 MARCH 2007 |
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Text and Photos by TIM HOLEK
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London, Ontario’s home of the blues, The Firehall, closed its doors in 1990. Everyone and anyone, associated with the blues, performed at the club at some point in its ten year history. Of course the blues has survived even though a plethora of great clubs have closed down. The spirit and memories of glorified clubs like the Firehall live on. One of the best annual blues events in London is the Firehall Reunion – the Labatt Blue Firehall Guitar Slingers Ball name of the past two years has been dropped – which has been going on since 1997. It is a gathering of various sorts, e.g., both of musicians who played the Firehall and punters who drank there. Many experienced and fulfilled a part of their lives at the Firehall. |
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The Firehall Reunion takes place at the multi-purpose Centennial Hall, which I’ve never felt to be an exceptional venue. Although the main floor has fine site lines, the balcony (other than in the very back) does not. There are only five rows all the way around the entire balcony. This combined with its U-shape results in parts of the stage being obstructed from view. Sound has never been outstanding at Centennial Hall. The building’s acoustics aren’t kind even though the sound people do their best. This year, I heard the finest sound when I was standing in front of the stage as well as by the soundboard on the main floor yet at times it was on the verge of distortion. The sound was nice and clear in certain parts of the balcony, but in other parts of the balcony (particularly the sides), it was overpowering. Again, I stress my beef with the sound is to do with the building, and not the sound operators. In light of these personal biases, Centennial Hall works well, and I mean real well, for the Firehall Reunion. Here is why. On the main floor, chairs are removed in favour of tables. This makes for a night club environment. The Hall’s main auditorium (where the Reunion takes place) has a super high ceiling (they could play basketball in the hall) and an elevated stage. Most of the artists on the bill don’t get the opportunity to play a concert hall like this. Alcohol is not permitted in the balcony. This rule did not go over well with some patrons, and security was forced to keep a watchful eye on certain members of the crowd. Upon arriving at the front door, and well into the opening act, patrons greet each other with hugs and kisses and pictures are taken to signify the occasion. |
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 Danny Brooks www.dannybrooksmusic.com is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, and harmonicist who Brownie McGhee once complemented by saying, “Son fo' a white boy, you sho' nuff gotta suntan on the inside.” Brooks was a staple at the Firehall. During his reunion appearance, he performed completely solo with just him and his harp rack and acoustic guitar. He sang as if he was giving the message at a Pentecostal church. His vocals were powerful and gravelly on songs about truth and pain. As I sat in the balcony for Brooks’ set, the chatter from the main floor was very distracting. Brooks has a profound love for southern culture. “Listening to Danny Brooks is like driving out of Memphis, Tennessee on a sunny Saturday morning into the Mississippi Delta listening to WDIA. It's one of those things where time stands still. A dash of Eddie Hinton, Solomon Burke, Rev. James Cleveland, and Howlin' Wolf are all ingredients in Danny's soulful musical stew,” states Greg Martin of the Kentucky Headhunters. As an introduction to the song Soulsville, Danny recalled how Jim Dickinson (a Memphis music industry producer and musician) took him to the banks of the Mississippi River, and the river spoke to him. Brooks also recalled a night when Brownie McGhee invited him up on stage at the Firehall, so Danny played the old Blind Willie song they had performed together from that night. Brooks’ mighty voice was larger than his diminutive stature. It was a good mellow start to the night, but his acoustic set didn’t allow him to reveal all of his jubilance. With one of the most soulful white voices on the scene, Brooks performed inspirational original music such as Other Side Of The Cloud and Good Love Is Hard To Find. With Danny Brooks, good music and thought-provoking lyrics comes together as a complete package. |
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After the acoustic set, it was time to crank up the volume for the electric portion of the evening. Guitarist Tim Woodcock, another local favourite, was next. Dressed in black, including a black leather vest, Woodcock looked like the Johnny Cash of the rockin’ blues. Tim pelted out a series of cover songs off his new CD Tim Woodcock And The Thunder Kings such as Boom Boom and Look Over Yonders Wall. Let Me Love You was done in a shuffle style with excellent piano from the ragged looking John Lee. The tune featured power guitar and when the bass rumbled, it felt like the entire balcony was about to collapse from the shaking/trembling. |
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The longtime London favored Cheryl Lescom www.detroitwomen.org/cheryl.html, who now regularly gigs with the Detroit Women, joined Woodcock and took over with her governing vocals. She is one of those commanding singers who put everything she’s got into her performances.  Her vocal delivery ranges from passionate and pretty to hard and heavy. Lescom can rock out with the best of them as well as swoon and croon to the point of moving you to tears with her emotional ballads. Cheryl’s big vocals were a fixture at the Firehall. At the reunion, she used them on I’d Rather Go Blind, Have My Husband, and her signature song Janis Joplin’s Piece Of My Heart. She belted the tune out like a rock music deity before concluding with a storming version of Led Zeppelin’s Rock And Roll. It was a similar set to her appearance at last year’s reunion though you wouldn’t have known by the crowd’s healthy reaction. Lescom concluded with a beautiful song about mortality off her new CD High Heeled Blues, which she performed accompanied by John Lee on piano only. Baby’s Crying was a touching song that featured her best and most loving vocals.
