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Gary Lucas and Jann Klose premiere their new CD release "Stereopticon" at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett - Long Island N.Y.

Gary Lucas & Jann Klose

On a chilly night on the last day of April of 2016, the people of eastern Long Island were treated to top quality acoustic music at Stephen Talkhouse. The duo of Gary Lucas and Jann Klose presented a polished set that featured songs off of their new CD release "Stereopticon". They sure had a big sound for two people! Gary showcased his years of playing experience working with musicians such as: Captain Beefheart, Jeff Buckley, Lou Reed and many others. His fingerstyle guitar playing filled the room with beautiful runs, expensive chords, and catchy hooks while Jann was adding soaring vocals. Jann's amazing singing range is one of the reasons he has worked with musicians known for vocals like: Renaissance, Hall and Oates, The Strawbs, and more. They opened the evening with four straight songs off of the new album "Let No One Come Between Us", "Walking and Talking", "Take Your Medicine", and "Well of Loneliness". The audience was singing and clapping along when a nice surprise happened. They segued "Take Your Medicine" into a version of "Kiss" by Prince. It was a nice gesture of respect. At this point, the boys each put on a three song solo set. Jann went first and showed us that he can play the guitar as well as sing. During his set he explained how he met Gary at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. He finished his mini-set with a Tim Buckley song and the ending was mesmerizing  - with beautiful high-note vocals resonating out in the Amagansett evening. Now it was Gary's turn - and he didn't disappoint. His three song set had amazing guitar inflections. His 1943 Gibson J-45 sure looked like it had seen a lot of work. He explained that he uses all different tunings while he plays. When they resumed as a duo, Jann introduced the lyricist Dan Beck who had helped with many of the songs on the album. They proceeded to perform a real nice version of "Jewel Julia" which Dan had written the Lyrics to. Jann was telling the audience about the various social media outlets to follow the act and he said, "Please like us". He then joked to Dan to write a song "Please Like Us". Gary went on to explain that the next song was not an easy song to sing and they nailed the Jeff Buckley song "Grace" (Wait in the Fire). People who live in the New York area are not going to forget "Superstorm Sandy" anytime soon. "Mary Magdalene" is a song written for the people in Breezy Point and it was a nice gesture to the local "Lawnguylanders". "It was the first song they recorded for the album", Jann explained. They finished up the evening with "Nobody's Talking". The cozy audience asked for one more song and befitting to the fact that the rain held out, they played "Fair Weather". After the show, everyone got to meet Gary and Jann at a CD signing area. It was a wonderful evening of music.

Review by Robert von Bernewitz

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For more information on Gary Lucas and Jann Klose visit these sites www.lucasklose.com www.garylucas.com www.jannklose.com

Special thanks to Anne Leighton

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Hot Tuna Celebrates Jorma's 75th Birthday at the Beacon Theater in New York City 11/20/15

Hot Tuna celebrates Jorma's birthday in NYC.  

On a pleasant Friday night in the fall, Hot Tuna celebrated Jorma Kaukonen's 75th birthday at the classic 3 - tiered Beacon Theater in New York City. The place was packed and there was a special buzz in the atmosphere. There were rumors floating around that there will be special guests to join Jorma and Jack (Casady) on stage, and they proved to be right on the mark. After an opening solo number by Jorma, classic blues artist John Hammond joined him on harmonica - along with Jack on bass - for a 3 song acoustic mini-set. It was really a nice start to the evening. Now it was time to plug in and pick up the pace, and for this they brought in drummer Justin Guip, who has collaborated extensively in the past with Levon Helm. They worked their way through a dynamic set that riled up the crowd. It eventually became evident that in the floor seats you were going to have to stand! Jorma showed off some really rocking lead solos on his Gibson Firebird guitar. Set two featured special guests Larry Campbell - a seasoned multi-instrumentalist who toured with Bob Dylan for many years - and his wife, singer Teresa Williams. Larry played an arsenal of instruments in the set including mandolin, fiddle, pedal steel, and guitar. Teresa's lovely voice was showcased in great versions of "Wade in the Water", "Big River", and many others. The encore was the classic "Sugaree" from the Grateful Dead songbook. The show sent everyone home satisfied and wishing they had tickets for Saturday night also.

