MONTEREY BAY BLUES FESTIVAL

JUNE 27, 28 AND 29, 2008

The annual Monterey Bay Blues Festival was held for the twenty-third year on the fairgrounds in Monterey, California under a smoky haze and falling ashes from the huge wildfire nearby at Big Sur.  Nevertheless, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of attendees, many of whom have attended all of the festivals.  I did notice a larger contingent of new faces and not as much glamour in attire this year.  The Main Arena was the staging area for headliners with the President’s Stage and Garden Stage presenting some newcomers and more star power than in previous years.  The Board of Directors made an effort to limit performers from previous years on the outer stages with an overall focus on traditional and contemporary blues.

On Friday the first show of the evening was Mississippi blues artist, Dave Riley, on the President’s stage.  Riley is a commanding vocalist and skilled guitarist and his solo set was raw and real displaying the best of Delta blues as he worked his way from Chicago to Mississippi. 

On the Main Arena, James Blood Ulmer opened up the festivities with his blues exploration along with violinist Charlie Burnham which I could not get into so I headed over to the Garden Stage where a fantastic group, Best Intentions, did a Motown dance routine with compelling vocals.  The enthusiastic audience ate it up!   

Back on the Main Arena, the main attraction, Bettye LaVette, commanded the stage with her earthy charisma and sensual swagger.  Her repertoire covered soul as only she can deliver it with emotional force along with a good dose of pop thrown in.  Her rendition of “Joy” was outstanding delivered with every ounce of her considerable vigor.  And, of course, her sitting cross-legged on the stage is always a tear-jerker. 

The evening finale for me was on the Garden Stage where

L.A. Big Daddys presented a good set of blues and soul.  They won a spot on the festival as runners up in the MBBF Battle of the Bands.  Richard “Daddy Rich” Moorings was a versatile performer handling keyboards, trombone and vocals.  Vocalist Tammy Brown joined the band for a soulful turn on “Take Me To The River.”

On Saturday the Main Arena show kicked off with the Volker Strifler Band who won the MBBF Battle of the Bands.  Strifler has made quite an impact on the blues scene with his own band after years fronting the Ford Blues Band.  They covered an eclectic mix of contemporary blues with some jump blues.  Strifler’s guitar expressions were exceptional with deliberate chord voicing and vocals that conveyed a blues sensibility. 

On the Garden Stage, the Russell City Memorial Blues Band mixed it up with a host of special guests including Fillmore Slim, Big Cat Tolefree, Billy Dunn and Curtis Lawson with horns supplied by Gino Landers and Carl Green.  This aggregation, fronted by guitarist Ronnie Stewart, put on a high energy show filled with some rollicking performances. 

Teeny Tucker was featured on the Main Arena and later did a show on the Garden Stage. I caught her act at the Main Arena where Tucker showed her stuff with pizzazz.  Her band was exceptional with back-up vocalists and her version of “I’d Rather Go Blind” was potent. 

Over on the Garden Stage, the dynamo Sugar Pie DeSanto proved that a lady in her seventies can still be hip and get down!  Her excellent band was comprised of Carlos Zialcita on harmonica, Sugar G on keyboards, Michael Skinner on drums, Steve Gannon on guitar, Larry James on bass, and Carl Green on saxophone.  DeSanto’s vocal skills have diminished but she makes up for it with a whole package of showmanship that was delightful. 

Keb Mo’s show at the Main Arena was one of the festival highlights.  His take on “That’s Not Love” was stupendous with hard-driving vocals and a short exercise on harmonica.  His set displayed a unique perception of country blues wrapped in a contemporary package that was engagingly relevant.  Robben Ford joined the band at the end for a rockish dualing excursion. 

Henry Butler on the Garden Stage was fantastic with his operatic influenced vocals which were chill inducing and New Orleans classic keyboard styling.  His percussive attack on “Mardi Gras In New Orleans” was so powerful that I thought the keyboards were going to collapse. 

C. J. Chenier—I loved his show at Biscuits & Blues last June so I was a little disappointed with his performance on both the Main Arena and the President’s Stage.  There were moments but overall the blues was missing in these shows which focused more on traditional zydeco.  I still loved his vocals and, in my opinion, his use of that instrument is awesome.

The Jackie Payne/Steve Edmonson Band did a sensational show on the President’s Stage and Payne’s soul vocals were on full display on “Overnight Sensation,” the title cut from their new CD.

I managed to catch a little of Lady Bianca’s captivating performance on the President’s Stage on keyboards and vocals.  I hustled over to the Main Arena to see Susan Tedeschi who was on fire with her monstrous guitar styling during the few minutes I observed the set.  Bishop Mayfield and The Wreckers were into a rousing soul excursion on the Garden Stage—Mayfield’s soul vocals were gripping.  Pat Wilder was compelling with her explosive guitar styling and down-home blues vocals on the Garden Stage.

