Another weekend of good blues: T-Birds, Nemeth, Studebaker John

They seem to just keep coming. Weekends full of blues bands hitting the Burgh -- in addition, of course, to all the fine local bands.

This weekend, alas, pits two fine bands against each other Saturday night: Studebaker John and his slashing guitar (plus his band, the Hawks), will be at Moondog's in Blawnox. The Fabulous Thunderbirds, led by Kim Wilson, turn up at the Rex Theater on the South Side on the same night. Then Sunday night, the fine young blues singer John Nemeth appears at Moondog's.

All these groups are worth the effort. Studebaker John is a strong guitar player with an original bent, and he's always been a personal favorite, since he named himself and his band after one of my favorite teen vehicles, the Studebaker Hawk.

The Thunderbirds were founded by Wilson and Jimmie Vaughan in 1974, and Wilson is the only one remaining from the original group. The band has shifted from its early days of primarily blues and tends to be more of a blues rock group now. Wilson has formed his own blues band, and they were at Moondog's not too long ago.

If I can only make to one show, though, I'd make it the dynamic John Nemeth -- his soulful, bluesy, R&B inflected singing and harp playing are making him one of the hottest young musicians on the blues circuit. BlueNotes, who been absent from the Burgh blues scene for a while, should be back in town again in time to catch Nemeth (Yes, it's a Sunday night show. But it's an early one, You need to see this guy. The man can sing. I love the way he takes the music back to some of its old R&B roots.). And if you're in the Youngstown area,or want to catch him twice, Nemeth will be in Youngstown tonight at The Boulevard Stage at the Dash Inn.