 Getting near start time at the Beacon Theater

 

Jorma opens the show

Jorma, Jack, and John Hammond

Jack, Justin Guip, and Jorma with the Firebird

Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Jack Casady, Justin Guip, Jorma Kaukonen

Review and photos by Robert von Bernewitz

No part of this story, post or pictures may be copied or used anywhere without permission from this site.

Special thanks to Cash Edwards

For information on this story or this website contact Robvonb247 (at) gmail (dot) com

Jorma Kaukonen @ The YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts 3/15/15 Bay Shore, New York - Concert Review.

There's one thing that you will always get when attending a Jorma concert - and that's "your money's worth". In true fashion on Sunday 3/15/2015, Jorma Kaukonen played two long sets at Long Island's YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts. The sold out theater was treated to a nice mixture of  traditional music, blues, and original compositions from Jorma and Hot Tuna partner Barry Mitterhoff. The evening flowed at a nice relaxing pace because the seasoned performer "Ain't in no hurry". That's the name of his brand new CD, which was just recently released in 2015. He opened the show with the title track and mixed the new songs nicely into the sets with the classics. Jorma was dressed in the road warrior outfit of jeans and a flannel shirt, and played his Martin guitars in his classic fingerpicking style flawlessly throughout the night. Barry had a nice arsenal of instruments to methodically switch back and forth on such as: Mandolin, Banjo, and 4 string guitar. He was also deemed designated salesman to announce the special sale of hooded sweatshirts on this chilly March evening. Even after two long enjoyable sets, they were called out to play one more song. They obliged with the classic, "Genesis." The night was "Well worth it for all."

Reviewed by Robert von Bernewitz

For information on this site contact Robvonb247 (at) gmail (dot) com

City Winery - New York - 12/9/14 James Blood Ulmer & Marc Ribot concert review

The weather was cold, with a little wet wintery mixture of rain and snow, but that didn't stop a medium size crowd from checking out some guitar music with a wintery mixture of Country Blues, Jazz and Avant-Garde at City Winery, NYC. Local favorite Marc Ribot kicked off the show hunched over and concentrating with his acoustic guitar. His uncut guitar strings by the headstock wiggled along with a dynamic set that was full of unusal riffs. The guitar took its licks with hard picking and fancy tricks, but withstood the barrage. At one quiet point, he licked his finger and rubbed it across the strings to make an unusual sound, like he and the guitar were having a conversation. At the end of the set, he introduced the headliner James Blood Ulmer. The two of them played two songs together - with Marc picking up a solid body electric and James had his hollow body electric. Both songs had no flow to them at all as they were playing two different licks and it really didn't work. It was a good thing Marc's guitar was much louder to reduce the mishmash. James Blood sat down with his dark eyeglasses behind a music stand. He opened up with what James explained was the first American blues song, "The Star Spangled Banner". It was very difficult to hear the words of this patriotic song and it seemed James had to check the book on the stand to see where he was. Even the guitar playing in open tune was a little ragged. James "Blood" worked through the set of similar sounding songs and he looked through his book after each song to find the next one. It was apparent that if the music stand wasn't there, he really would have had a hard time. James reminded me of Robert Pete Williams and he did have a couple of nice guitar riffs, but you heard the same ones much too often. The audience gave him a nice courteous applause throughout his set. He finished up about three minutes before the hour and looked to the manager. He gave the one more sign, so James looked through his book for another song that sounded just like the last one. The song was controversial, but it didn't leave much of an impression. There was no encore.

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LAR Enterprises All-Star Doo Wop Weekend Vol. XI Sunday 4/13/14

LAR Enterprises

All-Star Doo Wop Weekend Vol. XI

Sunday 4/13/14

 

On April 12th and 13th 2014 there was a weekend full of Doo Wop music and singing stars at Hauppauge High School on Long Island, New York. LAR Enterprises put on a fine production with a great sound system in a nice venue. The event featured over 25 groups and had meet and greet in the hallway before, during and after the show. A fun time was had by all including myself. This was a major undertaking and a real nice celebration of great music. This was my first Doo Wop event and here are my notes from the two day show.

Day 2 - 4/13/14 - 3PM

Hosted by Bobby Jay and Cool Bobby B.

LAR President Rob Albanese made a few announcements. He brought up an incident that happened the previous day with a band "not mentioned" and had the band leader (Keyboard Player) explain to the audience exactly what happened.

