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Chicago Blues
Party with Jeff Stone, Charlie Love & Tomiko Dixon and special guests
November 19,
2016
Penny Road
Pub, Barrington, IL
By Robin Zimmerman
Photos: Howard Greenblatt To see more photos, visit our FB page
For those who came from the city and suburbs, the trek to this
collar-county watering hole was well worth it. South Side blues was on
the bill with Charlie Love, Jeff Stone and Tomiko Dixon delivering big
time. In addition to these talented artists, the show also boasted
special appearances by Demetria Taylor and Maurice John Vaughn.
Early birds at Penny Road caught the proverbial earworm in the
form of a hard rock/metal power trio named Lyden Moon that came on
first. This Kenosha, Wisconsin band backed up their “up to 11” logo by
offering patrons unlimited access to a large jar of orange ear plugs!
But, cranked up rock soon made way for some silky smooth blues,
which just happens to be the name of Charlie Love’s longtime band. This
tight group is comprised of Doug
Tramble and Detroit James
on guitar with Mark Mack on
drums. Bassist Kenny Pickett,
who filled in for Andre Howard, joined them. In one of those musical
twists of good fortune, Maurice John Vaughn drove Pickett to the gig.
Before Vaughn came on, Love, Stone and Dixon were firmly in the
driver’s seat. These powerful performers put on a show that should
definitely keep them on the blues map. In fact, there were attendees in
the house from musically rich New Orleans who left Penny Road raving
about what they’d seen and heard.
Blues lovers will be glad to learn that Love and Stone are no
longer separated by geography. After many years living in Texas, Stone
is moving back to his native Chicago. This should make harp lovers
happy, as Stone is truly one of the best—as evidenced by his
electrifying live performances as well as his 2004 WC Handy Award.
Love has also racked up some impressive stats. A winner of the
2014 Chicago Blues Challenge, he shows no signs of resting on his
laurels. This personable performer kept the crowd entertained with
everything from fancy footwork to finely honed guitar solos throughout
the course of the evening.
Love and Stone have been performing together since the early
nineties and their long-term musical rapport was apparent from the
get-go. They started the show off with an up-tempo “Hard Times” before
segueing into Jimmy Reed’s ”Bright Lights, Big City.”
It’s not a stretch to say that Love is one of those performers
who easily connects with his audience, as anecdotes and on-stage banter
are hallmarks of his performances. He urged the crowd to “get up and let
it go.” One fan even let go of a two-dollar bill following Love’s remark
about making a wager with the guitar player. Soon afterwards, she
delivered the dough to Doug.
All bets were off when Love broke into his version of B.B. King’s
“The Thrill is Gone,” which saw him ad-libbing the last few verses. Love
said it’s not uncommon for him to “perform a song the way it was
recorded and then improvise the final few lines.”
Whether it was improvisation or simply divine musical
intervention, the dual harp interplay between Love and Stone on his
“Boogie Blues in G” was one that was worth the price of admission and
then some. Love’s longtime blues background began at an early age, with
his harmonica-playing father playing music in the family’s living room.
As the granddaughter of blues legend Willie Dixon, Tomiko Dixon
has the style and stage presence to go along with her impressive blues
pedigree. Towards the end of the first set, this powerful songstress
strutted on stage and quickly wowed the crowd. Just 36 years old, Dixon
was recently inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame and became the
youngest person on its illustrious roster.
Billing herself as the “Granddaughter of the Blues,” Dixon belted
out many of her grandfather’s standards that had the crowd clamoring for
more. This blossoming blues diva also had both professional
photographers and I-Phone owners jockeying for position to catch the
perfect action shot.
Dixon certainly came out firing on all cylinders as she made many
of her grandfather’s standards her own. From her fiery opener of “Hoochie
Coochie Man” and straight through “I’m Ready” and “Little Red Rooster,”
Dixon proved to the Penny Road audience that the genre is in good hands
with this new generation of blues artists.
After Dixon stepped off the stage, it was time for special guest
stars Demetria Taylor and Maurice John Vaughn to shine. Taylor, the
daughter of blues/R & B legend, Eddie Taylor Senior, jumped into a sassy
song called “Miss May’s Juke Joint.” Delmark recording artist Vaughn
came on with a humorously, off-color version of his 1986 “Garbage Man
Blues,” which appeared on the aptly titled, independently produced
“Generic Blues Album.”
Following these impromptu performances, it was back to a sizzling
second set for Charlie Love and company. One of the night’s finest
moments came about when they subtly accompanied Dixon on her
grandfather’s “It Don’t Make Sense (You Can’t Make Peace).”
Although Willie Dixon wrote more than 500 blues classics, he has
said that “It Don’t Make Sense” was his favorite composition. His
granddaughter delivered each line with feeling and intensity. The
powerful lyrics about a divided world seemed to strike a chord with many
attendees as Dixon’s words ring just as true today as they did when he
penned the tune in 1984.
After digging into this Willie Dixon deep cut, it was back to
being a blues party band. For the music lovers in attendance, the night
ended much too quickly. But, on a bright note, there are rumblings that
Penny Road Pub might be featuring more blues shows in the future. If
this performance were any indication, it would behoove all of you to set
that GPS in order to catch a show at this landmark bar in Barrington.
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