songs. One song was titled “Decay in Our Cities.” I thought that it was very reminiscent of traditional Delta Blues. I thought he was very good.
He scored: Mike’s scorecard had him in fourth place.
The third place winner was Barry Chern.
She said: He had a more traditional style. He was amusing and entertaining. I thought that he talked too much. You only have twenty minutes to get yourself to Memphis and he probably talked five minutes of it away. He had a smooth voice and played guitar well.
He score: Mike had scored him in third on his score sheet.
The Band Challenge soon followed. Seventeen bands took the stage that day.
The first place band winner of the Columbus event was Patrick McLaughlin.
She said: This guy and his rhythm section smoked! They were great! In every song, every note was sharp as a tack. The vocals were good. The guitar playing was great. They deserved to win!
He scored and said: This was the band that Mike picked as his personal tiebreaker before the winners were announced.
The second place band winner was Damn Right.
She said: Nice ensemble. Good Blues attitude. Real good harp player. I would go and see these guys again.
He scored: Mike’s scoring placed them in second place just like the judges did.
The third place band winner was Terry Davidson and the Gears.
She said: Good song selection. Nice energy-decent band but do not think that they were good enough to be top three.
He scored: Mike’s scoring had them in around third place.
This event was very well organized. They never missed a beat of getting people on and off. There were no long breaks or delays. We met some people from the Marietta, Ohio Blues Society. They were very nice people: John, Peg and Steve. They invited all of us to Marietta and to the Lafayette Hotel for their Blues competition on February 15 and 16, 2008. They have the honor of hosting the first competition in the country for the 2009 IBCs. They told us that they also admit anyone who is a member of any Blues Society anywhere for member prices. They will have two days of competitions to accommodate the many, many bands that compete. They also shared some tidbits of information. They went to the Charleston, West Virginia Blues Challenge. Izzy and Chris won the Solo/Duo event and Billy the Kid and the Regulators won the Band segment. Both of those winners will be going to Memphis.
Nancy also very enthusiastically stated that the Longos would see everyone in Memphis!
Thank you Nancy and Mike for being our “Blues reporters at large.”
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