[Harp-L] Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 20, Issue 74

[Ansel Barnum <barnum@xxxxxxxxx>]

I found the show deflated and tiresome, although this could have been more
the fault of the venue than the performers. There was something about the
scene that smacked of the high school music recital: A large, vacant stage
with the band clustered together in the middle; a backdrop of random
kaleidoscope lighting; an expansive auditorium with horrible acoustics
that reverberated the music into muddiness; a polite audience that clapped
appreciatively after each song. This was no environment in which to play
intimate, visceral music. The end of the one set show brought relief to an
otherwise uncomfortable evening. For Rebecca Moulder to think that the
place swung like the HOB would have required some form of intoxication,
which perhaps is what the circumstances called for.


Ansel

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 21:52:37 -0400
> From: Rooty Baegga <rootybaegga@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [Harp-L] Hard rockin' blues harp
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.0.20050421215203.05d07d58@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; format=flowed
>
> http://keystoneonline.com/story.asp?Art_id=1303
>
> Hard rockin' blues harp
>
> By Rebecca Moulder, A&E Reporter, The Keystone
>
> KUTZTOWN—It was just after 8 p.m. when blues legend Charlie Musselwhite
> took the stage. The crowd of over 500 sat before the harmonica playing
> prodigy in the darkened Schaeffer Auditorium, as he entertained the
> audience with a show dedicated to the heart and soul of rock ‘n’ roll.
>
> The April 14 show, sponsored by the Reading Eagle Company and part of KU’s
> Performing Artists series, drew students and aging baby-boomers from both
> Berks and Lehigh counties.
>
> With slicked-backed hair and a leather jacket, 61-year-old Musselwhite is a
> dead-ringer for Johnny Cash, the Man in Black himself. Originally from the
> hill country of Mississippi, Musselwhite moved to Memphis, Tennessee as a
> teenager, where he often hung out at clubs frequented by Elvis Presley,
> Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Burnette and Slim Rhodes. Eager to join the ranks
> of his idols and satisfy his love for music, Musselwhite spent much of his
> youth learning to play guitar and of course, the infamous blues harp.
>
> After moving to Chicago in search of a better life than his previous
> hard-drinking adolescence, Musselwhite discovered the city’s South Side,
> which proved to be an even more detestable place to live. Young Charlie did
> have one advantage, however. Living in close-quarters with other rock ‘n’
> roll legends provided him with the opportunity to study and play with some
> of the biggest names in music at the time. Taking advice and lessons from
> Big Joe Williams, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Howlin’ Wolf helped him
> quench his thirst for the blues and eventually helped him to develop his
> own style.
>
> Today, Musselwhite tours the country with his band: Chris Andersen on
> guitar, Randy Bermudes on bass and June Core on drums. Musselwhite has been
> with Bermudes and Core for the last five years but Andersen, a Buddy Holly
> look-alike from Norway, didn’t join the band until this past January.
> Despite having only been together for a few months, Musselwhite kept good
> harmony with the group and had the audience tapping and clapping throughout
> the performance.
>
> While Musselwhite blared his harmonica into the microphone, Andersen showed
> off his skills with a few minutes of improvisation in almost every song.
> When he was finished, the spotlight would again turn to the aging lead
> singer who finished each song with all the energy of his younger counterparts.
>
> With music blaring and stage lights to fit the mood, Schaeffer Auditorium
> could have almost passed for the famous House of Blues that night.
>
> After starting with a couple of slow blues ballads, Musselwhite entertained
> the audience with several fast-paced honky tonk classics, alternating
> between singing real life lyrics about living in the Deep South and playing
> improv harmonica with plenty of soul. The favorite song of the night “Lots
> of Poppa” was well received after which he asked the crowd “Is everything
> kinda lean and ruby do?”
>
> Following several more songs about life, love and the infamous Highway 51,
> Musselwhite ended the show with an encore presentation of a ballad from his
> original 1966 album. Afterwards, the singer, songwriter, musician and six
> time Grammy nominee met a long line of fans in the lobby for a CD signing.
>
> Musselwhite has an impressive track record in terms of albums. Since the
> late 1960s he has released a new album almost yearly, beginning with his
> debut record, Stand Back!, all the way up to the 2004 release of his
> self-titled CD, a collection of his greatest hits.
>
> When talking about his style, Musselwhite tries to experiment beyond the
> conventional bounds of blues music but never ventures far from his start.
> As he states in his bio, he’s simply interested in “music from the heart.”
>