The entertainment landscape felt a bit...scattered this weekend. The usual "headline" names were either not playing or somewhere distant. Not all of the usual venues had blues fare or recognizable names. That only matters if I have to drive and if it is far I might not make the trip on a gamble. My time to go out is precious and I try to make the best of every night I get to go out.

  Friday night I had some time late so I ventured to Copaigue to see "eXonda, The Chocolate Rocker" @ the infamous Players Club. That place seems to be situated on a weird vortex of some kind. Like the movie Poltergeist about a development built on cemetery grounds it seems The Players Club has something zombastic going on underneath.  The barmaid, this time, was Erica. She is an improvement. The girl is entertaining and knows something about managing the people as well as the bar. She at least tried to keep the "locals" from  "zombie-ing" the band as they played. There were the perfunctory "nitty gritty's" who inhabit the place but they seemed benevolent this time.

   As for eXonda, The Chocolate Rocker and the band they had some nice moments. With Poppa G, Henning Stumm behind them eXonda was a cool vocalist with Sugaree as back-up. She did a nice job on some originals, C.O.M.E. and At The Party. Her energy is contained, not over the top ever and she sustained a nice "conversational" and soulful sound.

   Saturday I was a bit disoriented as some friends never confirmed or denied their plans with me. I stayed local as I waited and caught Phil Varca. He has been absent from the scene for a few years but the few times I had seen him I heard some good guitar.

    He was so local I had to check it out. The Brighwaters Inn is actually not a bad venue. Ample space, congenial bartender, plenty of parking. 

   Varca did a nice job on Voodoo Chile among other Hendrix and SRV tunes which I enjoy. There was a dozen or two fans and about the same number of locals.

   The place, being sort of off the beaten track lacked a bit of weekend juice that comes from peripheral sources one may find on Main Street(s) or in multi-venue clusters. That may have been part of why I felt sort of disconnected on a Saturday night. It was not a bad weekend though. There is always something to see and hear.

    Thanks for stopping by and thanks to the bands and musicians who keep me posted of their events.

    Enjoy this stormy looking Sunday...that means you too, Franny.

bill

    I sometimes feel it is necessary to clarify some things about my intentions here on my humble site. And while I'm doing some "clarifying", I do only have the use of one ear. The right one is damn good and the left is just window dressing. I have no idea how it affects what I hear except that if you are talking into my bad ear I am ignoring you unless you are close enough to breathe warmly into said, deaf ear in which case, thanks.

   Every now and then I get someone (usually a new found reader) who comments to me about how little I know about someone or about someone's musical ability. I always respond that I am here as a fan of music. I am not a musician. It might be useful to think of me as a guy in the audience; a fan. I am not a critic from Newsday. I am not a frustrated musician. I write as if I am talking to the average Long Islander who enjoys music and would like to go out and hear more of it if he/she only knew there was good stuff right in his/her home town. It may not be John Mayer or The Police but it is a professional musician and there are some really good ones.

   I am here to write a journal. I happen to find joy and meaning in music and artistic expression so that is what I go out and find. I hear and see things that generate thoughts and feelings. I'd like to contribute something of my own in the way of  perceptions and entertaining discussion.

   Sometimes I am enjoying a show or a performance because the person is emanating something I am relating to...maybe a feeling.

   I recently mentioned to someone that I enjoyed a particular performance that the other person had also seen apparently.  Upon hearing my statement that I enjoyed the piece my friend made a face like he just tasted a bad clam. He found that the performance was out of tune.  Hmmm. Perhaps it could have been played in a better way technically. I didn't hear that. I heard someone saying something with an instrument and I dug it. There lies the rub I guess. It may boggle a musicians mind to hear that a less than perfect performance was enjoyed and even commented on. But there are people out there (with impaired hearing no less) who enjoy music and performance and being there and taking it in. There is a lot to absorb besides how perfect the notes were adhered to...although that can be beautiful too.

