Smoken’ Joe’s BBQ & Blues is the brain child of husband and wife team Joe and Wendy Dodd. The pair have a strong appreciation for the talent they bring into their little restaurant. The establishment’s Fourth Anniversary party featured many of the area blues artists who have helped put the intimate Brighton music room on the map. Eleven hours of music went by quickly all players turned in an entertaining performance.
I arrived in time to see Love Dogs drummer Ed Scheer leading a trio on the tune “Somebody’s Gotta Go.” Then the Undaunted Professor Harp jumped right into some swinging boogie notes. Pristine high notes oozed out on top of Harp’s thicker, lower notes. He is called the professor because he can do things like making the melody accompany itself.
As a vocalist, Harp’s voice was bursting with his dark, rich timbre. Guitarist Barrett Anderson paid out some twisty, blues-drenched leads while Big Jack Ward nailed it on bass guitar. Harp played his tribute to George Harmonica Smith, making his textures sound almost like a B3, a spiraling sound that doubles on itself, unison, and away he goes with that happy go lucky harmonica sound.
It must have been harmonica day at Smoken’ Joe’s because Professor Harp was followed by Cheryl Arena and then Diane Blue, two of the better known harp players on the greater-Boston scene. Arena has a smooth vocal take on the blues while Blue played a straight line with sweet notes spiking up along the way.
Blues Chanteuse Lisa Marie, who originated out of the Worcester scene and now owns greater-Boston, sang “Big Piece Of Love” with heavy duty harp support from Arena. Lisa Marie’s sweet rasp was as winsome as ever on “Sugar Coated Love.” Big Jack Ward, who, by then was wielding guitar, and Love Dogs bassist Randy Bramwell, provided the snap, crackle, and pop under that bluesy lady’s icy cool vocal phrases.
J.B. Junior got up to sing some classic James Brown tunes, and his rapid fire delivery and dance moves made him come across like James Brown on overdrive. J.B. Junior sings with an undeniable raw power in his wide timbre. Ward played some snappy guitar lines on “I Feel Good” and that brought the number to an even high level of shine.
Blues Chanteuse Cheryl Aruda is one lady whose voice is strong enough and whose delivery is aggressive enough to make you think she could win a fist fight. She did justice to the classic “Blues Is My Business And Business Is Good.”
Boston’ Regal Queen Of The Blues, Shirley Lewis, got up to join Ed Scheer for a duo of “Bring Your Sweet Love Home To Me.” That tune, though, was just a warm up for Lewis as she gave the crowd more to remember her by nearer the end of the evening.
There was a dinner hour acoustic show featuring co-host Geoff Bartley performing hits like “Sweet Home Chicago” and Racky Thomas singing “Ain’t Nobody’s Business.” It was a nifty, low key departure from the opening set and a good segue into the third.
The third host, Sir Cecil, delivered a warm rendition of “Georgia” and he impressed with his ability to drum and sing at a high level of competence. Guitarist Billy Walsh put a lot of feeling and gusto into his impressive phases that rode beautifully, below the smooth R&B vocal work of Sir Cecil. Saxophone player Karl Bryan played a number of exciting sax phrases, brimming with warmth and flowing with the greatest of ease from his instrument. Bryan has a hell of a range on his instrument.
Sir Cecil eventually called up Christine Angelique to croon on a few before Cheryl Aruda was summoned to the front to do some more belting. Guitarist Billy Walsh got to work his magic some more in this third set. His solo lead guitar phrasing had that restrained yet could be more powerful tension just below the surface thing going on. Walsh also whipped up some clean phrases on “Mustang Sally.”
A blues player from Yugoslavia got a lot of mileage out of the Ray Charles number “Unchain My Heart.” He had an uncanny way of handling the rhythmic twists in his vocals and his guitar picking nailed the freewheeling melody line. Other notables included saxophonist Dick Lourie, also known as The Poet, and singer Kira Semic .
As promised earlier, Shirley Lewis came back in style. Her voice still a perfectly tuned instrument, holding a note with purity of tone. Lewis mentioned her work with B.B. King in the 1960s before delivering the goods on the King popularized “24 Hours A Day.”
Singer Gretchen Bostrom joined her Juke Joint 5 band mate, Dick Lourie, for “Lose Me” and some other R&B gems. Bostrom rode those vocal notes nice, high, and smooth, and she was a competent match for Lourie’s mellifluous sax lines.
There was an amateur singer who got up to sing “Summertime” and her performance was a reminder why some jam hosts simply need to say “No!” to the nonprofessional singers. The singer, though, seemed to be having fun, reading the lyrics off a cell phone.
Bass player Butch Hirtle gave an earthy vocal take on “I’ve Got A Woman” while saxophonist Dave Birkin carried the familiar melody. Birkin was an able lead vocalist on Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me.” Harmonica player/vocalist Roger Cummings wrapped his svelte voice around the groove of “Stormy Monday” and rang plenty of feeling and meaning out of its lyrics.
As an added treat, Berklee College of Music student Noe Socha, from Italy, showed up to create a sly blues vibe with Grace Curran singing over his lead guitar and harmonica. Socha picked off those deep, down and dirty blues notes on guitar before his huge harmonica melody became a highlight of the day.
Luckily, Smoken’ Joe’s had enlisted three competent front men to keep this day long show moving at an enjoyable clip. There were many talented people who gave it their all to mark this fourth anniversary of Smoken’ Joe’s. Each one of them was a joyful reminder why Smoken’ Joe’s BBQ & Blues has become thee place to hear live blues in the city of Boston.
Bill Loved your article and enjoyed the evening at Smoken Joe’s with you. I will se to it that JB JR get’s to see the fine write-up. Thank You…..