Black Diamond Blues Festival, 5/29/05
Full Road Trip! We’d been discussing this for a bout two weeks among the roadtrip gang; we’d had a good time at the old Black Diamond Festival held in the summer, before the City of Pittsburg (CA) killed it for some reason. Now it was back, scheduled on Memorial Weekend. Mo sent out the email almost a week in advance. As is the usual case, the men mostly couldn’t get it together and the women could. The blues van headed down Hwy 101 and the Lakeville cutoff with Terri, Ann, Chris, Lis, Dee, Mo, -and little old me surrounded by pretty women.
Arriving early just as the ticket booths were getting together, we set up right in the road about 25 feet out from the stage. There weren’t many people there on a breezy fresh day sharp with sunlight. Behind us people came in including other Bay Area blues friends. Having time we went in search of coffee in the surrounding historical downtown of Pittsburg (Thank goodness they saved it from redevelopment) and found a great old time Mexican Restaurant with a tin ceiling that had good coffee.
We returned to the sound of guitar tuning and balancing. Avotcja, blues and jazz DJ on KPFA and KPOO (Avotcja is very dear to me, as I used to listen to her program while doing the endless reading and writing of Law School) was the Master of Ceremonies. This turned out to be a double blessing as the hyper little dude in the flash suit who used to drive everybody crazy was back, and as usual getting every name and fact wrong as he nattered away.
First up was Guitar Mac as a solo doing slide guitar. Mac wasn’t on the program and they started him at 11:30. Mac played slide guitar on several well-known tunes and it became clear he’s a standard tuning guitarist who’s not really comfortable on slide. He mostly strummed and when he wanted single note leads he’d fret them with his fingers instead of the slide.
Slide guitar playing has a different technique than standard tuning playing. Guitar Mac has learned a few licks but it was evident he hadn’t learned the heavy bass technique or melodic playing of Charley Patton, Willie Brown, or Son House. Since his guitar was turned up loud and the early sound mix was harsh, the guitar drowned out Mac’s excellent tenor-baritone voice. Hearing his CD done with a band is a whole lot more satisfying. The early sound mix worked against him.
The Sound check followed Guitar Mac and they began to get some mids and bass into the mix. We would shortly find the sound crew had gotten so much bass into the mix that it was almost painful to be in the direct path of the bass speakers.
The true opening act was Ron Joseph and the Steppin’ Stones, featuring Dwayne Thompson on vocals. Dwayne Thompson is a powerful tenor vocalist who can do blues, soul, and obviously has big gospel roots. What a fantastic singer! He can do romantic love ballads and raunchy blues with equal ease. Being from Sonoma County I hadn’t heard him before and I’ll be watching for his name and huge voice again. The Stepping Stones Band also has a fine guitarist with a waspish sound and nice licks. The whole band has some fine funk rhythm to it.
Next up was the Caravan of Allstars in one of their backing incarnations, this time behind Pork Pie Phillips. They began to warm up the still arriving crowd and had fun with Carl’s songs.
Then the Allstars backed up Teddy "Bluesmaster" Watson who was one of the hits of the show. After delivering a song on stage as the foxy grandpa with a cane, he went down the stairs with a cordless mic and threw the cane away and proceeded to sing songs up close to the ladies and wowing the crowd while doing the bump and grind. Bi-ig showmanship. His tune coming to an end he bowed for the applause—and then whipped around and shouted to the band on stage, "B flat—from the five!" and gave us a whole lot more. The band on stage were knocked out and laughing as a wily old veteran stole the show.
Layce Baker and the original Black Diamond Band started quietly and showed deep blues feel and power. Both Layce and second guitarist Louis Jones showed they could really play the blues. Searing licks were the power of this band and I want to see them in a much longer show. Expression was their powerful game on this too-short set. They have a whole lot of guitar with feeling. This the original band that Layce started with, not the one he regularly appears with in bar gigs.
