For about two hundred people, the memory of this past weekend’s NEMO blizzard will be melded with a memorable music event. Mr. Nick hosted his fourth annual New England Winter Blues Festival at Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury, Massachusetts last night, and he pulled almost a full house of people out of their storm ravaged lives to attend.Mr. Nick got his good friend Curtis Salgado out from Oregon to headline, and the world class blues belter turned up the heat with his award winning vocal chops. Mr. Nick included local notables like the Evan Goodrow Band and the Toni Lynn Washington Band. He also sicked his new project Bad Mother on the blizzard-weary audience, giving them a much needed booty shaking, heavy duty blues workout to help them shake off the snow shoveling blues.
Curtis Salgado put on a world class show last evening. He featured some tunes from his new album Soul Shot, which he certainly sold plenty of last night. His song “Strung Out” from the new disc was what he called ‘big city blues.’ Salgado got deep into the groove with a sonorous voice that was rich with experience and nuanced talent. Texas guitarist Josh Fulero, who plays greater-Boston a lot because he has a girlfriend here, played carefully constructed lattice works of melody underneath Salgado’s soulful growl. Salgado crooned this song perfectly, stretching his growl into a sweet, smooth timbre that resonated deeply below the surface with his full potential carefully self-restrained.
At one point, Salgado asked Ken Clark to come back to his B3 Hammond to lay down another heaping of soul to one of his numbers. Salgado went on to perform the old Memphis soul number “Nobody But You.” He belted his way straight into it at the beginning, no holds barred, just went into it strong, powerful. Other singers may find it challenging to start out that strong because it puts a lot of pressure on them to keep rising to higher plateaus until the end. But Salgado took his audience to even greater highs as he upped the emotional and technical ante of the number.
Salgado was equally at home with straight up blues formats. His performance of the clever theme “20 Years Of B.B. King” was like a lesson on how blues should by sung, felt, and thought. The Oregon crooner really went to town conjuring the intensity of learning more about the blues from a bad woman in two weeks than 20 years listening to B.B. King. Fulero must be credited for making his guitar cry out the heartbroken melody.
Salgado was a prize headliner for the New England Winter Blues Festival at Blue Ocean Music Hall. Mr. Nick has got to be credited for taking his annual show to a higher level with the addition of the storied Salgado. The thee bands that came on stage ahead of Salgado did some fine work of their own.
The Evan Goodrow Band wasted no time getting down to business on his “I Don‘t Wanna Know.” B3 organ player John Cooke made his instrument scream out notes, darting them into the darkened hall while chunky drum beats made their thunderous presence known as Phil Antoniades played them tirelessly through the set. Goodrow’s wild fluid guitar phrases approached the freedom of jazz, completely unlimited in possibilities where he could take his melodic lines.Though he put more emphasis on his guitar than voice last night, Goodrow did employ his soulful croon, his vocal approach loaded with raw expressions of emotion. He made you feel what he was singing about. It helped that Goodrow’s wild phrasing and earnest lyrical appeal were anchored by Antoniades’s monster drumming and the heavy funk groove that guitarists like Goodrow require to keep him in sync with the rhythm section. It’s also a major plus that Cooke put out a B3 sound that allows the audience to bask in the glow of his effervescent notes and chords.
A slow burner allowed Goodrow to emote pure emotion in an ode to his beloved. He went on to unleash a clean, piercing melodic phrase that cried out what Goodrow must have been feeling when he composed it. He sang a newer song that showcased his tender high vocal notes, and he let the audience know that he’s got another album in the pipeline.
The Toni Lynn Washington Band came up next. Washington’s dignified stage presence was as solid as the authoritative thump of the group of players backing her. Her timeless, raspy voice, which she wrapped around the melody with so much class, required what only the finest players around could support. Dual organists, Ken Clark and Bruce Bears, provided an extra heavy heaping of gravy over the meat and potatoes of Washington’s songs.
Washington’s R&B chops came on strong on the Ray Charles medical metaphor song “I Don’t Need No Doctor.” Her deep cool vocal approach milked every sad nuance from the misery that can’t be cured. Washington managed to make this song about misery into a fun dance number. She also delivered one of the classiest versions ever of “Mellow Down Easy,” her sweet sustained notes near the end were fine style touches. The lady pulled numerous couples onto the dance floor for her sweet, tender rendition of “Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday,” which she generously dedicated to our armed forces stationed around the world. Her tender delivery brought the message home, and her band was icing on the cake. Guitarist Mike Williams’ solo pulled the emotion out of the song and brought it forward with tasteful touches in his greasy notes. Listening to what Williams could do with only a few notes was worth coming out to hear on a post-blizzard night.Mr. Nick came up next with his exciting new project, Bad Mother, a super group of young greater-Boston area blues men. Mr. Nick was one bad moth…(I think I just heard a black lady choir telling me to watch my mouth, so I’ll stop right there.) He certainly was one bad dude on his harmonica, wailing on the band’s introductory instrumental workout. Ken Clark was another bad mother, pumping out his swirl of electrifying B3 organ chords, simmering, boiling, wild lifts.
“Home In Your Heart” by Otis Redding found Matt Stubbs playing bad mother lead guitar phrases, rooted in oldies R&B stylings, making his guitar practically sing the line. “I Got Love If You Want It,” recorded previously by Johnny Winter, found drummer Chris Rivelli playing a bad mother beat, like he was possessed by some kind of shaman drum demon. He laid down a nice, thick palpable beat in the middle of a lot of notes coming from the other three bad news boys. Stubbs pulled out a blistering lead line, red hot fretwork that put the jalapeno sauce over everything.
Mr. Nick and his known associates rocked the Junior Wells style on “Snatch It Back And Hold It.” Stubbs just went crazy with his high flying notes as Clark played some more of his chugging, rich chunky organ overtures. These bad mothers have created an original take on existing genres that could be best be described as “hard blues.”
Mr. Nick got his electric harmonica thing going for Howlin’ Wolf’s “Moanin’ At Midnight.” He got it sounding like he was singing and playing on an old blues record, which was really cool. Mr. Nick has got one of those rare, over the top vocal belts that makes you certain he is the future of blues in greater-Boston/New England. There is nothing that can stop this bad boy from rising to the top of the gang. His electrified growl impressed with its authentic old time blues drenched timbre.Stubbs set off his own sparks during the Howlin’ Wolf number with a heavy duty picking style. He makes each note, clear, distinct, and sharp, nailing that down and dirty Chicago blues sound.
Bad Mother, currently working on an album, is off to a promising start. You can’t lose by having heavyweights like Mr. Nick, Matt Stubbs, Ken Clark, and Chris Rivelli all in the same paddy wagon. They are a fearsome, intimidating lot of talent.
Mr. Nick put on such a successful show on such a challenging night, that there’s no doubt he will offer a fifth, and a sixth, and seventh New England Winter Blues Festival. Mr. Nick is also going to be a big name on the national blues circuit in the years to come. Not even the baddest mother will doubt that.
