Listening to blues bands in a Boston Harbor cruiser while docked at Spectacle Island isn’t that much different from listening to blues in a bar and restaurant. The only difference is you have to get there first to enjoy a cool breathe from the open air setting as the boat cruises across the harbor to its destination. A vibe of anticipation could be felt as the engines work beneath one’s feet and the boat moves with the currents beneath it. Blues guitar licks waft through the air as the first band tunes up. There is nothing quite like standing in the front of the New Boston as it maneuvers closer to its docking point.
This is what Soundwaves 2015 was all about, a blues cruise organized every summer by the South Shore’s busiest blues booking agent, John Hall. A blues band from Worcester opened the show.
Jim Perry’s Hothouse kicked off the music with the New Orleans style instrumental “Cissy Strut.” A swaying horn section, bubbly organ, and a funked up rhythm section kept a racing beat. Lead guitarist Mike Lanigan chimed in with a smoky, high pitched phrase as the whole thing melded into a tight ensemble sound. Moving into “It’s A Blues Think,” Lanigan took over the microphone duties with a raspy vocal suited to this music while he whipped out a riffy lead guitar phrase, his notes cutting through the song’s thumpy atmosphere like a heated knife through butter.
Perry’s Hothouse moved into “Real Mutha For Ya” with one of the funkiest grooves around. It was cool how the rhythm section of drummer Ron Ouimette and bass guitarist Dave “DK” Kenderian built a mountain of sound beneath the song that the horns, guitars, and vocals strutted across. Another plus was Rick Perry’s lean mean vocal delivery.
The Hothouse boys were soon playing “She’s Into Something” with the guitars and horns giving it plenty of oomph to roll forward. Lanigan sang lead vocals again, and he has a way of teasing more meaning out of these tunes. Ray Charles’ classic Mary Ann” was comprised of bursts of instrumentation and a beat that pulled people onto the dance floor. A trumpet phase mellifluously blew through the air with a timely melody. A tenor sax man briefly took the lead melody spot and unleashed his greasy cool with a line that went sliding far and wide.
Booking agent John Hall
Jim Perry’s Hothouse slammed out Robert Cray’s “Keeps Me Rock” with plenty of blues morsels wedge into their tight ensemble tuft. They played a real gem, Eric Clapton’s “Old Love,” a blues ballad, that made people dance while a snappy guitar line carried a lot of emotion within it’s talented presentation. Perry jumped into the mix with his own axe, and the dual guitar attack cut deeper into the soul of this Clapton number.
Perry and his Hothouse boys unleashed their original “Man Outta Me,” displaying their ability to deliver stomping blues funk in a tight, badass ensemble, creating waves of sound that earned them the awed respect of everyone watching them play.
Next band, Basic Black, got by with a little help from their friends. First, Basic Black guitarist Sam Gentile, opening with “Crosscut Saw,” played his snazzy guitar melody with plenty of snappy, singing notes. Accompaniment from the frenzied harmonica licks of guest player Vinny Serino opened up another dimension of blues.
Gentile played more of his stinging lead guitar on another traditional blues tune “Riding Around In My Automobile,” cutting even deeper into the melody, as his rhythm section pulled several people onto the dance floor. “Summer Love” found Gentile singing up into his falsetto as well as coming down into his cooler, darker, straighter timbre. Juxtaposed with a slow, simmering harp line from Serino showed what two inventive blues men could do with an improv arrangement.
Ms. Toni Lynn Washington, another guest of Basic Black, joined in for a rousing rendition of “Everyday I Have The Blues.” Ms. Washington knows how to sing these rollicking blues numbers, adding plenty of pep with each of her verses. She next lead the players into a very danceable “Stand By Me.” Ms. Washington’s rich earthy vocal got a lot of warm support from the flexible rhythm section as well as the guitar and harmonica team up around her voice.
“Checking Up On My Baby” was another blues classic Ms. Washington finessed with her ever so rich timbre. A busy blues beat beneath her vocal was a dance magnet. Ms. Washington also displayed some vivacious vocal chops on the Motown classic “My Girl.” When it came time for them to play “Knock On Wood,” fahgeddaboutit. Ms. Washington brought this one to life, too, with her lively vocal delivery as sublime guitar and harp and a locked in trotting bass and drums carried it away. “Rock Me, Baby” benefited from Gentiles’ feisty guitar line and a bossy low end line from the Basic Black rhythm section.
Gentile displayed his crying guitar leads on “Something On Your Mind.” Melodic guitar phrases made one think the guitar was crying out the emotion of the tune while considerate grooves were coaxed alongside it.
The Love Dogs opened their set with “Let The Good Times Roll,” a traditional blues number with the Ed Scheer’s party vibe vocal approach making it feel celebratory. Keyboardist Alizon Lissance gingerly tapped keys, and Myanna Pontoppidan blew a breezy tenor saxophone, giving the audience a taste of New Orleans and Chicago at once. The Love Dogs unleashed Ray Charles’s “Unchain My Heart” with their own inimitable style. Scheers’s smooth, soulful timbre finessed the timeless words while Pontoppidan and Lissance made good Raylettes. Pontoppidan took over the melody line and made everyone feel the passion of the song by giving it a wider, wafting melody. The Love Dogs’ baritone sax man Glenn Shambroom took the feeling even deeper with his horn’s low register richness.
Before playing their song “Keep On Lyin,” Scheer told reminded of the proverb “if you’re in a monogamous relationship, you should always tell the truth most of the time.” The lyrically witty tune was buttressed by sweet piano tinkling and a grooving rhythm section. Here, Shambroom had switched from bari sax to electric guitar before anybody saw him. His clean, precise guitar line was sharp enough to cut glass.
Substitute bass player Steve Monahan was a big help through The Love Dogs set. He held up the vigorous low end lines on Love Dogs classics like Northbound Train.” Washboard boogie from Scheers and chirpy, Big Easy fried guitar phrasing from Shambroom were huge contributions. And boy, did Pontoppidan snaz things up with her flinty tenor sax notes. Making the audience feel like they were on a train when they were actually on a boat was a speedy, shuffling beat from The Dog’s own Downtown Steve Brown.
“Driving Wheel” got its flavoring from Lissance’s intriguing piano chops and Pontoppidan’s swaying horn line, which she continued playing after walking off the boat and around the dock with her tenor sax wired to go mobile.
Talk About Fearless. The Love Dogs kept playing their set after the New Boston began its voyage back to the Boston Harbor. Winsome Love Dogs favorites were the order of the day before they closed out the music program with a rocking, hopping, swinging version of R&B classic “The Letter.”
Aside from the engaging music and the enjoyable boat ride, Soundwaves raised money for Save The Harbor/Save The Bay. One look at the harbor from a harbor cruise is enough to convince anyone it’s more than just a worthy cause. One listen to any of the three blues bands lined up for the occasion is enough to convince anyone that John Hall is a man who knows how to put together a fun, fantastic blues music event.
Hop on board next year’s Soundwaves blues cruise. Tell ‘em the blues Gilligan sent ya. Coming up next from John Hall is Green Harbor Roots Festival and North River Blues Festival at Marshfield Fair.
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