Last Sunday was a great day for local blues fans. Under the managerial baton of founder John Hall, the 19th annual North River Blues Festival at the Marshfield Fair went on without a hitch last Sunday afternoon. Basic Black with guest singer/harmonica player Brian Templeton was a very capable side stage band, putting on fine sets of their own in between the other five bands. On air blues personality Peter Black, from WATD 95.9 FM emceed the event, asking each band to come back for an encore song. Junkyard Dogs, ThrowDown Band, Ladies Of The Blues, 2 Rays And The Bluestones, and national act Trampled Under Foot each put on memorable sets.
Local Marshfield band Junkyard Dogs opened the first set of the day with Willie Dixon’s “Bring It On Home To You.” Fine, tasteful lead guitar playing marked this rendition before they went onto other classics, including the thumping “Born Under A Bad Sign,” which featured very tight ensemble work. Guttural vocals, slightly fuzz effected guitar, and a graceful thump carried it along beautifully. The bluesy rock cover band proved a fine warm up act for the great day of music that lay ahead.
Basic Black with special guest Brian Templeton had the power of a three piece and the extra pizzazz of having a master front man at the microphone, harmonica in hand. Gentile nailed the note for note precision and the passion during some Jimmy Rogers music. He just kept peeling off those blistering blues licks. Here, Templeton blew a crawling snake melody line, swaying soulfully to the take-your-time groove. Some blues shuffles also went over big with the ever growing crowd before “Big Boss Man” offered more thumping blues fun.
Basic Black with special guest Brian Templeton played a few more sets last Sunday afternoon. With Templeton fronting on acoustic guitar, Gentile pressed out engagingly sweet country blues here and there. “You Are My Sunshine” was marked by Gentile’s sweetly infectious guitar phrase and Templeton’s tender, soulful vocal application. “I Can’t Stop The Rain” found Gentile pressing out a tasty guitar phrase loosely based on the original. Later in day, Basic Black did justice to the blues with their raucous version of “Honky Tonk Blues,” “Smokestack Lightning,” and “Crosscut Saw.”
Next up was ThrowDown Blues Band, opening their set with “You Upset Me, Baby.” ThrowDown really hit their stride with “Just Got Paid.” ThrowDown guitarist Stan Blues Jr. played a fiery guitar flight of fancy, his phrasing moving like a river, empowered, unfettered. Slow blues boilers let Stan Blues Jr. showcase his ever so eloquent guitar phrasing, picking off those greasy notes in brief intervals, each interval being a joy ride into a blissful sound. Choosing just the right moments to jump in, vocalist Eric Savoie emoted with heart and soul. He had to be powerful, after all the guitar lava erupting from Stan Blues Junior’s amp. ThrowDown locked into a tight groove on “Born Under A Bad Sign” to provide a straight flow of sound while Savoie belted like he was possessed by a blues demon.
“Walkin’ Shoes” from The ThrowDown Band’s new album Let Sleeping Dogs Lie was an action packed number. Full of Savoie’s blues shouting and the band’s feisty ensemble work, it drew fans to the merchandise table after their set. ThrowDown tried to close out with the monster Jimi Hendrix number “Voodoo Child,” playing it with the same pounding energy they displayed throughout their set. Yet, Peter Black asked them to encore, which they happily obliged with a foray into classic blues, “I Didn’t Meant To Hurt You, Girl,” territory.
Up next on the main stage was a concept borrowed from the Boston Blues Society’s Ladies Of The Blues series presented at The Bull Run function room in Shirley, Massachusetts. The ladies were guitarist-vocalist Lydia Warren, saxophonist Myanna, harmonica player-vocalist Diane Blue, Oregon’s touring vocalist-bassist Lisa Mann, and drummer Kathy Burkly. And yes, they were as good as their lineup would indicate. Myanna killed it during their opening instrumental number. Lisa Mann took over on microphone duties and belted her rendition of the blues with a smooth clarity. Mann also helped to keep a bounce in the groove with her six string bass guitar. Her original, “Move On,” like the ladies’ opener, had it all. Every instrumentalist gelled into powerhouse gang of five.
