That's me with Cedric Burnside and Lightnin' Malcolm. Yes, the picture is shitty because the guy I went with is a technophobe. Just as the Droid was flashing he yanked it away to say "it's not working". Thanks. I think you can tell it's me. We were having some beers on a patio when Cedric came out of the place and walked right past us. We were having an Arrogant Bastard 22 oz. (not me) and a Voodoo White Magick Of The Sun (me).
These small venues are awesome for meeting the artists after the show. The opening band was Beaucoup Blue. I would almost classify them as roots, but they ended the set with a really good double dip of blues. They are kind of folksy but still kick it a little in places even though they are a 2-piece guitar father and son duo. I guess the drummer left after recording the videos on YouTube. The dad has an intresting style that you probably cant appreciate unless you listen to every song link to hear all the different solos. He plucks, slides and bangs his many guitars. They were entertaining to say the least.
As for Cedric and Lightnin'? Wow. I read a review of Lightnin's playing and it was spot on....they called him a raggedy ass virtuoso, lol. At times he seemed like he wasn't even playing yet there was a wall of guitar coming out of the amps. I found it impressive that he mixes the different guitar parts into one contorted layered buzzy mess. Some longer numbers with few lyrics almost left me feeling like I was in a trance. I was in row F and there wasn't a person sitting in rows D or E. They have a few tables in front of the theater seats and my buddy and I counted about 25 people for the opening act and about 75 for Cedric and Malcolm.
Dog, how do you make a living playing to 75 people when tickets are $20 and you have to pay an opening band and everything else? Do radio stations subsidize this stuff?
On to Cedric and then off to bed.... Cedric is a hard nut to crack for me since I'm a drummer. I could describe him in many ways. I could say I've never seen anyone live - EVER - beat the shit out of the drums like Cedric did last night. Ever. Even on film I'm certain Bonzo never hit that hard. To me, it seems like a waste of motion, but when I reflect on it, I see that it's part of him and the show. What he lacks in precision, he more than makes up for in tenacity. He's been playing for years I guess but he seems very raw to me as a drummer. In one instance he would play a repeated fill of quarter note triplets without alternating hands which seems very clumsy visually and a little behind in timing....and then in the next bar he would rip something out of his ass that was so clean you could eat off of it. He's an enigma back there. After hearing him just play while Malcolm tuned up for the first song, I thought to myself that he wasn't that good. However, as the night went on, he did play some impressive stuff. He's loud as hell, but that's the style. I had a headache when I left but I think I was supposed to. I can see how a Juke Joint would stay rockin' all night with grooves like that. I found myself thinking "how am I going to describe Cedric when I write about this". Imagine James Harrison hungry. Don't feed him for 24 hours. Then, give him drumsticks that resemble tree trunks and turn him loose with no formal training behind an unsuspecting drum kit. Add guitars.
Well, well, well.....Cedric Burnside, I love your grand daddy's music. Now I love yours. I'm all about high energy music. I haven;t listened to the CD yet that I bought last night - but I'm hoping it's as sushi raw as the live show.
3 comments:
Speaking of drummers - have you seen any of Steve Moore? He's a very entertaining drummer in a mediocre cover band. You can see some of his antics at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IREy9mjK9EI
If you're going to keep going to these club shows where you can meet the artists and take pictures, you need to invest in a real digital Gigapixel pocket camera. I don't give a shit about these Droids, Androids, iPhones, etc. that let you talk to Grandma, text your cousin, and wipe your ass for you. They take shitty pictures no matter what. That's Malcolm on the left, Cedric in the middle (Malcolm should have been in the middle like on TV) and you in the wifebeater on the right, right?
As to how you make a living playing for 75 people at $20/per, you don't. And you sure as hell don't take a drummer you don't need on the road with you and pay him a cut every night no matter how many YouTube videos he's played with you on.
Playing blues is a hard way to make a living even for the more successful of the artists. It should be more popular but it's just not. There's good and bad in that.
The bad is of course that the very talented musicians playing blues never make the money they should. The good is that they remain very humble and are extremely personable should you chance to have a conversation or a beer, or a meal with them.
I'm pretty sure those guys don't make much more money than Fan or I do at our boring office jobs. On the other hand we go home to our wives, homes, families, and pets every night. While those guys load up equipment and drive 100-500 miles to the next gig at the end of their days.
We don't have to worry about some bar/club owner shortchanging us on our pay. We don't have to worry about the record company running out of inventory of our CDs which we then can't sell everywhere we go. We don't have to worry about a flat tire on a van loaded with amps at 4:00AM on Interstate 95. We don't have the temptation of alcohol and drugs to the degree these guys have.
And if you think these blues bands have roadies you are living in a rock and roll world, not a blues one. Less people to pay, less mouths to feed, less hotel rooms to book.
What you will get with blues artists is an honest night's entertainment. And possibly make some new friends.
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