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 Back when I had barely begun my blues journey, I found myself in Nashville, Tennessee. In the city of country & western music, the only club doing blues was the Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar. I checked it out and came across Stacy Mitchhart www.stacymitchhart.com for the first time. His smoothness impressed me and the band put on an explosive show. I bought a copy of his Blues Transfusion CD and went back to Nashville a couple more times over the years in order to see him perform. Nashville seems an unlikely place to house one of the country’s best show bands. Yet, it starts to make sense when you learn Mitchhart is not your stereotypical bluesman, e.g., he arrived for sound check wearing a Bluetooth headset. Admittedly, Mitchhart, an R&B man at heart, gets tired of folks telling him what the blues should sound like. Stacy is a natural showman, who interacted with the crowd and grinned from ear to ear like he was born to be on stage. Throughout the night, Mitchhart delivered solid vocals with his popish and raspy voice. As a seasoned and complete entertainer, he knew how to play for the crowd whether he was doing his own material (Might Be Your Husband, Caught Up In The Middle) or covering blues (It Hurts Me Too), soul, R&B or rock. Mitchhart would not appear out of place as a regular Las Vegas showroom act.  Despite being a consummate guitarist, Mitchhart didn’t hesitate to showcase his high energy band. The brass section was thundering even though Londoner Peter Burger (sax) couldn’t make the gig. Ever the showman, Stacy called Peter from a cell phone while on stage so that the hometown crowd could say hello. The two remaining horn players were incredible especially the trumpet player. Both the bass and keyboard players had the wild energy of a child. King Bee was performed with a funky groove and a guitar solo laced with feeling. Cadillac Assembly Line, with its piercing notes, was the heaviest blues number of the night. However, it still had that Mitchhart funky, R&B grind to it. Near the end of the evening, Mitchhart invited Lescom to join him on stage. While the two where on stage together, the southern gentleman used his boyish charm in order to get her to flirt with him. They sang Bring It On Home To Me and it was a highlight of the show.
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 Dutch Mason was honoured posthumously with the Jimmy Lewis Memorial Award. It was accepted on behalf of Dutch by his longtime keyboardist John Lee (who now performs with Cheryl Lescom and others). Dutchie’s son Garrett will be on-hand to accept the award as well as perform at the Canada South Blues Society London Chapter’s Third Anniversary Party on Saturday April 14, 2007 at The Music Hall. Visit www.bluessociety.ca for upcoming Canada South Blues Society events. -- Tim Holek |
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Worldcopyright © 1998-2007 BluesArtStudio, BLUES LIFE, USA - AUSTRIA
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The Teardrops, Magic Slim’s backing band, included: Chris Biedron on bass; Vernal Taylor on drums; and Jon McDonald on guitar. They warmed things up with a couple gritty numbers, namely All Your Love I Miss Loving and Sail On/Honey Bee. McDonald’s husky vocals had bark but no bite. Slim’s stage entrance was mis-timed and it lacked any sense of showmanship. Ironically, this perfectly matched his unpolished sound. His Les Paul was dwarfed by his big body, arms, and hands. Everything about Slim emitted the fact that he was born to play the blues. He coarsely depicted blues by the way he looked (love that infectious smile with those missing teeth), sang, and played guitar. At times, the volume of his high-pitched guitar was eardrum shattering. On songs such as Help Me and Going To Mississippi, Slim’s style of blues was raw, hard, and mean. His guitar solos were shrill. They didn’t sound angry or aggressive. They were downright abrasive. Yet, each song seemed to drag unlike the music on his CDs or the recent DVD Anything Can Happen. Slim played his usual series of basic, downhome, guitar blues, but the set wasn’t as raucous as normal. This was the second time that I’ve been disappointed with him in recent years.