Diane Blue’s harmonica line jumped out of the PA system with spring action before Mann further impressed with a rumbling bass solo. Blue, singing about her corporate world life revealed a high class svelte vocal. She sounded like she was ready to record another album, having moved onto a higher level since this reviewer was noticing. Blue forced the others to step up their game. Myanna blew a richly toned sax phrase that danced around the groove with a greasy looseness. Lydia Warren sang passionately when she displayed some material for her new album. She also unleashed her feisty guitar work, sending shards of notes, on fire, into the soundscape. Diane Blues did some nice vocal work on a slower blues song by Ten Years After, one that she used to hear her older brother playing when she was kid. Warren, utilizing just the guitar, bass, drums three piece version of Ladies Of The Blues, lead the train well, singing about “Too Many Trains.”
During a break, the blues festival awarded Fan Of The Year Award to Roger Labier, for his tireless attendance at blues functions and for his never ending volunteer efforts on behalf of the local blues community. John Hall was awarded a plaque for Lifetime Achievement in the blues community.
A special treat for the North River Blues Festival came in the form of 2 Rays And The Bluetones. Instead of the regular lineup of Sugar Ray And The Bluetones, Sugar Ray Norcia and his merry men backed up Sugarray Rayford, the six foot, five inch giant of a blues man from the West Coast.
With one of the most exciting backup bands in New England, Norcia never failed to please. Guitarist Monster Mike Welch played several of his monster sized guitar phrases. He pays out those soul drenched notes like he was born with an electric guitar attached to him. Meanwhile, Norcia would blow a hurricane of notes while keeping himself centered in the eye of the storm. His crisp, wide vocals, too, were on full power at the Marshfield event. Then, Rayford came up and blew the roof off the stage. Backed up by barrelhouse piano and feisty guitar spikes, the two Sugar Rays were on fire, with two times the sugar better than one. The stop and go 12 bar action of one tune would soon segue into the smoky organ flavored sound of another.
“It Ain’t Right” gave the boys a chance to strut their stuff as an ensemble unit and as individual musicians. Over the hearty rhythmic groove, Rayford belted with the tremendous vocal and heart and soul of a well experienced blues man. Norcia, meanwhile, blew an incisive harp line, one that cut through everything else going on to find a home of its own inside the mesh of blistering guitar, heavy organ, and earthy, roots vocals. Next, “Just A Little More Time” found the two Rays sitting at the edge of the stage with Monster Mike Welch for a little front porch style sing along. It probably gave the crowd the feeling it was watching an informal 1920s gathering in front of someone’s house with a few acoustic instruments. Even in that subdued format, Rayford sang with fire and brimstone in his soul, coming out through the PA system like a feisty breeze carrying many good things in its lift.
The hot sensation out of Kansas City, Missouri, Trampled Under Foot, closed out the final night of the festival with their brisk organ work, snappy guitar lines, and an authoritative rhythm section. They kept their originals songs coming with a steady romp of cool. Front woman, Danielle Schnebelen, sang with soul, power, and pizzazz. Her brother, guitarist Nick Schnebelen was also an able vocalist as well as a musician in the fuller sense 
of the word. His guitar phrases were loaded with richness and feeling. “Love My Baby,” from their 2008 album May I Be Excused was a piano driven piece of magic. Mr. Schnebelen’s solo spot backing himself with a bass drum was over the top entertainment, as he was busy with his slide guitar chores turning the Ram Jam version of “Black Betty” into a hoot. Ms. Schnebelen revealed her true range of vocal tone singing lead vocal on The Beatles’ faux blues number “Oh, Darling.” Near the end of the night, Tramped Underfoot played their name sake song “Trampled Under Foot” as popularized by Led Zeppelin in the mid 1970s. Of course, it’s likely that Led Zep stole the song from an old, retired, poverty stricken, black blues musician.
Trampled Under Foot were the perfect national act to close out this season’s North River Blues Festival. They were practically exploding with energy, talent, and charisma, leaving everyone feeling they were on a high note as they made their way back to their cars at the end of a very exciting day.
The 19th annual North River Blues Festival was another smashing success in the hands of founder John Hall. How Hall and his team get this much variety of talent, from the local scene and the national, is in itself worth studying. Keeping it all running smoothly is another feat. That hard work and logistics provided New England blues fans with one of the best festivals in our six state region.
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