Blues guitarist-vocalist Chris Fitz and blues-rock drummer-singer Steven Peabody have had an exceptionally successful run with their Sunday Funday jam at Salem, Massachusetts’ Brodie’s Seaport Bar & Grill. While Fitz couldn’t make it to yesterday’s jam, featured guest musician Robert Leger filled in on guitar and sex appeal. Proving he still has it, Leger unleashed some mighty fine guitar phrases throughout the jam, serving each song well by injecting fire and brimstone when needed.
Arriving in time to hear Leger perform “Anyway You Want It,” I was immediately struck by the warm vibe and audience participation at Brodie’s. There was an energy in the room that the musicians could feed off of and bounce back at their crowd. Music fans kept coming into the restaurant/venue and they were all there for the music. Leger played “Anyway You Want It” with a style that could be described as walking his notes all over the fret board. Wearing his old badge from his county sheriff’s career, Leger had that amicable demeanor of a public servant, a gentleman to the core.
On other tunes, Leger’s phrasing was as impressive as usual, injecting rhythmic spikes into his melodic phrases. And boy, did that Leger grind out some mean phrases. He’s got a musical bark all his own. Meanwhile, drummer Steven Peabody handled a hefty beat beneath the behemoth guitar sound. Youthful guitarist Eric Reardon picked a pretty melody line on The Band’s version of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released.” Here, Leger unleashed a mighty fine chord structure that worked his way back to the lead phrases with greasy ease.
Leger took the crowd back to the 1960s playing Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” He finessed his way through the song’s looming changes. Reardon, too, put in some nice touches on its melodic line. Next, the four players performed an old blues classic called “Who‘s Been Talkin‘“ by Howlin‘ Wolf. Leger fired off a monster huge guitar phrase and kept it humming until Reardon took over the lead line with some magic of his own. The boys kept its bopping groove pleasantly bumpy , with plenty of accented smacks from Peabody.
Leger lead the four piece into Sam And Dave’s “Hold On” with deeply felt, soulful vocals. He is one of those musicians who can handle these songs with depth because he brings the feeling up from somewhere within his inner being. The beat was powerful in Peabody’s hands and Mr. Peabody kept many dancing to its tugging swagger.
The local rhythmic magician named Mamadou Diop was in the room with his percussion pieces, and he was invited to join the house band for a few numbers. Diop added another layer of allure as Leger lead the player’s through Van Morrison’s “Enter The Mystic.” Leger kept the feeling light on this Morrison classic, in stark contrast to the fire he pressed out of his six string on the previous numbers, capturing the spiritual vibe of the tune.
The boys got an enticing shuffle beat going on during Bo Diddley’s “You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover,” pulling several dancers onto the floor. Later on, Leger made his guitar sound like it was crying out the melody on “Looking For A Love,” his high pitched notes screaming with emotion. Peabody injected a brisk beat into “Sweet Jane” by Lou Reed. The rhythm section held it down with a mighty groove. Here, Leger made the song’s classic guitar line come alive while his rock star posturing, standing on a chair for all to see, made quite a sight. Remember, the retirement age Leger constantly competes with a bunch of young whippersnappers.
Harmonica man John Devine played some intriguing melody lines when he found a place in a song to do his thing. Filled with soulful exuberance, those harp lines contained lilting, zesty dips and rises that kept several pairs of eyes glued to him. Devine too played rather well with Diop’s variety of percussive slaps.
A breezily paced version of The Rolling Stone’s “Sweet Virginia” earned its title with the dual crackling guitar spikes. Peabody and Diop then played a percussionist-drummer duo thing that got many people shaking their thing. Their interlocking patterns were loaded with subtle shifts in tone, timbre, and dynamics, making it more of an instrumental workout than a couple of solos playing over each other.
Dave Bailin was in the house, and as Peabody and Reardon are both in his Dave Bailin & The Bailouts unit, the group, with Russell Keys on bass, performed “Voodoo Man” from their debut studio album. Bailin maintained a freewheeling, mid-tempo glide through the number before unfurling a touching, unwieldy guitar line near the end.
Leger resumed control of the band right after, sailing into Steve Miller Band’s “Jet Airliner,” turning it into more than just a cover of a late 1970s classic rock hit, jamming on it, letting each player add additional twists and turns to its direction. It was also another fun dance song for the crowd.
Leger and the house band lead the crowd through their renditions of “Whipping Post,” “Take Me To The River,” “Baby, Please Don’t Go,” 
“I Can See For Miles,” and “Gimme Shelter,” closing out the evening. It was a jumping jam session and Brodies’ location in bustling downtown area of Salem kept pulling people in. Peabody announced that next week’s featured guests will be blues belter Lisa Marie and roots keyboardist John Juxo.
Music fans would be crazy not to check out this 4:00 p.m. Sunday Funday jam at Brodie’s Seaport Bar & Grill at 215 Derby Street in Salem, Massachusetts. Run by a friendly local family and staff, Brodie’s is a clean, meticulously kept venue. Even their men’s room is spotless.
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