Another big surprise was in store for me when Avotcja introduced Billy Dunn as "One of those guys from Russell City who just went about the business of music." Billy Dunn has one of those warm sophisticated voices and plays a whole lot of piano. He did some mildly double-entendre lyrics and showed a lot of the jazzy blues quality of early fifties blues/R&B. Billy should be out there with a small combo doing Charles Brown, Wynonie Harris, and Percy Mayfield type material. I don’t understand why he doesn’t have a regular hotel lounge gig; he’s that warm, personable, and good.
Next up was Layce Baker with his touring band with a remarkable appearance by a 12-year-old guitar prodigy.
Layce with his tour band puts on a more flash show with more funk sounds and flashy licks. Playing with him was Gabriel _________, a remarkable 12 year old that plays with a combination of old time economy and Jimi Hendrix licks. This was an all too short set.
We’d noticed the "Hat" man with the sharp brim and the ultra sharp hatband. Terri had been there the day before and had gone with Big Dave Z to get a hat. She knew who the hat man was and said," C’mon, you gotta go see the hat man and get a hat." So at the break we walked into the old downtown again and went to the now open espresso café—which is also a hat store in the back. The hat man has brims! The kind that blues guys like, both dress and straw. Terri bought one for her son’s birthday. A flash porkpie hat. The hat man sprays all hats with water repellant, and you get a free satin pocket hankie too.
And he’s got ladies hats with real wedding, funeral, and royal coronation flash like blues ladies like. Chris couldn’t quite get herself to buy the one that made her look like the Duchess of Argyle. I got myself a wide brim straw fedora with a braided band for the coming summer. Nice feather.
Then it was Alvon time with the non-stop Alvon commentary on the state of the world, love, and why in the world weren’t we all up front dancing? Alvon never stops and is a ball of fire both vocally and on the guitar. We sat and watched the whole thing for a while just because it’s Alvon, life, love, and Alvon. It was a crazy fun time and we finally got out there to dance. Alvon said, "You just dancing now? Now that my set is almost over? You gotta do something with your life!" I’m ready for more crazy Alvon and the fabulous Alvon voice and hot guitar real soon. If he’d been appearing anywhere near us that night we would have gone.
The Caravan of Allstars came back on and it was Little Junior time. Junior was decked in a cream chartreuse suit the shade of the first 1950s "designer" Kelvinator refrigerators, along with matching gold jewelry, hair, socks, shoes, and gloves with gold rings outside the gloves. He probably forgot the matching spats at home. After about three soul songs filled with gestures and attitude he was off.
And as the sun began to think about going down it was Chick Willis time. Chick proved to be one hot guitarist and a lot of fun. Chick being the writer and creator of the whole "Stoop Down Baby" thing (he sold a couple of million copies without it ever getting on the radio) had some songs about S-E-X to do and he did ‘em right.
Starting on stage and looking over the ladies dancing he did a fine funny "Let Me Play With Your Poodle." Lis, who’d been dancing up a storm, was out in front of the stage working through her steps. Chick announced that he was looking for poodle girls to sing to. He checked the front row, saw Lis, and said, "Ahh!" Lis became the first Poodle Girl of the night. Chick walked the crowd using a wireless rig and really hitting some fine hot licks. His show was a lot of fun, and there were several "Poodle Girls", all of who seemed to get the same pleased bashful smile.
Chick’s finale was naturally, "Stoop Down Baby (let your Daddy see!)" his underground hit of the very early 70s. The ladies streamed out of their chairs to dance. We weren’t disappointed either, the band was hot (Bobby Webb on tenor sax) and the congas and drums were going full blast. The dancing got really heavy right about then.
As dusk came on the Caravan backed Wylie Trass on a set of fine jump blues, and then it Willie G. time and Willie was really feeling on and performing all over the place. Willie is one guy that’s gotta move around when he sings. And move he did—right out into the crowd. You don’t miss anything since he’s about six foot two and wears a ten-gallon hat. He sang a mix of blues and jump tunes that was a lot of fun. Love can be tough on a man. This was a fine closer for the show, we were all in the glow of a good festival and the band was smooth. The crowd was mostly still there and with the last announcement everybody packed up and left at about 7:00. The City of Pittsburg should be proud of this festival; it’s a good one.
