We are headed to Mark Hummel’s Harmonica Blowout this Wed. night. The lineup includes: Jason Ricci, Howard Levy, Corky Seigel, Duke Robillard, and Son of Dave.
Is that too much in one night?
Anyone else? 2nd row seats 211/212 look us up. Dave & MJ ---------- It's about time I got around to this.
Hey! Suck it up buttercup. We had to contend with Curtis Salgado, Charlie Musslewhite, Little Charlie, Jason Ricci, Anson Funderburgh and Aki Kumar last year in Seattle.
We had row 2 seats as well, right under the harp mic in the 'splash zone'! :)
That said I'm only a little bit jealous, right? ;) Enjoy!
DChurch, I think this particular lineup is going to be very interesting and varied enough so that you will not have "overload".
I actually think it's the best lineup they have ever had, because everyone is SOOOOO different. Some tours the Blowout has numerous Chicago-or-West-Coast-Blues specialists, and I could totally imagine it getting to be a lot.
This line up is quirky and weird, but in a good way:
Mark Hummel will most likely handle the "straight-up" Chicago and West Coast-style blues. He's a great player who has never gotten quite the attention that Rod Piazza or Kim Wilson have, but he's a killer player with a fat tone.
Jason Ricci does a very high-energy fusion of blues, funk, rock, and he can even get a little jazzy. But his tone and style are very different from Mark. Jason also uses a lot of overbends and so his sound is more chromatic.
Howard Levy mostly does very eclectic world music, so you are going to hear stuff in his set that no of the others will do. He's considered the world leader in the development of the chromatic approach to playing the diatonic harmonica, so he is unique. Plus if he plays any piano/keyboard you are in for a treat because he's crazy good at that too.
Corky Seigel is another really creative guy -- he has an album of diatonic harmonica incorporated into chamber music -- and he can do some mean blues too. I happen to love the Chamber Blues album.
Son of Dave has a really unique style. I totally dig it. He's really unique and combines harp playing with beatboxing and looping, along with kind of Tom-Waits-like oddness to the vocals too. Son of Dave would be great background music in weird independent films; a lot of his songs really set a mood.
And Duke Robillard is running the backing band? That's pretty awesome. He can play pretty much any blues guitar style as good as the guys who pioneered each style. He has a really great song where he showcases maybe ten different blues guitar styles and narrates what's different about each one.
So DChurch, you picked a good show to see. I think you will find it money well spent and as a harmonica player, you'll get to see guys who are world leaders in some of the styles -- I mean, Howard Levy is just on another level, and Jason is really a leader in interpreting blues in a modern way and blending other influences in to create original music -- so you should come away with a PhD in harmonica.
Your wife, she might get sick of all the harp if she's not a player, but you won't. Enjoy, and be sure to post a review of the show!
Caught them in Oakland and it was everything cliffy describes. Only regret was the shortness of time for each artist dictated by the format and, I heard, to some extent by time formats imposed by the venue.
Duke is not only a fine blues guitarist, he can wade deep into jazz territory. Jason did a Django tune, as did Howard in the early set (which I didn't see.) Howard also did a solo piano-and-harmonica number. And Mark himself has been veering in that direction, doing tunes from Mose Allison and other jazz-tinged blues-inflected artists.
Son of Dave played solo only, and seemed hesitant to join the massed jam at the end; seems reticent generally.I meant to chat him up but was pulled into the universe of Howard after the show:) =========== Winslow
Last year the BlowOut continued north after Seattle for one show in Vancouver BC but with a reduced crew as Jason and Charlie did not or couldn't cross the border. This allowed each remaining performer to really stretch out over several tunes, very different than the limited time in Seattle. Sadly not this year.
Not a harp line up, but I once went to a blues fest with the following lineup: 1. Ronnie Earl, solo acoustic 2. Some unknown (at the time) guy named Robert Cray 3. Johnny Winter 4. John Mayall (w/ Coco Montoya on guitar, IIRC) 5. Stevie Ray Vaughn
Honestly it was one long high point for me. Each performer had something really special to offer.
"Son of Dave" and his beat box style was a funky crack up! He's a great entertainer.
I loved the Corky Siegel and Duke Robillard number, two old school masters going for it. Worth the ticket just for that.
Howard Levy's playing has to be seen to be believed, it's mind boggling chromatic work on a diatonic instrument. Then he walks over and plays amazing jazz piano with one hand wile accompanying himself with impossible harp work.
And Jason Ricci rocks. He seemed to be into everything going on. He did a very cool wa-wa number using a coffee cup. It was great to thank him in person for his generosity of sharing tips and lessons on line.
Mark Hummel was great - Naturally he knows how to put a "blowout" together this is his 26th year of doing it.
I'm tempted to drive to Seattle for a replay.
Dave ---------- It's about time I got around to this.
