Well it is the end of another year. It was a doozie in many ways; the crashing economy, the historic election, the Super Bowl last January, or was that February?

   It was sort of a dicey year for local live music. A few venues canceled jams, others canceled blues in general, many complained about the money not coming in from blues and other live music shows but I found an enjoyable, functioning world of music and musicians. Could it be better? Of course. Could it be worse? Yes to that too. There are always options though and even if I don't find a satisfying show locally every night I can find it somewhere close once or twice a week.

   I figured I would summarize my year in local music and feel free to let me know how you feel.

   The venues I visited during 2008 include; (in no particular order) Bobbique's, Brickhouse Brewery, Hazy Moon, Harbor Crab, Port Jazz, Velvet Lounge, Tumbleweeds, The Beach Huts in Smith Point and Venetian Shores, Eleanors, Lily Flanagans- Islip, Nutty Irishman-Bay Shore, Milk & Sugar Cafe, Patchogue Theater, Brightwaters Inn, Lefty's, Mirelle's, Giacomo Jacks, Toomey's Tavern on the Crik, ET Quiggs, Jessie's Roadhouse, Sunset Grill, Artana's, Juggs & Strokers, Boulton Center, Sparky's BBQ, Blue Parrot, Oasis, Reflections, DJ Riders, Maggie's, Quinns-Wantagh, Blue in Blue Point, Westbury-Northfork Center, Big Daddy's in Massapequa, McGuires Comedy in Bohemia, Pub 454, Sports Page-Copaigue, Craigs Signal 8, Vail-Leavitt, Club 91, St.James Tavern, Overtimes Sports Bar & Grill, Eclectic Cafe, Cherrywood Cafe, Terry G's, Last Call, Tennessee Jacks, Lizard Lounge, Il Piatto, Katies, McGovern's,  Mustang Sally's, Chesterfields, The Viking, Meehans-Huntington, Da Funky Phish, a good number of festivals and a few places in NYC.

   I have some favorite places for various reasons and favorite bartenders...also for various reasons. I have some favorite acts and I'll share them too...and this is just for the performances I happened to witness during the year. I have lots of favorite musicians that I didn't see a lot of this year. I am just reviewing my year as a patron.

   My favorite venues? I liked DJ Riders for the practical elements. The room has good viewing from everywhere. The bar is big and round. It was not a problem getting service. There is a stage also for easy viewing. I caught some real quality stuff there.

   I liked Mirelle's also for the comforts of seeing a show. They have lots of tables and a nice room, good shows and nice service. I liked Bobbique's for viewing and the atmosphere was blues friendly. I liked Brickhouse also for the atmosphere and the fact that it is near another venue (Bobbique's). I liked Sparky's for the service and the quality shows and good viewing areas. I liked The Viking for the quality shows and the cool hosts.

   As far as bartenders I had a lot of fun with Patty at Giacomo Jacks. Wally at Brightwaters Inn is as congenial and blues-saavy as any on the island. Oasis in Baldwin has the most, um, striking barmaids. Chesterfields always had a nice barmaid or two. Overtimes Sports Bar had good fun servers. Terry G's had a fun barmaid. Sparky's also won me over. 

   My favorite acts? That's a tough one because I have come to know and like many of the artists here on Long Island and some are not busy with a particular band.

   Some of my favorite performances this year were Funk Filharmonic at Il Piatto, Kerry Kearney at Bobbique's for Christmas and Blues Box at the same show. I enjoyed Poppa Chubby at the Music Festival. Josh Allen with Jacks O'Diamonds put on a good show at the Blues Festival in Club 91. Sweet Suzi at the Brightwaters Inn fundraiser was a good show which included Nicole Hart and Frany Mae among others. Andy Aledort at the Viking early in the year with Todd B and DeMeo was a great show. Chrispy Chicken (Chris Laybourne) at DJ Riders was a real good Thursday night back in Oct.. John Judd at ET Quiggs was another good Thursday night. There were a few gems at Brightwaters Inn with Blue Matter's jam featuring Pete Tursi and John Anderson on guitar frequently. Jim Moran had a really good jam at Overtimes with Pam Betti, Roxy Perry and Ed Terry. The jam at Reflections was great one night with Chrispy again and Celenza. Celenza at Mirelle's with Felix Cabrera was unique. The jam at Brickhouse with Jim Kolman had a few really good nights especially with JD Leonard ripping it up. C&B put on a great show at Giacomo Jacks before heading off to coed-land. I caught a tasty little show at Lefty's with Giovanni Von essen and Popa G and friends . I also enjoyed the hell out of a show at Sparky's with Gail Storm, Dave Patrick and Shenole Latimer. Recently I enjoyed Trick Bag at Giacomo Jacks. Smoking Gun had some good moments there as well.

