FESTIVALS

Posted by Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania-Jim Weber Wednesday, October 21, 2009 1:27 AM
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The Blues Society was busy this summer and I know many of you joined us. We gathered at Hartwood Acres for the Pittsburgh Blues Festival on July 24th. We were given a nasty weather forecast for the weekend, calling for rain all three days with several thunderstorms scattered throughout. Ron Esser, (Moondog), welcomed the crowd .He then talked about Jim Weber, our departed president and good friend. He said "Jim is smiling down on us and is going to make sure the weather is clear for the weekend." We got through Friday dry and enjoyed the bands and the crowd. On Saturday, things looked a bit worse. Clouds! The weather called for scattered thunderstorms. We got twenty minutes of rain with no thunderstorms. Sunday was clear and sunny. Looks like Jim was smiling on us. We had a record weekend and met some great people as we always do. There were several renewals and new members. We had visits from some of the artists, including Shannon Curfman, who was a treat to talk to. (I like that young lady! hell of a guitarist too.)


Los Lobos, some of the most talented musicians of any genre, played Saturday night. They played such a variety of music, it was incredible. They had us dancing one song and hypnotized the next. Another thing Jim Weber may have helped with is keeping the wackos away. I swear the number of loonies dropped dramatically this year. I don't know why, maybe he steered them to Joyce's Fudge or the Moondog booth. The weekend wouldn't be complete without some strange humans though, and I had a blast talking to some real characters. The selection of local bands was very good this year. It included our IBC winner, Felix and the Hurricanes, and runners-up, Jill West and Blues Attack and Ron Yarosz and the Vehicle. Also included were Glen Pavone and the Cyclones, Jimmy Adler band and Eugene Morgan. Also, a first this year was a concept from June Esser and Jonnye Weber- a blues tent for children. Some great local artists helped out- led by Jimmy Adler. I saw a few minutes with Bubs McKeg leading a few kids in song. The kids had a blast and sounded good.We closed up early Sunday, so that we could all watch Robert Cray, who was an absolute joy to watch. Wow! It was the first time most of us saw him and his band and I hope to see him again. It is amazing that he got his start as bass player for Otis Day and the Knights in "Animal House”. Two weeks later, we gathered in Wheeling, WV for Heritage Blues Fest. It was another great line-up. My favorite was Elvin Bishop, whom we met. He wailed on his guitar playing some great old and new tunes. One lady liked him enough to donate her bra.
She threw it on stage and it landed on the headstock of his Gibson. He didn't miss a beat and played the next three songs with the bra swinging in the breeze, til he finally removed it saying, "these are better when they're off". Saturday had a couple favorites of mine- Ronnie Baker Brooks and Walter Trout. We got Walter to visit our booth and he fit right in. He wore our Blues Society shirt while he signed his new CD after the show. One of the best things about the festival is the after jam. It’s at the hotel that we stay at and is run by our friend and Blues society member, Billy the Kid. This years visitors to the jam included Sean Carney and Little Joe Mcclaren (both IBC winners), Delta Highway, Mikey, Jr., and David Jacobs Strain- an amazing guitarist who was new to me. Sunday’s highlights were Sonny Landreth, Magic Slim and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. We had another good weekend despite having two other Blues Societies there (West Virginia and Columbus.). So, I want to thank Ron Esser and Bruce Wheeler for putting on two great festivals! We all enjoyed the music, the people, the food and drink! For me, the highlight of my year is the Blues festivals. I feel so lucky to be such a small part of such great events.
~Don Vecchio


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