But the best was yet to come with the legendary Superharp James Cotton and Taj Mahal on the Main Arena stage.  Both these shows were exceptional!  Cotton’s band with Slam Allen on guitar and vocals, Noel Neal on bass, Tom Holland on guitar and vocals and Kenny Neal, Jr. on drums enthusiastically warmed up the audience.  Cotton is still the master as he proved in this set.  Sitting in a chair, he wowed the audience with his incredible strength of phrasing—his “Hucklebuck” intricately sucked every note out with complex breath control.  When I visited with Cotton backstage, he proudly said he would be celebrating his seventy-third birthday in a few days.  He had an energy that he attributed to his giving up smoking and drinking which led us into a discussion of what’s left without those pleasures! 

Taj Mahal put on a spectacular show opening up playing guitar and his vocals on “Checkin’ Up On My Baby” were playfully rambunctious.  On the slow, soulful “Annie Mae” his little aside comments were engaging.  While taking to keyboards, he made some humorous comments about the price of gas!  He transitioned between styles but stuck mostly to blues with a little Caribbean mixture. 

On Sunday we learned that Janiva Magness who was scheduled for the Garden Stage had broken a leg and that the Kenny Neal Band would be substituting.  The word got around and there was a contingent of Neal fans on board for this event.  The family affair included brothers Frederick Neal on keyboards and Darnell Neal on bass along with Bryan Morris on drums, Joe Campbell on trumpet and A. G. on saxophone.  Kenny Neal’s swamp blues got our adrenalin going in one of the most incendiary blues shows of the festival.  His tune “Let Life Flow” was reflective of his renewed outlook and it is obvious that he back full force health-wise.  Debbie Davies joined the band for a couple of tunes and it was absolutely riveting to watch these two in action. 

Frank Bey, Southern Gentleman of the Blues, lit up the Garden Stage with his show with a big band fronted by guitarist Anthony Paule.  His gritty soul vocals were gospel-infused especially on his version of “Imagine.”  In a nod to his stint in the 60’s with Otis Redding he did a smashing rendition of “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay.”

Continuing at the Garden Stage, J. C. Smith and the Young Guns of Chicago Blues opened up with Smith and his band warming up the audience with hard driving drummer Dennis Dove keeping the beat on “Crosscut Saw.”  Mike Wheeler followed with a tune dedicated to his wife entitled “I’m A Lucky Man.”  Wheeler is not flashy but solid and steeped with in the Chicago sound.  Nellie “Tiger” Travis heated up things on “I’m A Dirty Old Woman” with her dynamic presence which was matched by her sultry vocals and sassy attitude.   Chico Banks (Smith introduced him as the Candy Lickin’ Man) knocked it way up! This fiery guitarist expanded the boundaries with a frenzied guitar attack of electric blues.  I had to take off before they all jammed together but can just imagine what I must have missed with these not so young guns but, oh, such hot shots.

Since I missed most of the Homemade Jamz Band performance on the Main Area, had to savor it close up on the President’s Stage.  This family affair is the latest entry into blues stardom with Ryan (16 years old) on guitar and vocals, Kyle (13 years old) on bass and Taya (9 years old) on drums.  Backed up by their father, Renaud Perry, on harmonica this band is phenomenal and worthy of all the praise.  Their unusual guitar and bass were fashioned by their father from old car mufflers.  Their Mississippi inspired set was as good as anything on any of the stages.  They have the blues spirit and covered many original tunes.  Ryan’s voice showed the maturity of an old soul on “Got My Mojo Working.”  It was a gratifying experience to hear real life blues emanating from youngsters who appeared wise beyond their years.

The festival finale on the Main Arena stage was B. B. King who was presented with the Artist of the Year Award, known as MOBBAY, by the Board of Directors.  King immediately launched into “Let The Good Times Roll.”  His stellar band kept it lively while King who is truly blues royalty paced himself alternating between talking to the audience in a very intimate courtly manner and laying down some monstrous licks.  Just being in his presence makes one get goose bumps knowing the influence this man has had on blues.  Long live the King!

I closed it out by heading over to the Garden Stage to catch a little of Charlie Musselwhite who sounded wonderful.  But by that time, my energy was spent and I straggled across the street to the motel happy with everything I had experienced.  Unfortunately, I missed some very good acts over the weekend which friends filled in with their assessments—Joe Bonamassa evidently made quite an impression with his take-no-prisoners guitar style.  Also, I regrettably missed the Blind Boys of Alabama.  Robben Ford was reported to be a crowd pleaser on the Garden stage with his band.  But it is hard to catch everything when there are so many first class acts.  I did my best which kept me running and I even got in a little dancing. 

The Monterey Bay Blues Festival Board of Directors listened to their longtime supporters and made some welcome changes this year, focusing more on blues and extending in and out privileges.  They are a hard-working group of dedicated individuals.  I love the fact that they all work the festival grounds and were visible and accessible.  They outdid themselves this year with one of the best line-ups in recent years. 

(C) 2008, Dorothy L. Hill

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