Billy Price, Nighthawks spend the night together

First, I have a couple of questions:

How was the turn-out? I know it's a large room but did alot of people show up? That would perhaps indicate the possibility of a 'Blues Extravaganza IV'.

Aside from 'Night Work', were there any other tunes that really stood out? What was the encore?

Where is the gratuitous Bluenotes trademark photo of a pretty girl (or girls) dancing to the band(s)? Do we get just the back of a pretty girl this time?

And now I'll add a few comments about the other 'Blues Extravaganza'...the one I attended while everyone else was at the Palisades. It was more of a 'Blues and Soul Extravaganza' and, of course, I'm referring to Curtis Salgado at Moondogs.

Let me start by saying that the place was NOT jam-packed so it made for a comfortable experience. (Good for me but not so good for Moondog). I wasn't sure what kind of crowd Curtis would get considering the anticipation surrounding the BP/Nighthawks show seemed to suggest that that would be the preferred Saturday night destination for many Pgh. Blues fans.  Like I said Moondogs was not too crowded but also not too sparse...the crowd size was just right.

Well, it turned out to be just what I expected. The crowd, while not overwhelming size-wise, was VERY enthusiastic. Everyone was there to hear Curtis and his band and no one left at the end of the night disappointed. Curtis is a force of nature. Cool, calm, collected and as smooth a front man as you're likely to find in front of a tough and tight band. The keyboard player, Dave, was particularly 'on fire' and the crowd responded to his many fine solos. And what a great rhythm section. I, personally, was impressed with the vocal harmony of Curtis and the bass player. It seemed like they sang a little more together at Moondogs than they did when I saw them in Cleveland...either way it's something that gives the band a nice kick and fills out their sound.

Musically, it was a treat for fans of old-school Soul music. Even Curtis' originals sound like they could have come from somewhere back in the heyday of Stax or Hi records. Of course Curtis has been singing and playing long enough that he could have been part of the Stax roster but the music has a timeless quality that makes it sound good regardless. And Curtis can 'testify' with the best of them!!

The real high point of the night, for me, was meeting and hanging out with local harp player Chris (of Izzy and Chris) after the show was over. He bought a CD from Curtis in the parking lot as the band was packing up and we ended up BS'ing late into the night. He knows alot more about all the local Blues bands than I do so I got a crash course in what's going on with the current local Blues scene. I think he would agree that the scene is healthy but we both realized that it still needs some work. That's a discussion I'll leave for another time.

All in all, it was a nice night of some serious Soul, Blues, and a little Rock and Roll. Not what I would call 'SPECTACULAR!!' but a solid performance by a band that I would definitely see again and wouldn't hesitate to recommend. I also ran into my buddy Leo from Latrobe and whenever  I see him I know a good Blues band can be found somewhere close by!!

And so now it's onward to Wayne 'the Train' at Diesel.

www.youtube.com/watch

Full disclosure: The format was my son Calvin's idea. He has seen this done frequently by the bands he goes to see, none of whose names I remember. I thought it would be fun, so I talked everyone into it. I agree with you, Jim--it worked out better than I could have hoped.

Thanks for the coverage!

Regards,

Billy

BLUZER has enough trouble just trying to put intelligent sentences together (some might say LOTS of trouble) and then posting them to the Bluenotes blog before his browser crashes. I'll leave the posting of photos to the trained eye of Bluenotes. (If you remember, I screwed up the first link to Youtube I ever tried to post). And if pictures of young girls dancing to Blues bands is what it takes to get people excited about the Bluenotes blog...well, I'm not gonna argue or complain!!! I meant no disrespect.

Speaking generally of Moondogs and Billy Price, the band will be at Moondogs October 24.

Also, If my many years following the Blues scene in Pittsburgh has taught me anything it's that Billy Price is probably one of the most modest, self-effacing people I've yet to meet. He's the last one you would expect to 'toot his own horn'. I mention this only because he could have dropped in a plug for his upcoming gig in Butler this coming Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EST or his gig at the Lamplighter on the 26th.... but he didn't!!