The Fireflies started the show off with a nice three song set. The four singers came out in black slacks and white jackets and performed a good version of "You Were Mine". They all sang very well.

The Continentals came out on the stage dancing in their black suits. They opened with an A Cappella version to an upbeat song. They explained to the audience that the second song "Fine Fine Frame" was about a woman's body. During the performance of that song, there was a video playing on the screen behind them showing various glamorous women such as Marilyn Monroe. They ended the set with a ballad.

After a stage announcement about having a lot of male Doo Wop groups, Bobby Jay brought out the original singer of The Angels. Lead singer Linda Jansen and her Angels performed a three song set which included their smash hit "My Boyfriend's Back". They wore black pants suits with red trim and star necklaces.

Bill Carey's Danleers strutted out in matching brown jackets. The four piece vocal group opened with an upbeat 1-4-5 "Ramblin' and a Dealin' ".  Bill Carey, with his low bass voice, took the lead on the 2nd song which had a sad feel to it.  They finished strong with the classic "One Summer Night". The harmonies were very good.

A video of Frankie Ford's "Sea Cruise" was presented.

Dennis Dorrity Jr. and All Stars put on a nice set of music. Dennis sang beautifully on "If it don't work out". The All Stars featured Johnny Gale on guitar, Tony Gallino on drums, and many more. They finished up with a very pretty ballad.

Veteran performer "Diamond" Dave Somerville mixed up some stories, comedy and music in his set. He started off with a medley of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love, The Stroll and Silhouettes On The Shelf". During the classic hit from 1957, "Little Darlin'" he grabbed a woman from the front row to dance with him on stage. Dave's still going strong and lookin' good at age 80.

The flamboyant Kid Kyle came out singing up a storm with a powerful version of "So Young". Along with his three backup singers, he rocked it up with the "Rain Song". He pushed the volume up even higher with Neil Sedaka's "The Diary".

The last act before the first intermission was Herb Cox and the Cleftones. The boys in the gold jackets got things going with an upbeat version of "Heart and Soul" that had excellent vocals. After announcing that this was the Cleftones 59th year, they dished out a nice version of "I Love You". A flawless performance of "I Only Have Eyes For You" with exceptional harmonies filled the auditorium airspace next. They proceeded with an upbeat song "Don't Let Go". The audience clapped along with the back and forth key changes that were nicely executed. They finished strong with the upbeat "Little Girl Of Mine". They threw in a dance solo on that one.

During the intermission everyone enjoyed meeting and taking pictures with the stars.

After the intermission, they presented a touching video tribute of musical artists who left us recently.

Armed with a white Telecaster, Jack Scott put a little twang into the evening to start the second portion of the night. He saddled up with "What in the World". Jack and his rhythm section - featuring a stand up bass player - picked up the gallop with "Geraldine". Riding along the trail, he added some tremolo with "Good Bye Baby". The last song "My True Love" had chord issues, but contained some twangy extended guitar solos.

Lenny Dell and The Demensions brought their own musicians to back them up. Starting with an upbeat song to get things going, the three piece group with a female singer in the middle, cruised through an excellent set of nicely arranged songs. The classic "Over The Rainbow" was done to perfection.

The Jarmels came out in all white suits and did not disappoint. They opened up with "The Way You Look Tonight", which had a cha cha feel. Paying tribute to the late great Johnny Ace, they sang a beautiful ballad called "Let Me Love You Tonight". This three piece group ended a fine set of harmony singing with their signature song "A Little Bit Of Soap".

A lot of singing groups were born in the Bronx. Norman Fox and The Rob Roys were one of them. The audience started salivating after the upbeat novelty song "Pizza Pie". They proceeded to sing a very good ballad "Dream Girl" and finished strong with another upbeat tune "Why Are There Stars In The Sky". They danced their way off the stage and really caught my attention.

The Diablos took the stage with four guys in red jackets and white pants. They brought their own guitar player. They busted into a loud version of "I'm Gonna Make You Mine". The bass man introduced the band with his very low voice. The second song was a nicely executed ballad. They finished up with their hit "The Wind". I was impressed with the set.