   So forgive me if I get a name or title wrong or if I miss a bad note or if some "small potatoes" local artist does something I think is really cool. Judge me more for how many times I may find words for feelings and scenarios that you can relate to. It's just conversation from a listener.

   I actually don't mind hearing opinions, in fact, I learn from them but I'm just here for something different than making music. I may write about a virtuoso performance by Kerry Kearney or of a gutsy one by some schlep who got up there for only the third time or I may write about life here on Long Island.

   I feel that we don't appreciate enough the "here and now". It is moving by fast and we may be in different places sooner than we think and that could be better or worse but nothing is better than this, here, right now because we are all experiencing it together and it is all we have right now.

   Thanks for listening.

bill

    Even an event like the annual Riverhead Blues Festival can be a challenge to get to. Summer weekends can be busy with family events and even work.

   I knew the festival was coming for months. I had it marked on my calender. I had mentioned it to my family a few times in the meantime as if to reserve it.

That didn't work entirely though. A family party, initiated even two weeks before, was enough to trump one weekend day at the festival. A person can be made to feel guilty if he tries to sock away an entire weekend for a festival. I get that.

   I did see a number of apparently happy, whole families at the Riverhead festival though. It just didn't happen to be mine. No worries. I was able to coerce my child to come and thankfully she (and her buddy) enjoyed it. There was plenty of shopping at the craft and apparrel tents and lots of snacking and sights to see. The music didn't interest my 12 year old though. I guess the fact that there weren't any 14 yr. old teeny boppers on the bill disuaded her from even trying blues fare.

   I was able to get situated way up front and enjoy the music on the main stage. There was a really interesting crowd there. The people ranged from  bohemian, live-in-the-moment types, to motorcycle garbed types to country club conventional types to undescribable but happily engaged in the music...types. There were plenty of "lookers" and plenty of, um, "non-lookers". There were beach balls bouncing with great frequency off peoples heads. I noticed that tall people were unfairly plunked most often and uncommonly patient and good natured about it....another reason to wish I was tall.

   There was a happy expression on most peoples faces. They  were enjoying the music and enjoying the festival. The musicians seemed to have the people in the palms of their hands. T-Bone and Franny Mae were having fun with the audience...something about Franny keeping her skirt down on the blustery summer day but her voice was even sexier.

    Cadillac Moon had a good jam going. Leslie Z had me pretty much locked in to her hand and dance movements as she and CM skillfully played the happy go lucky Sunday crowd. They sport a couple of brass instruments which complement Nugent, Zimei and co.  

   Speaking of brass, Kerry Kearney had his festival chops on and he also sported some brass...a kick-ass trumpet. As usual I dug  the KK slot.

   I hear there were some amazing performances on Saturday and earlier on Sunday by Jacks O Diamonds and Frank LaTorre and Honeytribe and lots of others and I'm again pissed that I missed a bunch of it but I had a good time and I enjoyed being there and being a part of the celebration. The performers looked like they were having fun and it was contagious.

   I was glad to take it in again. It is a good piece of Long Island flavor. I am glad to see people there in good numbers and I expect that it will continue to grow. Why not. It's a good thing.

   Wednesday night started out slow and I didn't want a slow night.

   I was particularly angiopissed last night as both the Ms. and vunderchild had issues with me as I was getting ready to saunter out the door for my Wednesday night blues therapy. Sometimes you can't please anyone. Twelve-year olds have about as much appreciation for a parent as they do their gym teacher and as for Ms. Bilf, well, lets just say we were having one of those scenes from a bad tv cop show and if I stayed any longer one of us may have been dodging pesky detectives questions this very moment.

   I was in that state of mind as I walked into Lefty's last night. It was quiet at first. Fortunately after about ten minutes some guys walked in carrying guitar-like cases and postures that suggested they might be looking to play some music. I noticed that they looked first at the stage and then for some familar faces to announce their presence. It turns out they were in fact guitar players looking to play. Wow. I'm good.

