Harp titans Cheryl Arena, Otis Doncaster
Stop the presses. There’s a celebrity in the room. Regionally known musician Cheryl Arena was the featured artist at the Wantu Blues Jam last Sunday afternoon, and the harmonica lady blew several hip, soulful melody lines through her treasured instrument. Lilting, melodic harp lines, train whistle melodies, and heftier phrases were just a few of things Arena pulled out of her bag of tricks.
Originally known for her stints in Kat In The Hat and Woodburn-Arena Band, the lady has come a long way in her own right since returning to the Boston area from Texas nine years ago. Three days ago, on a warm spring day in Goffstown, New Hampshire, Arena worked her magic with the local talent at the much vaunted Village Trestle, down on Main Street.
Performing “Checking Up On My Baby,” Arena got a full, thick harp sound going on, practically walking her melodic line around the block, making the song’s spiraling notes all her own. Taking turns with the wiry lead guitar notes from Chris Noyes, Arena’s vocal was packed with sass, possessing an alluring drawl, announcing its authoritarian sorrow from a position of renewed strength.
Her next tune has touch of sly mystery. Arena sent her mischievous notes in interesting patterns around the beat. Noyes, in particularly fine form, also pressed out something with an air of intrigue before the mighty second guitarist Bob Pratte came in with a fiery lead line of his own.
Arena then took the band back to an earlier period in blues music, playing a WWII era style to deliver “My Time Will Surely Come.” Pratte attacked his fret board, putting a lot of feeling into his rippling, staccato burst of notes.
Junie Vaillancourt
If having Cheryl Arena in town to front the house band was a treat, imagine the gift when The Installers vocalist Stephen Clarke went up to the microphone to join her. Clarke’s large, husky voice contrasted beautifully with Arena’s easeful, blues drenched harp lines. Saxophonist Howie Fohlin blew a sultry take on the melody line for an interesting interpretation of the colors in the song.
A second Arena-Clarke team up found her blowing out spiraling notes that reminded of electric guitar phrasing, as they were fierce, lean, and on fire. It seemed to inspire guitarist Pratte who soon turned up the heat with his own take on the melodic phrase.
There were a lot of jammers in the room, and they all got a chance to the strut their stuff before Arena came back up later on. Noyes and Fohlin played shimmering lines on “You’re The Cause Of It All” before another line up rocked the house.
Recent alien abduction victim Jerry Basnar
Guitarist Scot Gibbs, bassist Ray Soucy, and Noyes played the gritty, soulful “One Way Out” with a lot of rock and roll abandon. They just didn’t worry about making mistakes on this behemoth number, and that breathed into it life-giving energy. There were also some interesting trade offs between Gibbs on lead guitar and Noyes on slide.
Another local favorite in the room, Junie Vaillancourt, with Jerry Ray Basnar on lead guitar, Ray Soucy on bass, and Arthur James on drums, delivered a set of favorite tunes with her oldies flair. “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’” were just two she infused with her natural charm, her personality being naturally suited to rockabilly and 1950s style country and rock and roll.
Another line up consisted of guitarist-vocalist Kevin Herrera, bassist Eric “Mr. Red Eye,” harmonica player Dave, and drummer Roger Weeks. These boy cranked out red hot blues with rock and roll aggression, playing particularly punchy on the staple “All Over Now.”
Wild line up
There were some other notable locals in the room. Otis Doncaster, of Otis And The Elevators, a famed area blues influenced band. Doncaster blew a sly, dynamics shifting line out of his harp on “Sugarcoated Love,” showing why he’s an influential and significant member of the New England music scene.
Eventually, guitarist-vocalist Brian Ducharme, who works mainly in the field of internet and web design, put in an appearance on “Gone, Gone, Gone” before becoming unusually fierce and fiery on “Oh, Baby.” Ducharme could be heard loud and clear coming through the men’s room wall. I didn’t have a guess who was belting into the microphone until I saw him fronting the players.
Arena was certainly a welcomed feature at last Sunday’s jam. She displayed some of her techniques to an appreciative audience, and she got to play with some of the area’s most talented blues, soul, country, and rock musicians. Her first time at the Trestle, she was only just learning people’s names, yet people are already asking when she will be returning.
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