Saturday smorgasbord

There was a lot to see at Bluesfest on the final Saturday, but not a whole lot that really grabbed my interest. Thus, you get a big ol' rundown and not a post-per-performer. Nothing was bad or dull, but nothing that was really my cup of tea either with the exception of The Ms. I did however get the chance to see some actual blues music (a bit of a rare commodity at Bluesfest nowadays, some might say). This was courtesy of the Electro-Fi Records showcase at The Blues Til Dusk stage.

Curley Bridges - the gent at the piano - and Finis Tasby shared a backing band.



Mr. Tasby has been singin' the blues in L.A. for about three decades now, if not more.



Chris Whiteley on guitar (I think), and David Rotundo on harp.





I never did precisely identify the next act I saw at the Main Stage, but I'm presuming it was indeed Kelley Hunt, with her timeslot switched with the New Amsterdams. She was a bit AOR for my tastes, but a vibrant performer.









Next up, The Ms. They were on tour with Wilco, who were appearing later that day. They sounded pretty good, but there's something about watching four people on a titanic stage a stone's throw away that leads to a certain emotional detachment. At the time they made me think of a spaced out My Morning Jacket. I've heard more of their music since, and they have a fuzzier, poppier sound on record.



They had a strong vocal presence.



I wish I'd gotten some better drummer photos - distant stages are as hard on my photography as they are on my enjoyment of the music.



Handclaps ... you see 'em at every festival.



Lunging action!



I'd love to see them in a club. I slogged of for some dinner, and returned to find Martin Sexton on stage. He attracted a larger and more passionate crowd, but didn't fascinate me, so I went off to watch Junior Brown, who was kind of cool even if his "guit-steel" does strike me as a pointless gimmick. I came back for Roseanne Cash who was entertaining.



She's big on the gesticulation.



I secretly covet a Danelectro Longhorn bass. Blame Troy Gregory.









The sun began to go down ...



I could have stuck around for Wilco, who put on an amazing show at the Capital Music Hall and apparently were even better this time around, but I didn't feel like standing up for another two hours, and had a serious hankering for cheesecake and weird music, so I went off to the Avant-Garde Bar to see Tetuzi Akiyama and Harris Newman.