   So the night consisted of a great cast: Arty (Blue Matter)Panico, guitar; Josh (Jacks O Diamonds)Allen, guitar; Jim (Josey Wales) Coleman, guitar; John Judd, guitar; Durand Daniels, guitar and vocals; Ralph Santiago, drums, Bill Post, drums, Joe B, trumpet, Derek, drums, Sweaty Betty, vocals (gotta love the name)...Bass player was good, with cool shoes and good vocals but I didn't get the name.  There were a few others and I'll be back to edit in some more names. Needless to say they didn't play showtunes. They rocked their asses off on blues tunes and r-n-r guitar fodder. It is often that kind of jam and this time it was exceptional. Those guys can play them things.

   I was getting down with the blues and by the end of the night I was radioactive neon blue. Arty Panico came over and checked my vitals. He must have seen me glowing.  I think I muttered something about something being broken. Ouch. The music must have jostled some of the cracks inside and I ached a bit. That happens sometimes. Last night there was so much music something got nudged...quite a night!

   There's so much going on this coming weekend. There are some great shows and there is the Riverhead Blues Festival. Go! See and hear the good blues artists we have here on this island of ours. They really give it up and their music will make you feel all the wonderful things you feel inside. That's good.

   Thanks for checking in.

bill  

  

   I don't have a long history of memories of Long Island Blues Festivals to be honest. I lived on the west coast for quite a few years. Since I am back, however, I have been there a few times and I have gotten to know many of the blues acts on Long Island.

   We have a lot to see. The Festival is a really fun day or two. It is one of the summer events I look forward to on Long Island. It is a day of being with real down-to-earth people. There are families there. There are teenagers there. There are real fans of music and of the arts in general. There are lots of artist types and there are crafts and cool stuff on sale. There are lots of tents and food and places to check out like the Vail Leavitt Music Hall. Best of all there is great music.

   There are more than a few really talented guitar players. There are more than a few really talented blues singers. There are more than a few tight bands that make foot tapping and butt-kicking music. The music alone is worth the price of admission. The realization that this is primarily Long Island talent is impressive. It is a cool event and I'm looking forward to it.

   Last weeks festival was a good warm-up. I'm in the mood for some genuine blues, some rock-n-roll blues, some guitar blues, some butt-kicking vocal blues and some music that makes me feel one with the Long Island universe and with the reality of life which is what I find in my blues.

   In the meantime there's other stuff this week and some good stuff over the weekend. It's festival time...get festive!!

   Thanks again..

bill

   I would have loved to get the The Great South Bay Music Festival on Saturday or Saturday night, or even Friday night. There were so many good acts. The fact is I could not and I was lucky to get to the festival today, Sunday.

   I saw some good acts on the schedule for the afternoon so I dropped everything and just went.

  It was a beautiful day in Patchogue. The venue was big, spacious and there was a lot going on. There was a good crowd there too. The crafts tents had some good stuff. I bought some earthy/chic jewelry for my daughter and wife and I couldn't pass up a $3, Indian flute at the LI Blues Society tent. It may inspire my daughter or I to make some music...and for only $3.

   As for the music I was lucky enough to catch the Good Rats and they rocked pretty good for someone I haven't seen in a LOT of years. They had a big crowd in a great mood.

   I then caught Stevie Cochran (finally) and he has a tight sound. His guitar influences come from a different set of influences than what I grew up with but he can really play and it opened my ears to some more 80's rock sounds. My influences came from before that due to an older brother who's stuff I pirated and I spent those years listening to the 70's and even 60's stuff that I was still discovering in the 80's. I look forward to hearing more of Stevie Cochran.