Arriving early just as the ticket booths were getting together, we set up right in the road about 25 feet out from the stage. There weren’t many people there on a breezy fresh day sharp with sunlight. Behind us people came in including other Bay Area blues friends. Having time we went in search of coffee in the surrounding historical downtown of Pittsburg (Thank goodness they saved it from redevelopment) and found a great old time Mexican Restaurant with a tin ceiling that had good coffee.
We returned to the sound of guitar tuning and balancing. Avotcja, blues and jazz DJ on KPFA and KPOO (Avotcja is very dear to me, as I used to listen to her program while doing the endless reading and writing of Law School) was the Master of Ceremonies. This turned out to be a double blessing as the hyper little dude in the flash suit who used to drive everybody crazy was back, and as usual getting every name and fact wrong as he nattered away.
First up was Guitar Mac as a solo doing slide guitar. Mac wasn’t on the program and they started him at 11:30. Mac played slide guitar on several well-known tunes and it became clear he’s a standard tuning guitarist who’s not really comfortable on slide. He mostly strummed and when he wanted single note leads he’d fret them with his fingers instead of the slide.
Slide guitar playing has a different technique than standard tuning playing. Guitar Mac has learned a few licks but it was evident he hadn’t learned the heavy bass technique or melodic playing of Charley Patton, Willie Brown, or Son House. Since his guitar was turned up loud and the early sound mix was harsh, the guitar drowned out Mac’s excellent tenor-baritone voice. Hearing his CD done with a band is a whole lot more satisfying. The early sound mix worked against him.
The Sound check followed Guitar Mac and they began to get some mids and bass into the mix. We would shortly find the sound crew had gotten so much bass into the mix that it was almost painful to be in the direct path of the bass speakers.
The true opening act was Ron Joseph and the Steppin’ Stones, featuring Dwayne Thompson on vocals. Dwayne Thompson is a powerful tenor vocalist who can do blues, soul, and obviously has big gospel roots. What a fantastic singer! He can do romantic love ballads and raunchy blues with equal ease. Being from Sonoma County I hadn’t heard him before and I’ll be watching for his name and huge voice again. The Stepping Stones Band also has a fine guitarist with a waspish sound and nice licks. The whole band has some fine funk rhythm to it.
Next up was the Caravan of Allstars in one of their backing incarnations, this time behind Pork Pie Phillips. They began to warm up the still arriving crowd and had fun with Carl’s songs.
Then the Allstars backed up Teddy "Bluesmaster" Watson who was one of the hits of the show. After delivering a song on stage as the foxy grandpa with a cane, he went down the stairs with a cordless mic and threw the cane away and proceeded to sing songs up close to the ladies and wowing the crowd while doing the bump and grind. Bi-ig showmanship. His tune coming to an end he bowed for the applause—and then whipped around and shouted to the band on stage, "B flat—from the five!" and gave us a whole lot more. The band on stage were knocked out and laughing as a wily old veteran stole the show.
Layce Baker and the original Black Diamond Band started quietly and showed deep blues feel and power. Both Layce and second guitarist Louis Jones showed they could really play the blues. Searing licks were the power of this band and I want to see them in a much longer show. Expression was their powerful game on this too-short set. They have a whole lot of guitar with feeling. This the original band that Layce started with, not the one he regularly appears with in bar gigs.
Another big surprise was in store for me when Avotcja introduced Billy Dunn as "One of those guys from Russell City who just went about the business of music." Billy Dunn has one of those warm sophisticated voices and plays a whole lot of piano. He did some mildly double-entendre lyrics and showed a lot of the jazzy blues quality of early fifties blues/R&B. Billy should be out there with a small combo doing Charles Brown, Wynonie Harris, and Percy Mayfield type material. I don’t understand why he doesn’t have a regular hotel lounge gig; he’s that warm, personable, and good.