A group that was born in Harlem called "The Harptones" took the stage in black suits singing their version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". They segued into the nice ballad "That's The Way It Goes".  The emcee Bobby Jay joined them, taking over the bass duties on "Sunday Kind Of Love" and "Life Is But A Dream".  There was a full introduction of the members by the keyboard player which they "brought with them". The boys then kicked out their own arrangement of "Get Ready". They finished out the long set with the beautiful ballad "The Shrine Of St. Cecilia".

Larry Chance came out in a black suit to front The Earls, who were dressed in white suits. They were a self contained band. The house band took a well deserved breather, doing a fantastic job backing most of the vocal groups. After starting off with fine A Cappella, they broke into the upbeat "Never" and turned it into a ballad midway through. The band executed this difficult task very well. Larry told a few jokes before singing the smash hit "Remember Then". Larry explained that he had some health issues and battled throat cancer. He told a few jokes to keep it light and gave a nice tribute to an original band member who went to serve our country in the armed forces and never came home. He dedicated the final song "I Believe" to him.

There was another video presentation and some old stories from Bobby Jay.

Harold Winley's Clovers took the stage. The five gentlemen in white suits originated from the Washington D.C. area. They opened with a 1-4-5 rocker "Lovey Dovey". One of the newer members stated that "He was still in his Daddy's bag" before they sang their 1956 ballad "Devil and Angel". In a funny moment, one of the band members stated that they better introduce themselves. They proceeded to shake each other's hands. The quiet ballad "Blue Velvet" was executed to perfection with a standout bass solo. They finished up their set with the very popular "Love Potion # 9".

The final act of the evening was Fred Parris and The Satins. Fred was in a blue outfit. The female singer Bonita Brooks was in an aqua dress. The other two wore in a black jacket with white pants and a blue suit. The opening number was an R&B song with a disco beat. They performed a few standards "The Entertainer" and "To The Isle" before breaking into a rocker "Jones Girl". Everyone went up to the front of the stage for the finale of "The Still Of The Night"

It was a wonderful end to two days of great music and memories. Rob and Laura of LAR Entertainment put on a great production. A fun celebration of Doo Wop music.

To order any music from these artists just click the Amazon tab on the upper right

Review by Robert von Bernewitz Robvonb247 (at) gmail (dot) com

This may not be reproduced in any part or form without permission.

LAR Enterprises All-Star Doo Wop Weekend Vol. XI Saturday 4/12/14

 

LAR Enterprises

All-Star Doo Wop Weekend Vol. XI

4/12/14 Saturday

 

On April 12th and 13th 2014 there was a weekend full of Doo Wop music and singing stars at Hauppauge High School on Long Island, New York. LAR Enterprises put on a fine production with a great sound system in a nice venue. The event featured over 25 groups and had meet and greet in the hallway before, during and after the show. A fun time was had by all including myself. This was a major undertaking and a real nice celebration of great music. This was my first Doo Wop event and here are my notes from the two day show.

Day 1 - 4/12/14 - 5PM

Hosted by Bobby Jay and Cool Bobby B

Bobby Jay had some traffic issues by the George Washington Bridge and was slightly late but was covered for nicely.

LAR President Rob Albanese made some announcements to get the show started

The Classic Sounds opened the show in white suit outfits. They had very nice harmonies in their set

Jimmy Charles followed in his tan suit and performed a cool version of "Hopscotch" in his set

Kathy Young performed a great three song set which included "A Thousand Stars" and a cover of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow". She did look young in her black dress with a gold necklace.

A few stage announcements

The Mystics opened with an upbeat catchy tune. They got real close together for a version of "Over The Rainbow" on song two. They finished up with "Hush-a-bye". The audience gave them a nice hand as they bowed in unison. They had red jackets and white pants.

Presentation of a video. "The Book Of Love" by the Monotones

Milton Love and the Solitaires came out as a five piece vocal group in matching plaid jackets. They performed "Blue Valentine" in their set which featured nice harmony. The last song "Walking Along" was upbeat and it got the crowd clapping along.

Tony Middleton and the Willows was a sharp looking quartet in black suits. They had a nice three song set performing a Buchannan and Goodman cover. A nice ballad with standout bass vocals and their signature song "Church Bells May Ring" with exceptional bass vocals once again.

LAR President Rob Albanese came out to introduce Don K. Reed.

He told the story of how The Regals became The Orioles and introduced Sonny Til's Orioles

Five guys came out dancing in nice black suits. They opened with a nice version of "Baby Please Don't Go". The second song was a ballad and one of the guys held a long nice note. In the third song "Drying in the Chapel" the singer jumped off the stage to join the audience.