   After that fun show I heard Todd Wolfe and that was some more amazing guitar rock/blues. Todd Wolfe has toured with Rolling Stoness, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Cheryl Crowe, Elton John among others and he has put together some good players for his own thing. The back-up female vocals really worked and it was a good show with Wolfe and Co. He definitely has the energy, sound and show chops to sell me as a fan. I'll put him high on the list when I see him around...as well as the others I saw today.

   I also caught a few tunes from Miles to Dayton and they showed me another tight sound, altogether different, with some good mixes. MtoD includes a violin, good female vocals, bass, guitar, drums in some nice folk/bluegrass/ harmony collaborations with broad appeal. They put together unique, pleasing music and it's more "feel good" type stuff than I had heard earlier. Success seems to come in finding the "voice" that reverberates best using all the pieces involved. They have found it and it also has some 60's Momma's and Poppa's feel.

   Some of these bands I have been reading about and missing for months and I finally got to witness. That's what I really like about festivals. That and the performers seem to be up for peak performances and big shows.

   It was worth the effort. It was a beautiful day and I had some rewarding moments. I recommend it next time.

   I also recommend the Blues Festival next weekend for more special moments and a dintinctively Long Island musical experience...  

   If it is anything like last year it promises really good music, uninhibited listening atmosphere, fun periferal stuff and one of those summer weekend afternoons you'll never forget.

   Right now I'm not missing the arid, pest-free, climatically superior west coast as much a I usually do in the muggy Long Island summer months. The local music(at least blues) I find here is more soulful and gritty and it makes me feel a little closer to everything. I need to be reminded that is here and thats a reason the local music stays interesting at least and more than that on festival day.

   Thanks for listening...and check out a live show soon.

bill

 

    Well, Ms. Bilf has returned from the dark side of the globe. It feels that way because she arrived home with an exotic flu of some kind and she hasn't been out of bed yet.  I have been checking the vitals and she's alive. She looks sick but she's all coifed from her many salon visits in Manila. Apparently the "salon" experience is cheap over there and they really spoil the customer. My Ms.  needed some spoiling and she got it. Her hair is highlighted, nails, all 20, pretty and painted, heels and skin scraped of callous and quite soft. She got the treatment. I can't wait for her to get up and smile and tell me about the lives and times of the fam over there. It's a culture with a different attitude and the two don't often understand each other fully. Long story(s) there, in fact, probably a novel someday.

   In the meantime I have been moreso confined to the abode and last night I was aching to get out. I finally got some words out of her and they were encouraging. She is recovering and she gave me her blessing to go out and recreate. It was late, as usual for me, but I had a green light and I got in the car and headed east. It was too late for the festival but I had a friend (who bailed) who was near the Brickhouse and, gee, Pam Betti and Dirty Love were there.

   I told Pam that she's my "chicken soup". Kind of my "dirty vodka" also. She adds a comfort level to my musical experience. Her's is a kindred sound for me...best way to describe it. All that charisma doesn't hurt either. Ms. Betti did a real nice "Angel from Montgomery" last night that was  pretty near dynamite.

   So I'll take another crack at getting to the festival tonight and if not there's always tomorrow. I'll get there and I'll get to the Blues Festival next week too.

   I hope to see you all out there. Thanks for stopping by.

bill

   Tuesday, Wednesday. How lucky am I?  I got two nights of music this week and they were both good.

   Tuesday night at DJ Riders Jim Moran Band jam had some really good guests. Pat Hunter, Danny Keane, Donnie Celenza, Anthony Steele, Val,  all showed up and made a great night of music. MISbHAVIN had been at a  fun gig, apparently, at the park in Oceanside on Tuesday evening and they were all amped up. I had gotten a call from Ms. Nighlife herself, Audrey C, about the turnout and I had to come. It turned out that I could so I did. The jam  rocked with all kinds of mojo. Pretty amazing for a Tuesday night after midnight...my kind of event.

