Date: March 24, 2003

Pony Up For Hubert :

What a beautiful event this turned out to be on every level; be it the choice of venue, all the talent that showed up in support of Hubert, the smooth organization of the event, the healthy turn out of folks and the amount of love in the room, this was one down-home, classy blues time. The venue of choice, the Stone Pony, of Bruce Springstein fame, was the perfect sized club: ya know, big enough to hold the event without being too cavernous, and with a great vibe. It was my first time to the Stone Pony, and I’d always wanted to see it…ya know, the place where it all happened for the "Boss" and Southside Johnny …that whole Asbury Park mystique. It really must’ve been happening back in it’s day on the Jersey shore there, but driving along the ocean to the club was like landing in a time warp, or a science fiction movie where all of a sudden you’re the only person left on earth…everything is deserted and left exactly as it was…it was very eerie…but once inside the club, I was swept away into bluesville…

My favorite type of benefit to play is one where the beneficiary is present and participating! Though Hubert sat down on a stool to play, he seemed to be plenty spunky and having a great time.

First I’d like to take a moment to thank some of the folks who really pulled this event off, and gave it a touch of class. Number on was our promote, Tom Cucchiara who produced a top notch happening and took a break briefly from his duties to surprise us all by playing drums behind Lonnie Shields for his set. Big thanks also goes out to Don Meyer, Nicky Cappola, Candy Lanci, John Muller and artist Kelly Sullivan.

Me and the boys forced ourselves up early that morning in hopes of being able to catch all of the acts at the Pony. We’d spent two nights playing B.B King’s club up at Foxwoods, Ct., so it was a bit of a drive, and in pouring rain. Though we missed a few acts, we arrived in time to hear Georgie Bonds, and what a pleasant surprise. This artist out of Philadelphia has really got that big soulful voice and warm engaging stage presence that blues lovers crave, yet rarely find. Check him out on his web-site, or pick up his c.d.

Next up was Dana Fuchs with Jon Diamond and Spencer Jarrett. Dana and Jon are old pals of mine so it was a thrill to get to hang with them again, and hear them do their thing. Jon actually toured with me for a while as a second guitar player, and we got to the "nickname" phase with each other so ya know there’s some chemistry there. (He’s Choppy). For several years now he and Dana have been performing and writing together and are proud to be releasing their first c.d., Lonely for a Lifetime, early this summer.

So they hit the stage:, Jon lays down a greasy groove on guitar, Spencer is blowin’ soulful, and Dana erupts into her performance. You gotta see and hear this gal to believe it…yea, she’s white, but she don’t sing like it!! She got soul, baby…every ounce of her being is in the song, in the moment, and she wails!! Not to mention the fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous/sexy and not afraid to flaunt it! This gal is the whole package. I received a complimentary copy of the c.d. and it’s great! Congratulations Dana and Jon for writing such cool, and totally real, songs. Dana doesn’t hold anything back with her lyrics, either…she turns herself inside out for this very impressive debut..

Dana had to get back to the city, Manhattan that is, but "Choppy" was able to stay and hang. He and Don are old pals from the village, so the three of us made our way to a back corner of the club where they had roped off a VIP section for the musicians to chow down in. Somebody knew what they were doing in the kitchen…that chicken just fell off the bone…oh man, I didn’t realize how hungry I was. Oh, did I mention that Jon Diamond is one of the funniest guys I know, not to mention the fact that he really knows his R n' B standards…he’s got a real twisted sense of humour…my favorite…so we had some great laughs and caught up on lots of stuff.

Next up was Big Nancy Swarbrick, basically known as Big Nancy (as she is that), one of the rare breed of really good female harp players. She’s mostly known to the folks in the New Jersey blues scene now, but has toured in the past with lots of big names, and garnered a lot of respect. There’s no fluff here; this is a real deep blues harp player. Unfortunately the sound man had her harp too low in the mix, but she got to redeem herself later during the finale .