   That's just some of the good memories I have. I will add some more as they come to me.

   Thanks to all these and the other musicians who perform here on Long Island. If you have a particular favorite moment please fell free to write a piece about it and send it over. I know I missed a few really good ones with Pat Hunter. I will be getting to more shows in Nassau this year. I promise.

  Thanks for clicking in here at Billfoolery.com. Happy New Year you all!

bill

  

   The sun is shinin, thank you Jesus!!

   Merry Christmas you all. I hope you spend this day with people you love.

 

bill

With such a tumultuous life (and economy)of late I will be having a more thoughtful Christmas celebration.

I choose to at least stop and recognize what it is; the birth of Jesus. It is a time to analyze my own beliefs and there is no time like this.

I have had a lot of things shaken up recently mainly due to financial pressures and some personal issues related to that. It may get put back together somehow similarly and it may not. I have been down some dimly lit roads before and my religious training did not go deep enough I guess because I came out less idealistic albeit more curious about faith and religion.

Jesus was quite real and of course his message was a salvation for many and a profound philosophy and inspiring at times for me.  I choose to recognize his greatness as least as significantly as any other human if for no other reason than his message has created and transcended time and history. It is a good day to be thankful for a messenger of hope and faith and to be considerate of him and others who offer truth and observation.

I have to say, though, that the strong financial pressures of Christmas in general deplete my energy. Maybe this year‘s fallen economy will help stem the tide of commercialism. I think the system has just told us that we have been pushing too hard for the dollar as a society. I hope we resume some of the past tendencies of simpler gestures of love and appreciation and more personal communications arising from more people being in need…and having to reach out and more being pushed to help.

Being a free-market type I see this situation as market driven and therefore a real reflection of our behavior. I see the best ways out as coming from the markets adapting and companies and unions redefining their needs and practices…coming from the people who are deciding, after going through this, that they need less. Hopefully the whole society and economic system will adapt. If we leave it to government to fix the problem then we may miss the point and the opportunity to adjust our priorities.

…Just some thoughts on Christmas 2008. I wish everyone the best and I hope you are with the ones you love... and thanks artists and musicians and venue owners for your efforts. It is important to have you among us.

bill

    One never knows what a night of entertainment may bring. Friday's weather caused a flurry of cancelations. The foul weather was threatening around dinnertime and I also thought it would be tough to go out. Fortunately the weather eased up a bit and I was able to enjoy a full night of music.

   A last minute fill-in at Giacomo Jacks was Trick Bag. That's Dave Burns Jr. on guitar, Dave Pellegrino on bass, Chris Grennan was on drums and on harp and lead vocals, Craig Besthoff. Dave Berg was not in attendance. They were a real nice surprise. I have been posting their gigs for months but this was my first time catching a show. They describe themselves, aptly, as Blues/Funk/Soul. The set list was eclectic and not your usual blues fare. They were tight. I enjoyed Trick Bag. You can also either jam with them (DJ Riders, Thursday nights) or catch a show soon. I saw a few posted tor the coming months on their My Space page. Check 'em out. I suspect you'll enjoy some of their more modern and interpretive blues/funk/soul.

   That brings me to Saturday night and I had no idea until 11 if I was even going out. One thing about having a young teen is that their plans start taking on significance quickly as involvement in high school life takes effect. I was Mr. Mom until the social events ended and I was lucky enough to have Sweet Suzi and Co. at Brightwaters Inn; my back yard so to speak.

   I got there between sets. That happens to be a specialty of mine. Somehow my personal clock and arrival time is synchronized with that of bands playing on Long Island. As I seek parking they seek cigarette breaks. Oh well, it usually means I get access to the bar for better or worse.

   This Saturday I walked in to find the usual smoking contingent out back all huddled against the cold December night. I rubbed noses with a few eskimos and walked in. There I found an interesting array of faces and not just the Sweet Suzi players. There was also a full-size Hammond B3 parked in the middle of the room complete with a Leslie-style speaker. They belonged to Armando and he was an awesome addition to Suzi, Johnny Anderson, axe, Tom Foschino drums, and Tim Blum, bass. There were also a few horns. One of which was Pete Tursi, a guy you'll see with Stanton Anderson who was there with his sax playing daughter, Grace. It was fun complement of players and pieces and Suzi was in good form. Is she ever not in good form? That's some instrument she packs there and pretty often she has some great new musicians joining her in addition to her cast of characters. SS plays with a few guitar players and Johnny Anderson, with her last night, is a pleasure to listen to. I have always enjoyed the bounce in his style. He has a nice touch, a good ear and he's a fun listen.