   Last night, Wednesday, I was able to resume my jam-night experience at Lefty's. The crowd may not all be back yet from summer vacations but the players were. Along with Blue Matter Josh Allen (JacksO'Diamonds) was there as was Josey Wales. It made for some good moments. Arty Panico went off to some heady places with Soulshine...a good one for Blue Matter and the collaboration of guitars made for plenty of guitar riff raft.

   I have had a good week and I expect to cap it off with some great moments at the Festival.

   Get your Long Island glutias' off your leather sofas and drag them out east for a festival...if you know what's good for you. You have two weekends to get that done. Okay?!

   Thanks very much for stopping by.

bill

   Feels like weeks since I was here.

   Life gets pretty hairy with work, child, summer, etc. and I have been all over NY in the last few days.  I missed some good stuff this weekend unfortunately. But rarely do opportunities arise in my life that provide excitement and opportunity in my world of work and this was one of those.

   I don't love to discuss work here so I'll resist this time too. I come here to discuss entertainment, local live music, the everyday issues that arise in suburbia and music in general.

   Speaking of which I get a kick out of the Groups on Yahoo that I joined. I get e-mails that often have You-Tube and other clips of music and funny things. I seek as many sources of new sounds as I can find.  I welcome anyone sending me names of bands or artists they have heard. I'm always lookin for fresh stuff.

   The coming week has some good entertainment coming up and the coming weekend has the American Music Festival with a great cast of bands.

   That and the Riverhead Festival over the following weekend will make for a great month of July. I'm looking forward to all of it.

   Thanks for stopping bye. I'll be back soon with a calender for the coming week and for any more specifics I can find about the Festivals.

bill

    The routines of the nine months of fall, winter and spring work on our brains. The 3 months of summer seem like a vacation of sorts because the routines are so different. No getting up at 6am for school for those with kids, people taking vacations, the weather making us want to be anyplace but a workplace, music events on the beach on Monday's at 5pm.  How are we supposed to concentrate on anything but finding joy and beauty, escape and distraction, and answers to the little ideas that tickle us in the quieter places of our minds?

   One routine that I enjoyed breaking was going to a jam on a Thursday night. Last night was the John Judd jam at ET Quiggs in Bellmore.

   Apparently the usual good  players were there;  John Judd doing his usualy artistry on guitar, Durand Daniels doing his usual cool guitar and vocal stuff, Nick Pinto on bass. Drums were played by "Donny" and I believe Bill Post played a few tunes. There was also a "brother" Dave L on guitar. He also did some ass kisking as did Gio Blaze. There was some excellent guitar playing and I loved it all.

   There also happened to be a sax player there who really did a nice job. Deji Cokes was his name. Keep an eye out for him for some good music some night.

   It is a good night of music and a jam that works. The place has the right attitude too and I guess it comes from "Junior". He's the affable and capable guy behind the bar and I suspect he's the owner (or manager at least) as well.

    So be careful about getting too routine. You may miss some good nights of music and you'll not get to listen to those ideas banging around in the "vacation" places in your brain. They are some important places to visit.

   Enjoy the weekend and thanks for checking in.

bill

   Got that Franny? Due to the magentic forces being generated somewhere in the universe or somewhere in the earth my "calender" is a day off. For this reason I am going out tonight, Thursday, and not last night, Wednesday...if anyone cares. But that's the beauty of a blog. Even if no one cares, I'm not here selling anything. I'm here journalizing and talking about escape in the forms of entertainment media...mostly.

   Ok, so there's a jam at ET Quiggs and there's a stool there calling me and I intend to sit on it and listen to whatever gets plugged in on that stage. I hope it's good. I need it.

   I have been living a high stress level. The forces being generated by society at large on my self and my home have been great. The force necessary to maintain my general well being with the forces being exerted against such forces forces me to seek sources...of release...s... and stuff. Ok, enough.

It's tough. I know. We all have our forces. Mine have just been forceful lately.

   Luckily I have some good resources inside and I have this thing that enters my head through my ear, music, that helps relieve pressure and attain... floatation, buoyancy. Yeah, thats it, buoyancy.

