RE: [Harp-L] weird but awesome night with James Harmon (& guests) in Sacramento

["Bernie Clarke" <rhythmshark@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have become friends with James over the last couple of years.  He is
nothing short of amazing.  There is no one else like him!

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Michael Peloquin
Sent: Saturday, May 26, 2012 2:35 PM
To: Harp -l
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] weird but awesome night with James Harmon (& guests)
in Sacramento


Chris posted: 
> So, it had probably been about 15 years at least since I'd seen James
Harmon live. Used to see him quite a bit in the late 80s up through the mid
90s, and always remembered digging his stuff. I remembered it as being good
basic gutbucket blues with solid singing, harp playing and a good mix of
original tunes and classic covers.
> 
> I'd kinda lost track of Harmon over the years so when I saw him playing at
my favorite local Sac bar a couple nights ago (the Torch Club), I was
psyched to go check out what he's up to these days. 
> 
> 
> I can now say: if anyone has the chance to see Harmon right now, I highly
recommend seizing the opportunity while you can. Like, do it NOW.:)
> 
> 
> Put simply, Harmon's stage show has ascended to an entirely new level that
more resembles some kind of abstract performance art than "blues" - and
that's a GREAT thing. He rambled on and off the stage, let the backup band
play several tunes in a row & then just when I was about to give up and
bail, he'd wander out, grab the mic and just freestyle for 20 minutes
straight. Not a ton of harp, but lots of wild improvisational rantings -
some spoken and some sung. There were hilarious stories, free-associative
soul singing, and lots of brilliant one-liners and asides. 
> 
> He looks like hell, and I don't know how many years of this he's got left,
but the man puts on an amazing, unpredictable show that, although it
occasionally resembles the final minutes of Raging Bull, is still one of the
few authentic bits of artistry I've seen in a genre of music that has become
almost completely predictable and lifeless.
> 
> My favorite part was when he leaned over, grabbed the mic and said "by the
way, sorry if you came here expecting to hear a bunch of Muddy Waters tunes,
or something like that."
> 
> At one point he called Rick Estrin up (who had been lurking by the bar
with some friends all night) and basically just left him up there. Rick even
jokingly called out "Um, James - where'd you go?" after a couple tunes, but
he dutifully went on to give us about 30 minutes of mind-boggling harmonica
instrumentals before James reappeared and joined him on stage. 
> 
> All in all, a truly unique musical experience. Highly recommended.

Chris,

Great story and brilliant writing on your part!

Michael Peloquin
510-703-6341
The West Coast Harmonica Summit DVD has been released:



http://www.jazzharmonicasummit.com/

http://www.amazon.com/West-Coast-Jazz-Harmonica-Summit/dp/B003UL1BPY



It was an amazing night of harmonica, and now you can witness it even if you
weren't there! Buy your copy today!
http://harpsax.com


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