[Harp-L] Jason's Harp Blowoff - A Room Full of Monsters

[Mojo Red <harplicks@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

Well, I got to attend Jason Ricci's Harmonica
Blowoff last night at Herman's Hideaway in Denver,
and all I can say is, Wowee-Wow-WOW!!

Herman's is a largish venue with a great stage (my
band played there once upon a time), and was a
perfect place to hold the Blowoff. It was so GREAT
to see so many members of the harmonica community
in one room, all having a GREAT time. It was
awesome to see folks again, like Buzz Krantz (my
personal friend), Warren "Killa" Bee, Bobbie G.,
P.T. Gazell, Joe Filisko, Smo-Jo, Elizabeth,
Winslow... local harp gods like Ronnie Shellist,
Paul Davies, Clay Kirkland, Al Chesis... and so
many harp-friends! Let's just say the room was
crawling with harp players, many of them
monstrously good.

Jason and his band opened the show, just
annihilating us with his powerful style. After a
quick set the guests started rolling up, each one
having Jason's tight, talented band as backup. What
a treat!

I know I'll forget some of the great players, so
please forgive me in advance. I'll try to remember,
but I'm a bit ~ahem~ foggy this morning...

Gino Bambino (don't know his real name) opened
things with a wonderful version of The Work Song. 

Winslow led Dennis G., Allen Holmes, Michael P. and
Gino through some damned fine songs, calling the
ad-hoc group the American Harmonic Choir. 

Then Jimmy Lee did a short amplified set that
included a killer amplified version of Juke. 

Michael Peloquin was awesome, both on harp and
sax... and ~great~ vocals! Jason sat in with him
and the two madmen traded impossible licks with
flawless perfection.

After a break Chris Michalek with Buddha's Grove
set up and simply smoked through their jazz set
(can't believe they played Spain. These guys are
TIGHT. Yow!! George Brooks sat in with Chris' band,
and just sleighed me with his fluid, melodic style.
Yikes! Scary good monster!

Dennis Gruenling & Gina Fox, with Jason's band then
completely tore the place down with an incredible
set of tight jump style blues... Dennis' tone on
both short harp and chromatic went on for days.
Mercy!

Then, when I thought I couldn't take any more
incredibleness, Gary Primich showed up and kicked
some big-tone booty playing an awesome set to end
the night. 

Jason did a ~great~ job bringing in so much
fabulous talent this year, and was a gracious host
throughout. 

A special round of thanks needs to go out to
Jason's band mates who played ALL night long
(except for Michalek's set), and learned all those
songs from each of the guests diverse sets. Shawn
Starski (blistering guitar), Tod "Buck Weed"
Edmunds (killer bass) and I'm sorry, I forget the
new drummer's name (Steve Johnson is still out with
a broken wrist). Those guys worked HARD, sonded
awesome, and managed to look like they enjyed every
minute. 

Whew! Up late last night... now I gotta work
today... but then it's off to go enjoy SPAH!! 

Harpin' in Colorado,
--Ken M.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com