   So I suggest you do the same and let me know what you find and let's all report back here.

   Thanks so much for getting this far.

bill

     Do you ever wonder if fortune is more than chance?

     There was a time when I had good fortune. I was the poster boy for good luck. Just when I started to believe it was my fate I decided to mess with it and I have been on a rollercoaster ever since.

    As I was hugging the throne the other night during my bout with food poisining I had one of those thoughts about how easily things change. When one walks a thin line with no safety net a lot of bad things can happen. From the roof over my head to the security of my kid to my own health and well being it is all a matter of fortune and that is a delicate thing. I suppose even with a safety net sh%t happens but I don't remember feeling so precarious.

   Sometimes I feel lucky that the house of cards remains standing another day. Every night that I get to climb into my own bed when my daughter is sleeping soundly in hers I feel lucky. Thats about all I can hope for.

   As for some escape into music it's slim pickins for the week. There will be some stuff for the weekend but on the 4th there are only a few. Most places are dark as far as music goes. If you hear of anything else let me know and I'll do the same.

   I'll update the weekend calender soon. I'm at least a day behind from my gastronomic malaise.

   Thanks for stopping bye.

bill

    Bad clams perhaps? I'm not sure but I just got up from a rough night of gut ache and, um, other symptoms and I can barely type.

   I just had to mention that with a rare opportunity to catch a daytime show Ms. Cash and myself took in T-Bone & Franny Mae out at Smith Point Beach Hut on Sunday afternoon. Hey, it wasn't too far and it was a gorgeous day.

   There was a nice and bathing suit clad crowd on hand. There were ample places to find a seat under an umbrella and it could not have been a better setting.

   T-Bone and Franny sounded great. Franny Mae had her good set of pipes with her and T-Bone was up for some playing. They had a surprise guest for their loyal fans too. Half way through the second set T-Bone introduced Michael Mann for a few songs. That was a treat. The two guitars did a little play offf each other and Mr. Mann also did some awesome solo licks to a few tunes.

   It was a nice surprise as was the mood. Not having been to many afternoon shows, in the daylight no less, I was unsure I would be able to find the blue mood. I usually prefer dimly lit clubs with smaller confines.

  It was a good reminder that there are some great shows coming up in the coming weeks and it will all be outdoors. I'm reminded now of what a fun thing that can be.

   As for the bad clams I did not get them at The Beach Hut. I had some at home that were store-bought. I assume there was a bad one because I had pain in the gut and it hung on all night. I need the blues all over again to get through this day.

   Thanks for checking in ya'll. Have a great Fourth of July!!

bill

  

    I love being able to lounge in bed on a weekend morning. Of course it is more rich when it follows a late night of good music and a few...olive concoctions.

   Saturday night I caught Sweet Suzi and The Blues Experience at Lefty's. It is still one of my favorite places for a show not only for the people who work at Lefty's but it is a good size room and it gets an interesting mix of patronage with a nice attitude.

   Last night Suzi and Co. brought a nice crowd and even with some technical glitches which stalled the start of the show they satisfied the patient bluesgoers. Suzi sounded tight if a bit restrained. It could have been my imagination but the fact that she's quite preg may have confined her range a bit but it also may have added some base...if thats possible. She sounded great and she exuded  a warmth that lulled me into a bluesy trance.

   John Anderson is always a joy on guitar and Foshino on drums with a new bass player all sounded good. It was a nice show.

   Afterwards I tried to catch Jacks O' Diamonds at Giacomo's but I  just missed that one. Damn! It was my only weekend night out and I had such ambitious plans. Oh well. It rarely works out for more than one a night (is that a typical "guy" thing or what?, hehe)

   I'll be hoping for a chance to sneak out tonight somewhere. Every time I get a taste I want more and this time of year there seems to be good stuff every day and night.

   Thanks for checking in and I hope to see ya'll soon.

bill