Next up was Layce Baker with his touring band with a remarkable appearance by a 12-year-old guitar prodigy.
Layce with his tour band puts on a more flash show with more funk sounds and flashy licks. Playing with him was Gabriel _________, a remarkable 12 year old that plays with a combination of old time economy and Jimi Hendrix licks. This was an all too short set.
We’d noticed the "Hat" man with the sharp brim and the ultra sharp hatband. Terri had been there the day before and had gone with Big Dave Z to get a hat. She knew who the hat man was and said," C’mon, you gotta go see the hat man and get a hat." So at the break we walked into the old downtown again and went to the now open espresso café—which is also a hat store in the back. The hat man has brims! The kind that blues guys like, both dress and straw. Terri bought one for her son’s birthday. A flash porkpie hat. The hat man sprays all hats with water repellant, and you get a free satin pocket hankie too.
And he’s got ladies hats with real wedding, funeral, and royal coronation flash like blues ladies like. Chris couldn’t quite get herself to buy the one that made her look like the Duchess of Argyle. I got myself a wide brim straw fedora with a braided band for the coming summer. Nice feather.
Then it was Alvon time with the non-stop Alvon commentary on the state of the world, love, and why in the world weren’t we all up front dancing? Alvon never stops and is a ball of fire both vocally and on the guitar. We sat and watched the whole thing for a while just because it’s Alvon, life, love, and Alvon. It was a crazy fun time and we finally got out there to dance. Alvon said, "You just dancing now? Now that my set is almost over? You gotta do something with your life!" I’m ready for more crazy Alvon and the fabulous Alvon voice and hot guitar real soon. If he’d been appearing anywhere near us that night we would have gone.
The Caravan of Allstars came back on and it was Little Junior time. Junior was decked in a cream chartreuse suit the shade of the first 1950s "designer" Kelvinator refrigerators, along with matching gold jewelry, hair, socks, shoes, and gloves with gold rings outside the gloves. He probably forgot the matching spats at home. After about three soul songs filled with gestures and attitude he was off.
And as the sun began to think about going down it was Chick Willis time. Chick proved to be one hot guitarist and a lot of fun. Chick being the writer and creator of the whole "Stoop Down Baby" thing (he sold a couple of million copies without it ever getting on the radio) had some songs about S-E-X to do and he did ‘em right.
Starting on stage and looking over the ladies dancing he did a fine funny "Let Me Play With Your Poodle." Lis, who’d been dancing up a storm, was out in front of the stage working through her steps. Chick announced that he was looking for poodle girls to sing to. He checked the front row, saw Lis, and said, "Ahh!" Lis became the first Poodle Girl of the night. Chick walked the crowd using a wireless rig and really hitting some fine hot licks. His show was a lot of fun, and there were several "Poodle Girls", all of who seemed to get the same pleased bashful smile.
Chick’s finale was naturally, "Stoop Down Baby (let your Daddy see!)" his underground hit of the very early 70s. The ladies streamed out of their chairs to dance. We weren’t disappointed either, the band was hot (Bobby Webb on tenor sax) and the congas and drums were going full blast. The dancing got really heavy right about then.
As dusk came on the Caravan backed Wylie Trass on a set of fine jump blues, and then it Willie G. time and Willie was really feeling on and performing all over the place. Willie is one guy that’s gotta move around when he sings. And move he did—right out into the crowd. You don’t miss anything since he’s about six foot two and wears a ten-gallon hat. He sang a mix of blues and jump tunes that was a lot of fun. Love can be tough on a man. This was a fine closer for the show, we were all in the glow of a good festival and the band was smooth. The crowd was mostly still there and with the last announcement everybody packed up and left at about 7:00. The City of Pittsburg should be proud of this festival; it’s a good one.
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