It the Debaskers have been absent from these pages in recent weeks, they haven't been away from live entertainment. The reverse is true; we have seen a quantity of top entertainment, marred only by some artists' propensity for loudness and one overcrowded bar.
It all started with the last Saturday in March. Until the afternoon of that day, we had nowhere to go. An acquaintance advised us that the Johnny Young blues band was scheduled for that evening at Oshkosh's Wage Peace. Young, a roly-poly man of more energy and stage magnetism than true blues genius, plays blues madolin—a dying breed. He has an integrated group, including a top-rate harp player, and before the evening ended, the Debaskers were jiving, as was the rest of the packed hall. When we first arrived, Young was nearing the end of his first set, and attendance was sparse, which was disappointing because we like to see the blues draw well so more will come around. Just about the time Young really got cooking, a large crowd materialized, almost, and the evening was very satisfying.
With favorable memories of that evening still fresh, we traveled to Madison shortly thereafter for a Monday night B.B. King concert at Dewey's; it was an event to which we had been looking forward intensely. Soup was also on the bill.
Through no fault of King's, the evening was a bummer. B.8. was great, but the beer bar was packed well beyond capacity. I have been told that Madison fire code restricts Dewey's to 250 persons, which seems too few for the size, but for the King concert, this same source informed me that 1,400 were jammed in. He also said the place got busted for overcrowding.
We really had trouble enjoying the night. Both Deborah and I breathe frequently (at least we must if we're to be happy) and the air in the hall was not fit for inhaling, nor was there room to get much of it. We hung out near the back door, both to get a little more breathing space and to be near an exit in case who knows what might have happened. We had to leave before B.B. ended his set. We had had it.
Several blacks tried to rush the back door or to talk their ways in* Nobody without an advance ticket was permitted in. One tall black man had an energetic struggle with a large white freak guarding the door and failed to get in. Later, he talked his way in. He was carrying an old B.B. King album cover and a set of bongo drums.
Dewey's was such a mess that two nights later we went to Milwaukee's Performing Arts Center for a formal concert in plush Uihlein Hall. Talk about contrasts; they were there. It seemed unreal that this could have been the same group we had seen just two nights earlier in a packed, smoky bar. Yet the music was the same great blues. This time we could dig it more.
Both of us are pleased as punch to see the PAC book contemporary acts. Hopefully, King's appearance was the first of many such formal concerts.
Also in recent weeks, we've seen a spectacular Luther Allison gig at Wage Peace, an abominable Hooker V Heat concert at the Brown County Arena and a good, if overloud, Johnny Winter set at Lawrence Chapel.
Allison, whom we've seen four times in the past 18 months, gets better and better. He's leading a sextet at the moment, which is definitely his best combo to date. Luther is branching out from B.B. King-influenced blues to include more jazz (especially) and good r&b (to differentiate from the boring formula kind).
If Luther doesn't make it really big, talent is not being served.
Poor John Lee Hooker. The outstanding blues artist, with his ominous approach to songs, is really being dragged through it by Canned Heat. Since Al Wilson died, Heat has no apparent ability worth discussing. At Green Bay, Hooker opened with a short, but great, set of genuine blues. Even the unaware audience which attended (taking up only about 1,400 out of 7,000 plus seats available) was getting into Hooker. Then Heat played a set which was notable only for its audio overkill.
Playing at a volume which pushed pain for the nearby observer, Heat raped the boogie form (which is supposed to be light and infectious), murdered the blues and butchered rock in almost every way possible by nearly every instrument in the group. I suspect the loudness was to detract from ineptitude, but the lack of skill was so overwhelming, no amount of volume could disguise it.
Overloud speakers also detracted from Johnny Winter's Lawrence appearance, but at least Winter is twice the musician all of Heat put together is, even if he Is overrated.
Apparently, groups make no distinction between playing the 1,200 seat Lawrence Chapel and the 15,000 seat International Ampitheater when it comes to volume. Maybe members need a certain amount of volume to get off.
The Sam Lay Blues Band laid down a much more listenable set, even if it was formula stuff, prior to Winter's appearance.
So it was a busy, loud month. Next time, I plan to go into more detail on the evils of loudness at rock concerts and the generally bad attitude some performers have toward their public. Look for it; these will not be the obvious comments and cliches about a certain number of decibels damaging ears or artists forgetting the people who made them.
Darwin Debasker
Source & Full Article:
71-05-16 Appleton, WI.pdf