   I was lucky to have that show so close. I need some powerful distractions these days and I'm grateful for the good stuff we have on Long Island.

   Enjoy some live music this holiday season and thanks for stopping by.

bill

   This isn't necessarily to plug a particular jam. There happen to be a few good ones around. I have been floating around in recent weeks and enjoying the hell out of it.

   Not only do I enjoy a good live show but I have had a trying month to say the least and I have been NEEDING some form of down-time; relaxation; escape. I consider it a health issue and I mean physical as well as emotional. The heart rate needs to be on low idle as often as possible.

   So I go out Wednesday nights. I seek something that I connect with. I sit my body down, I turn off the memory drive in my brain and I take the music and the message in. Ideally it is something intellegently delivered, skillfully performed and carries a message of either fanciful thinking and magical escape or a sharing of something I am feeling.

   This Wednesday night I figured I might find that at Reflections. I did. Donnie Celenza, Dave Patrick, a good drummer Randy London (there was another good one too Lazarus) and I was also lucky enough to catch Chris Laybourne (Mr. Crispy Chicken) on sax.

   A few of the numbers were just jamming on blues and I found my spot in the universe for a few moments there.

   I am not deluded enough to believe the issues will go away or will not be outside the doors or promptly waiting for me when I awake in the morning but for a brief moment in time I got my euphoria and it came on a magic carpet of some people performing blues.

   Maybe I needed it more, maybe those guys were digging their ensemble and maybe both. I felt good though and that's what matters. I'll be out again over the weekend if there's any justice in the world. I hope you do the same.

   Thanks again for checking in, thanks to the players and venues for making it happen and keep sending me those gigs. Happy Holiday's!

bill

    There were at least four shows I wanted to see Saturday night from Pat Hunter at Harvey's to Todd Wolfe in Patchogue and a few in between. I also had the rare opportunity of getting out at a decent hour. What did I do?

    I checked out Caroline Doctorow at the Eclectic Cafe in my very own Bay Shore. The Eclectic Cafe is so named on the second Saturday of every month when they host an acoustic open-mic and finish the night with a headline act. The Eclectic Cafe is located in the facility of the Unitarian Church at 28 Brentwood Rd. south of Union Blvd. I arrived about half-hour before showtime and I caught five or six talented acts (1 song each) from well written folk songs to some good banjo playing to some nice vocals. Food, water, coffee and tea and raffles were offered. There was a $10 cover...not sure if that is typical.

   Ms. Doctorow was preceeded by the opening act of James O'Malley. Mr. O'Malley is a talented song writer and performer. For a rabid partaker of blues and the like I was impressed with his talents; very clever lyrics, his own, and a voice as well performed as his acoustic guitar playing. There were riffs and vocals of some genuine beauty.

   That was a good segway for Caroline Doctorow. She appeared with a band of some tasty instruments. A sitar, mandolin and 6-string player (Andrew Carillo) an acoustic bass player (Mick Hargraves) and a fiddle player (Gary Oleyar) joined Ms. Doctorow for an eclectic mix of tunes from a Fred Neal tune to some obscure rock tunes and all with a nice voice that resonates. Her sound is sometimes haunting, sometimes angelic, always nice to listen to. It was a nice set and a treat for a local show, for sure. I'll keep an eye on the Eclectic Cafe for their monthly guest.

   The time was late when I got out of the Unitarian Church and feeling inspired but not quite fullfilled I decided to saunter over to The Viking which was close enough to the show I left to walk to...but I didn't.

   So I took in some Groove Kings with Andy Aledort to make for an eclectic night. The contrast doesn't come more sharp than; folk to electric blues. It worked for me though. Aledort and co. ripped it up for a few hours. It is the Hendrix and SRV that I love so much...not to mention some Allmans and some Groove King sounds. I also enjoyed the crowd which was full and having fun. It was a good Saturday night overall and I needed it.

   Check out the coming week(s). There are some good holiday shows out there and everyone needs some escape and/or enjoyment. Either these holidays are going to be great as usual or they will be an exercise in finding ways to find joy. Either way a night of some quality live entertainment is the answer.

