Sated.
It's a prestigious award! So claim JP Soars and the Red Hots, the winners of this year's International Blues Challenge. I'm not knocking the Florida band- I like what they do and I'd gladly go see them if they were playing my neighborhood blues bar this weekend.
Even so, how can blues acts that deliberately replicate previously established styles be held up as the "best"? The present, by definition, is more compelling than the past. And that's coming from a roots-oriented guy. That's why, at least for me, the two most compelling blues releases so far in 2009 are by Heartless Bastards and Dan Auerbach. Most of their fans probably don't even think of them as blues acts.
There are, of course, exceptions to my rule. I'm completely charmed, for instance, by Black Joe Lewis. My knees buckle involuntarily when I'm exposed to good soul-blues acts. That's why I've loved Lee "Shot" Williams' outstanding Cold Shot since its release in 1995. Williams lacks an official web presence, but British nuts have posted a number of his early 45s at YouTube.
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I've never seen Nas. That'll change June 26 when he appears at The Uptown Theater with Damian Marley.
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Kansas City Click: "All the barbecue you can eat/All the ghetto stars you can meet!" That's the promise of Rich the Factor. He hosts a Bucks Over Fame party at The National Guard Armory tonight.
If They Might Be Giants don't play "The Mesopotamians" at Jiggle Jam Saturday, I'm gonna throw an ugly temper tantrum.
It's my understanding that attendance at Celebration At the Station Sunday is mandatory. The Kansas City Symphony mixes it up this year by bringing in bluegrass band Cherryholmes.
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