Post by kalisa2 on Jun 28, 2006 10:35:53 GMT -5
MONTEREY BAY BLUES FESTIVAL
Festival ends with lots of energy
By MAC MCDONALD
Herald staff writer
The sun was back, the crowds were back and the buzz was back Sunday afternoon at the 21st annual Monterey Bay Blues Festival.
After a slow Saturday afternoon and a relatively subdued Saturday night (with a few exceptions, such as the Four Kings of R&B, John "Broadway" Tucker, Buckwheat Zydeco and Terry Hanck), the energy was running on high Sunday.
By midday Sunday, the food concourse was as crowded as a Tokyo subway.
Standing-room-only crowds jammed the Garden Stage, lines were long again at most food booths (Woodie's World of Wings was doing gangbusters) and bar tents and there was a sense of excitement that wasn't always there Friday and Saturday.
Although the two grounds stages were drawing big, enthusiastic crowds, a lot of the excitement was emanating from the main stage, thanks to artists such as singer Yolanda Adams, acoustic blues ace Eric Bibb, the Chicago Blues Reunion and especially, the Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards.
Of course, this wasn't the original lineup of the Temps (without the late Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin, it's like the Beatles without John and George), but leader Edwards did join in 1967 (replacing Ruffin) and was involved in some of the group's biggest hits.
And hits was what this show was all about, kicking off with "Cloud Nine," and smoothly seguing through Temps classics such as "Can't Get Next to You," "Ball of Confusion," "Get Ready," "Don't Look Back," "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "I Wish It Would Rain."
By the time the group, backed by a tight, horn-driven band, took the audience "back to the beginning of the Temptations," with big hits such as "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," the audience was dancing and singing along in sheer joy.
Dressed in matching white short-sleeved suits and dancing in unison, the five singers sent the audience off into the early evening on a high with a medley of two of its biggest hits, "My Girl" and "Just My Imagination."
Earlier in the day, Bibb captivated the main arena audience with the sheer power of his glowing personality, heartfelt songs and warm singing. Playing solo with an acoustic guitar, Bibb looked small and lonely on the cavernous stage, but he had the audience hanging on his every word, no mean feat at this festival, known for putting the festive in festival.
His final song, "I Heard the Angels Sing," was written by one of his heroes, the Rev. Gary Davis, that he heard when he was 15. The last notes were greeted with a well-deserved standing ovation.
The Chicago Blues Reunion was awash with history, given that two its members, Nick Gravenites and Barry Goldberg. played on the same stage almost 40 years ago at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival as members of Electric Flag.
Referring to that momentous event, Goldberg remarked that it was "good to be back -- it's still groovy," while dedicating the band's set to the late Mike Bloomfield, leader and co-founder of Electric Flag.
Except for two slow blues numbers, the band ripped into a set of uptempo blues shuffles and boogies, including "Wine, Wine, Wine," "I Need All the Help I Can Get" (written by Friday night headliner Delbert McClinton), "She Knows How to Rock Me," "Let's Work Together" and the blues classic "I Got My Mojo Working," which was sung by former Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Paul Butterfield Blues Band drummer/singer Sam Lay.
Lay sang the song back in the '60s with Waters, Butterfield and the Siegel-Schwall Band, prompting harmonica player Corky Siegel to dub it "Sam's Anthem."
Lay is one of the few musicians to have played with Waters, Wolf and Bob Dylan, with whom he played at the history-making 1965 Newport Folk Festival in which Dylan went electric and shocked the music world.
The Reunion band also included singer Tracy Nelson (of Mother Earth fame), guitarists Harvey Mandel and, Auston Crow, drummer Gary Malaber and bassist Rick Reed.
Although this festival lacked some of the truly big names in blues and R&B, there were a number of bright spots over the weekend (Bibb, McClinton, John "Broadway" Tucker, the For the Love of Ray band, Hanck and the Chicago Blues Reunion stood out for me) to keep the true blues aficionado satisfied.