If you don't already have it at the top of your list of Bookmarks...and I would guess most Pittsburgh Blues fans already do...here's a link to BP's website:

www.billyprice.com/index.php

And am I the only one who noticed that Billy and Mark Wenner both wore complimentary, color-coordinated shirts....how classy is that!!

Sorry for taking so long to respond; I was tied up all weekend and when I sat down to do this, I realized I had some old stuff from the Crawdaddies I had to take care of. then when I got oline last nite, YouTube was down for maintenance till after midnite.

Blues Extravaganza III was a big hit in my book.  Both bands were able to hit their respective strenghths and the combinations were often pure magic.  It was one of those rare instances where artists combine to create a whole that is bigger than the sum of its parts.  I posted three vids on my YouTube channel:

www.youtube.com/.../rd350c

I especially enjoyed mark's solo w/ the BIG harp on vid #1.

I am always pleased when the soundguy doesn't work to push the limits of the PA, and Bonedog productions are  usually pretty good, but this time I felt that everyone's  vocal microphones weren't mixed well.  I went back and listened to my recordings from the Billy/Fred Chappalier show last spring, and it's pretty evident.  It coulda been my seating position (front, center, second table back), where I was hearing more from the pre-amps than the PA, but I got the same feeling when I walked around the joint.  I don't have pictures of last spring's PA, so I don't know if I appelling to oranges or not.  

I also had a hard time watching Billy stand at parade rest for so much of the show.  my vid #2 shows him doing GREAT backing vocals and it seemed he could've been doing that more.  like bluzer said tho, Billy is always reluctant to  toot too much, and this was all pretty spontaneous.  

and finally, I think I saw like a half dozen advertisements in the McKeesport Daily News, but nothing in the City Paper.  I don't get the Post Gazette, so I'm not sure what showed up there.  Having the previous week's WYEP blues show pre-empted didn't help either.  I honestly expected A LOT more people.    All in all, a great time was had by the 150-200 attendees (the place'll hold twice that many or more.... too bad).  Hope the time to the next Blues Extravaganza isn't as long as the previous interval.

OH, and P.S.  You'll see on my YouTube that I attended the Boz Scaggs show the following nite.  Although the keyboard player picked up a sax a couple of times duing the show ALL THE HORNS WERE SYNTHESIZED.  We are truly blessed to have Billy bringing primo horns to us on a regular basis.

Thanks to Billy's son for the idea that both bands play together throughout the night.  It was a case of uptown(Price) meets lowdown(Nighthawks) and the result was pure bliss.  I saw Price sit in with the 'hawks for a Christmas show at Moondog's a coupla years back so I knew the chemistry was there between them.  The talent and flexibilty of Billy's band really made this work however.  His horn section is mighty fine, their ability to seemlessly slip into the Nighthawk's songs, strenghting rather than diluting the four piece's impact took the show into overdrive.  

Each of the twelve musicians onstage worked for the greater good while still maintaining their distinct individual voices, which in itself is a testament to their abilities.  It's great to see musicians of of this caliber dive boldy into the deep end and come out with a memorable night of music that made both top rate units into one killer showband.

The old school setting of the Palisades Ballroom added to experience.  I saw my first two shows there as a young teen witnessing the power of Savoy Brown and glory of Ray Charles.  It's nice to see the big room in vintage shape hosting such a worthy spectacle.  Thanks to Billy and the folks Bonedog Records for bringing shows of this quality to the 'Port.  Sorry I missed the spring show with Fred Chapellier last spring, but I'll do everything possible to keep coming back for more.

And, as always it was great to speak with Bluenotes hisself at the show.  I was duly impressed by seeing his name on the reserved table next to me.  Thanks also to rd350c for the videos.  It's good to have audio/visual evidence of such a special night.

yours truly

Bill from Elizabeth