   Thanks for stopping by and keep sending me the gig information. I am happy to post all the live music that anyone over 30 might enjoy.

bill

  

   My Wednesday nights are now roadtrips. The local jam is done, fork and all, so I am back on the road. There are some good jams and shows out there so it is not all bad. I don't love driving but I like getting variety.

   Last night I headed up to Overtimes Sports Bar on Terry Rd. in Smithtown. It is the Jim Moran jam with Pam Betti but this week there was the one and only Roxy Perry and a good cast of players and jammers. Ms. Betti had a holiday engagement and came in late for some hello's and a song or two. She was quite well dresssed and quite "buoyant" looking and she belted a few out in her holiday grandeur.

   Ms. Perry (who has a new CD. see Roxyperry.com) had her blues shoes on and was salty, sultry, smooth and gave up some nice blues moments with Jim Moran and company driving home the point. The cast on this Wednesday night included Freddy Mac on keys, Ed the Hat on drums, Tim Smith on bass, Ed Terry on everything including some really good vocals, a good harp player and Tim Dorsey on some keys. There was also Bob Fusco on bass and Don Haseth on some axe with some nice playing.

   The place is quite a hangout. There is an enormous pool and darts room  and the whole bar scene up front with TV's and a scoreboard. I imagine it is quite a happenin place on a football Sunday or any other time for leisure.

   I am working on a Wednesday night jam for the south shore, w.suffolk area but in the meantime I think I'll be enjoying some of the variety out there. I'm also eyeballing some other nights for a change. Gotta keep up my mojo and in these trying times I need all the inspiration I can get.

   Thanks for checking in and check out the schedule this weekend... lot's a good stuff.

   Sunday, Dec.7 was a busy day. I had appointments, errands, chores, responsibilities and it was not going to be a "watch football" kind of Sunday.

A fortunate aspect of my day though turned out to be that I had an appointment out east and on the way home I got to stop at the LIBS Christmas party at Bobbique's. I only had an hour or two but I caught one song of Joseph's Blues Box and a few more of Kerry Kearney Band. My timing was good.

   The place had a nice crowd. I don't only mean a good size crowd. I also mean a nice group of people. I have recently come to know many of the folks in the LIBS (Long Island Blues Society) and it is a nice bunch. I offer an occasional piece of writing and I am a member so I was happy to take part in the celebration on Sunday and I felt like part of a nice family. I think everyone there did. They were also taking membership applications and it is a worthwhile membership. They offer nice events for blues fans and they support a lot of musicians... and are there to offer suport for a lot more.

   The entertainment at the event was top notch. I could not ask for a better couple of bands for a party. Blues Box offers some cool well chosen rock to go with some upbeat blues. Kerry Kearney of course has his own brand of gritty folksy blues and he and his band were accompanied by Hooch on harp . I had to leave mid set but they were sailing along.

   Kearney's strings are as smooth and easy as aged Irish whisky and with the beat of Eileen Murphy on drums it makes a nicely blended flavor...not too heavy, not too light...a rich bluesy sound. It was a really nice show and even though I had to leave before the end I felt treated.

   This holiday will be a challenge as well as a blessing. I will be focusing on making it as rich as possible for my family and any treats I get will be welcome. That was one and thank you to the LIBS and the bands that played. It was a nice gift...a gift of blues.

  

  

    While I got out this past Friday, Dec. 5, and it was a fun night I still feel inclined to express my need for more blues.

   I got a late call Friday evening, thanks Franny baby, about a show at Sunset Grill in Seaford. Behind Closed Doors was playing. I guess they needed to come out of the closet. Makes sense. There's about 12 of them... maybe 13. BCD has a horn section, keys, bass, guitar and a vocalist (BA was her name). They had a nice crowd and I caught a couple of good sets. Franny even got up for a few harmonies.

   Behind Closed Doors is made up of people who do it for the love of music. They were all good players with BA doing a nice job up front with some nice vocal chops and a nice presentation. It takes a group who love it and do it for fun to put together a band of that size and who do it occasionally. For the music lover one can't complain about the source of the entertainment as long as they give you your money's worth. Brass, good vocals, good bass, strings and keys? Yeah, it was worth five bucks. It was a good time.

   Having said that, I still need my fix of blues for the weekend. In these harsh economic times, and make no mistake, this is HARSH, I need me some blues.

   Saturday night was too late for me to go anywhere especially since it was snowing hard around 11:30 when I was finally free to go anywhere. Cest la vive.

