KGMF Blues Revue a smash hit!
If you were there you know how fantastic the evening was...if you weren't, oh well.

The evening started out with some three part harmony done by Mike DePaolo, Bob Seda and Vinnie DePaolo. Smooth and silky, these guys did a "Star Spangled Banner" that could be used anywhere, anytime...it was excellent and the audience knew that something special was happening.

Yours truly and the Boys played a few tunes to settle things down a bit...since I'm the homeboy in Emerson, of course we well received!

Next up, EZ Mike Luizzi (one of my best buddies) - Mike performed an acoustic set and sincerely connected with the audience and Griffin family...I had the great pleasure of doing some tunes with him and truly enjoyed it. Mike has performed several times at Emerson fundraisers and has some old friends in town who were real happy to see him. Of course he made some new friends too!

SaRon Crenshaw came on and absolutely tore it up. Utilizing the "house band" (Leo Jordan, gtr., Dave Fields, kbd., Glenn Govier, bass, Chris Reardon, drms.), SaRon seamlessly led the unit in playing some of the best Blues heard anywhere. The crowd went nuts for SaRon and he worked it hard. SaRon is a very dynamic singer and guitarist and also a tremendous performer - he really had the crowd in the palm of his hand and received a standing ovation at the end of his set...as SaRon said, "you got to leave them wanting more" and that he did!

After that, I had to settle things down with some "blah blah blah" stuff and then we had Leo Jordan come up with Larry Graham and Chris Reardon to perform the classic, "Sleepwalk". Leo was soulful, sensitive and smooth and the audience was thrilled by his performance.

Ending the first half was the acappella trio of the DePaolo Bros. and Mr. Seda performing "Desire"...very cool and very much appreciated, with a little humor thrown in...I used to live in NYC and the thing I miss most is the fine acoustics of a building hallway...these guys would definitely work that angle to the max!

The Roxy Perry Band opened the "2nd Act" with a blistering set. Roxy was in fine form both singing and harping and was complemented expertly by the super talented Dave Fields. Dave is one of the most musical people I know and he didn't disappoint. Turning it up a notch he received ovation after ovation. Roxy has a big gig at a festival in Red Bank NJ tomorrow but she didn't hold back...sassy, swinging and sweet, with a real strong version of "Summertime" that made us realize what time of the year it is. Roxy's band included Bob Fusco on bass, Ed Train on keyboards, one of the best Blues drummers around Linda Geiger and of course Mr. Fields - thank you Roxy Perry Band and thanks to all who made this a great evening.

The Straight Up Blues Band came out for a coupla' more tunes and then we finished up with Vinnie DePaolo on vocals leading a jam on "Dixie Chicken" (I think).

The night ended with a slow Blues intrumental, "Blues For Kyle"...with Dave Fields (gtr.) and Ed Train (keyboards) rounding out the sound...a great night all around.

Many, many thanks to Glenn Govier on sound (and bass w/SaRon and on our jam at the end) - he worked his tail off and the music sounded great due in large part to his efforts on the "sound package". Also, my main man, Mike "Bull Boy" Clark as the stage manager, was relentless in his efforts...with out these two gents, this show would never have taken place.

Spc. Kyle Griffin, US Army - born Sept. 11, 1982; killed in Iraq May 30, 2003. God Bless you Kyle and all of The Griffin Family.


CC
- posted by Carlos @ 6/5/2004 07:32:38 PM