The Spaniels were a quintet in red jackets and white pants similar to the Mystics. They opened with a medium speed version of "Stormy Weather" into the ballad of "Heart and Soul". They had excellent singing on the last ballad "Piece of Mind" that finished with nice A Cappella.

Finishing up the first part of the show was Charlie Thomas' Drifters. They played a solid six song set that had a little bit of everything. They opened with the medley "On Broadway and Rock and Roll Party".  The classic "This Magic Moment" was next. A little banter and jokes about kids wearing their hats backward led into the upbeat song "Sugar For My Rocker".  A verbal craving for some moonshine was followed by "Save The Last Dance For Me". They brought the volume down so the audience could sing along, which didn't really happen. Charlie Thomas who recently turned 77 years old, stated his wish for a Rolls Royce before breaking into "Up On A Roof". The boys really rocked this one at the end with a guitar solo. The finale "Under The Boardwalk" got everyone waving their hands.

During the first intermission, most of the musical guests talked and signed autographs with the patrons. I did see a few ringers and hounds who didn't pay to get in and were taking advantage by bringing in multiple items to sign - like guitars and memorabilia.

The 2nd part of the show started off very nicely with excellent singing from the Dubs. These four guys in grey suits started off with the ballad "Don't Ask Me To Be Lonely". The song "Chapel Of Dreams" featured very nice A Cappella. Cleveland Stills and the Dubs who recorded on the Gone label finished strong with "Could This Be Magic?". I was impressed.

Next up was former teen idol Jimmy Clanton. Lookin' sharp in his grey suit, Jimmy opened up with "Go Jimmy Go". He continued with a monolog and a few jokes that led into "Just A Dream", conducting the band through the ending. Rounding out the set, he played "Venus in Blue Jeans".

The Passions brought some of their bandmates out to replace the house band members who did an excellent job so far. They brought in a guitar player and a keyboard player named Tom Chuisano.  With three guys in red and Jimmy Gallagher in all white, they had a solid 5 song set starting with the upbeat song, "This Night Was Made For Love". The 2nd song "This Is My Love" they had performed on The Howdy Doody Show. After playing "I Only Want You", they tackled the difficult "Gloria". They finished up the set strong with a tune written by Paul Simon and Carole King, "Just To Be With You".

The Fidelities were up next. Maurice Newton came out in his grey suit singing solo to nice renditions of "To Eternity" and "We're Having A Party". He then dedicated the final song "Sunset In The Summer Sky" to Laura.

The emcee was wondering why the next act is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?. He brought out the great girl group The Chantels. They opened with "Look In My Eyes" and they appeared to be a little nervous. That didn't last long, the set was spectacular after that with awesome renditions of "He's Gone" and "I love You So". They saved the great song "Maybe" for last, and they proved that they deserve to be in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They left the stage to a rousing applause only to be called back by Bobby Jay to do another verse of the song. The ladies in black and white did not disappoint.

The Charts had a few issues during their set. They did not sync up quite right with the band. Although they did sing well, the set did not flow properly.

The legendary Eugene Pitt and The Jive Five came out in their pink jackets with black pants opening with "What Time Is It". Although now having to use a cane to get around, that didn't stop Eugene from singing his heart out. After a nice rendition of "Never, Never" we were informed that this is the bands 51st year. That brought on a nice applause. Finishing up with the songs, "I'm A Happy Man", and the classic, "My True Story" the boys walked off smiling to a big hand.

The final act of the evening was the man himself Gene Chandler. Gene performed a solid set before disappearing into the wings and making a surprise appearance behind the audience. As he emerged, he was in his cape with a top hat. That's right, the "Duke of Earl" was in the house. As he made his way to the stage, you could not take your eyes off of him. It was a fitting ending to a great day of music.

The grand finale brought most of the days performers to the stage to sing, "Good Night Sweetheart, It's Time For Me To Go". The front row filled up to "standing room" only quickly for this.

The capacity crowd got their money's worth and really enjoyed themselves.

To order music from any of these artists just click the Amazon tab on the upper right

Review by Robert Von Bernewitz Robvonb247 (at) gmail (dot) com

This may not be reproduced in any part or form without permission.