   Today there is the Christmas party with LIBS @ Bobbiques with Kerry Kearney Band and Blues Box. There's some blues boys and girls for ya. I think I may get out there for some Christmas cheer and some damn blues.

   I'll get back to you on that and the coming events for a week of some holiday music and love.

   Thanks for checking in.

bill

    I had the pleasure of joining Jim Moran this Monday night at the Cutting Room jam in Manhattan. The weekly event is hosted by Richie Cannatta, sax player, who plays with Billy Joel among others, with Jim as a co-host.

    The Cutting Room is located on 24th St. east of 6th Ave. It's a convenient location and a good size place. It is a perfect room with lots of tables, a bar in the back, a waitress serving the tables and plenty of room to move around even with a full house which there was this Monday night.

   The barmaids were a well coiffed crew of young ladies, dressed quite sharply in contrast to the staffers out here on Long Island. There is a more formal, on-stage mentality that commands more attention to appearances and that includes the men too. I had flashbacks to my days in LA where everyone's hair was styled, all clothes seemed to make a statement and some made  strange-ass statements. Did I miss the memo that mohawk-topped ear-covering wool hats with strings for tying are in style? Got to get me one of those stylin caps.

   Anyway, the cast of players was good. Cannatta on sax surprised me. I was expecting talent of course but he was a cool solo player. He was up there almost the whole night too. Jim Moran had some up-front moments but in that setting Jim was more of a role player and a good one.

   There were also some good vocalists, female. Two specifically.They were both young kind of bluesy with high pitched voices and they showed some grit.

   There were some good guitars but it was not the guitar orgy that one might see out here on the island. The drummer, Kevin Brigande, was exceptional and there were many good performances including a sharp keyboard player, Chris Clark and Ivan Bodley on bass.

   It was also nice to be sitting with a big crowd especially for a jam. What a difference location makes. This event started around 11:15 and charged $10 cover and went until 3 or so. It was a full house and drinks were not cheap. That ain't happening on Long Island...I don't think.

   It was great to hear some new "voices" and to take in a new enviornment. I suggest you try that one sometime when you have a late-starting Tuesday or you just don't care and need some NYC blues...like me.

   Enjoy some music this week and thanks for checking in.

bill

  

   Long weekend, short music experience.

   I got a Friday night out. It was a good one but on a holiday weekend I expect a few opportunities. Partly it was not a packed schedule, partly there were only three nights with four days and partly I had only one for entertainment.

   If all the shows are far away and I get a late start my options are limited. Friday I was trying to get out early enough to trek to Cedarhurst and it wasn't looking good. Thankfully I received a call from a friend about a gig I had not posted that was closer. John Judd was playing with 495 West at Quinns in Wantagh. The place is on Merrick Rd. at Wantagh Ave. There was a reunion there and it was packed. I was told that there is a separate room in the back and it would not be packed like the rest of the house. That worked. The bar-room at Quinns was a zoo but interestingly enough the reunion was a group of my peers. There was a house full of 40-somethings and they were dressed up and having fun. Nice crowd for me but it was not easy getting a drink. That was probably a good thing considering I was in another county from home. 

    Anyway, I had wonderful company, a good band and it turned out to be an interesting night. John Judd can just plain play. 495 W has a solid line-up with a capable vocalist, Mike. The cast also included Johnny Pizza, bass and vocals, Nick Pinto bass also and the regular cast of 495. All good. Between them they tackled a wide range of music. The Late-70's Reunion (Wantagh HS) got their fill of 70's and 80's rock, I got some blues and there was plenty of both.

   I was hopeful of getting a Saturday night too but I ended up taking in a flick with the Ms. (4 Christmas' with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon). It was good for a few laughs actually but implausible in some parts. Not bad.

   Afterwards I got a call from a bud so we headed to the local Inn (Brightwaters) for a few belts with Wally. I needed to talk with him about what we (me) are going to do about a new local Wednesday night jam. I am looking for a new home and a new "look" for a jam in the neighborhood, or a hood close by. We mostly enjoyed Wally's iPod, a few drinks and some good conversation but discussed no definitive plans. I may just make my weekly night out a floating night in order to maximize the variety and quality of the music I get to experience. Stay tuned for some new names, places and faces...hopefully.

   I hope your Thanksgiving experience was fullfilling and you are now brimming with gratitude and renewed charity.

   Thanks for checking in and I will have the new weekly schedule up later today or possible late tonight. Check it out.

bill