And please, bring back artists such as Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan, whose supremely enjoyable vintage acoustic blues and ragtime bring a needed uniqueness to this festival.
from: www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/14903669.htm
Festival ends with lots of energy
By MAC MCDONALD
Herald staff writer
The sun was back, the crowds were back and the buzz was back Sunday afternoon at the 21st annual Monterey Bay Blues Festival.
After a slow Saturday afternoon and a relatively subdued Saturday night (with a few exceptions, such as the Four Kings of R&B, John "Broadway" Tucker, Buckwheat Zydeco and Terry Hanck), the energy was running on high Sunday.
By midday Sunday, the food concourse was as crowded as a Tokyo subway.
Standing-room-only crowds jammed the Garden Stage, lines were long again at most food booths (Woodie's World of Wings was doing gangbusters) and bar tents and there was a sense of excitement that wasn't always there Friday and Saturday.
Although the two grounds stages were drawing big, enthusiastic crowds, a lot of the excitement was emanating from the main stage, thanks to artists such as singer Yolanda Adams, acoustic blues ace Eric Bibb, the Chicago Blues Reunion and especially, the Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards.
Of course, this wasn't the original lineup of the Temps (without the late Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin, it's like the Beatles without John and George), but leader Edwards did join in 1967 (replacing Ruffin) and was involved in some of the group's biggest hits.
And hits was what this show was all about, kicking off with "Cloud Nine," and smoothly seguing through Temps classics such as "Can't Get Next to You," "Ball of Confusion," "Get Ready," "Don't Look Back," "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "I Wish It Would Rain."
By the time the group, backed by a tight, horn-driven band, took the audience "back to the beginning of the Temptations," with big hits such as "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," the audience was dancing and singing along in sheer joy.
Dressed in matching white short-sleeved suits and dancing in unison, the five singers sent the audience off into the early evening on a high with a medley of two of its biggest hits, "My Girl" and "Just My Imagination."
Earlier in the day, Bibb captivated the main arena audience with the sheer power of his glowing personality, heartfelt songs and warm singing. Playing solo with an acoustic guitar, Bibb looked small and lonely on the cavernous stage, but he had the audience hanging on his every word, no mean feat at this festival, known for putting the festive in festival.
His final song, "I Heard the Angels Sing," was written by one of his heroes, the Rev. Gary Davis, that he heard when he was 15. The last notes were greeted with a well-deserved standing ovation.
The Chicago Blues Reunion was awash with history, given that two its members, Nick Gravenites and Barry Goldberg. played on the same stage almost 40 years ago at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival as members of Electric Flag.
Referring to that momentous event, Goldberg remarked that it was "good to be back -- it's still groovy," while dedicating the band's set to the late Mike Bloomfield, leader and co-founder of Electric Flag.
Except for two slow blues numbers, the band ripped into a set of uptempo blues shuffles and boogies, including "Wine, Wine, Wine," "I Need All the Help I Can Get" (written by Friday night headliner Delbert McClinton), "She Knows How to Rock Me," "Let's Work Together" and the blues classic "I Got My Mojo Working," which was sung by former Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Paul Butterfield Blues Band drummer/singer Sam Lay.
Lay sang the song back in the '60s with Waters, Butterfield and the Siegel-Schwall Band, prompting harmonica player Corky Siegel to dub it "Sam's Anthem."
Lay is one of the few musicians to have played with Waters, Wolf and Bob Dylan, with whom he played at the history-making 1965 Newport Folk Festival in which Dylan went electric and shocked the music world.
The Reunion band also included singer Tracy Nelson (of Mother Earth fame), guitarists Harvey Mandel and, Auston Crow, drummer Gary Malaber and bassist Rick Reed.
Although this festival lacked some of the truly big names in blues and R&B, there were a number of bright spots over the weekend (Bibb, McClinton, John "Broadway" Tucker, the For the Love of Ray band, Hanck and the Chicago Blues Reunion stood out for me) to keep the true blues aficionado satisfied.
And please, bring back artists such as Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan, whose supremely enjoyable vintage acoustic blues and ragtime bring a needed uniqueness to this festival.
from: www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/14903669.htm