Heather Hardy, female electric blues violinist, was up next This was my first time meeting and hearing her and it was long over due. I’ve know about her for quite some time through blues artist such as Sam Taylor. She works with him a lot and does her own thing too…I often see her name listed on the Black Eyed Sallie’s schedule. And Heather was no dissapointment…she kicks ass on that thing!! I’m often scared to hear electric violin as the potential for high-end ear-shattering notes is so great. But Heather know just how to e-q that thing and got a real ballsy blues tone out of her instrument. She even uses a wah-wah pedal, so I could really relate!!

When my band hit the stage, I was pumped!! You can really blow it all out when you know you’re only gonna do a half four set, so I felt so charged for our time up there and and felt so much electricity from the audience…it was a rush (which is why we do this, of course). Then we brought up our special guest to the stage, Michael Hill and backed him on some tunes. You all know how much I love Michael…such a soulful artist and sweet spirit…and he even wrote a tune for Hubert which we learned on the spot…what a beautiful sentiment, Michael.

Now another favorite of mine was about to take the stage, non other than Levon Helm and his Barn Burners. Levon’s smile makes the whole room light up. The Barn Burners are a traditional harp style blues band with Chris O’Leary fronting the band on vox and harp, ( and he is tough, too!!), and Pat O’Shea on guitar. Man, I don’t see too many cats mastering all the styles of traditional blues these days, but Pat is one deep, and very cool guitar player. This night Mike Merrit played bass and Jimmy Vivino, second guitar. Some very cool blues was being layed down!! I hear that sometimes Levon’s daughter performs with them too…now this would be something to see.

And now for the headlining band, Jimmy Vivino and the Howlin’ Wolf tribute Band. Jimmy’s band consisted of Hubert Sumlin, of course, David Johansen on vocals, Mike Merrit on bass, Ann Rabson on keyboards, Greg Piccolo and Ed Manion on saxes, and Levon Helm and James Warmworth on drums…yes folks, another double drumming treat reminiscent of the Wheeling West Virginia Festival. The most amazing thing is how beautifully this band recreated all of Wolf’s material, but then again we are talking about some of the best players in the business. The must’ve played the entire Wolf catalogue, and from tune to tune, had all of the nuances. The audience was mesmerized . The only aspect of Wolf’s band that was impossible to re-create, of course, was his voice. But what David Johansen lacked in that department ( and hey, nobody can sing like the Wolf) he more than made up for in stage presence. A man of many faces, I would’nt have recognized him having last seen him during his "Buster Poindexter" incarnation. In fact when I was touring with Albert we all got "comp" tickets to see that show in N.Y. city at the old Tramps club…must’ve been about 1988. He and that band put on a phenomenal show.

So for those of you who remember the Buster Poindexter character; an over the top hopped-up lounge lizard dude with a pompadour and a big, brash, brassy band. Playing party tunes such as their hit, "HOT HOT HOT"; you’ll remember that David Johansen became the character…he was Buster Poindexter. Now Johansen has transformed himself into a whole other musical persona; this one being a sort of retro-‘70’s rock star with long shaggy hair and a cleverly tailored beard. His physique is greyhound thin, clad in T-shirt and jeans, and his mannerisms immediately evoke images of Mick Jagger. He is a truly great and gracious performer, sharing and directing the spotlight to each guest performer on stage.

A highlight for me was when he and Ann Rabson turned the tune "Three Hundred Pounds of Heavenly Joy" into a duet, swapping lyrics back and forth, so that she, in essence, became "the joy."

As the set progressed, Jimmy began to orchestrate the guest artists up on stage. Jimmy is no stranger to this job, often taking Max Weinberg’s place as musical director of on the Conan O’Brien show when Max is out of town with Bruce Springstein. Clad in a black western style sport coat, and black cowboy hat, he looked adorably sexy and totally cracked me up by referring to himself as something out of a spaghetti western!! He graciously brought each of the evenings special guest artists to the stage: Southside Johnny who was hands down, the best singer of the event, Rob Paparozzi, a ferocious harp player who is currently touring with the Blues Brothers, Bill Perry who played a REAL pink paisley telecaster, not a reissue, and of course, myself. At the very end of the night, with a stage full of artists, the biggest surprise was how the front line was dominated by an army of harp players: Nancy Swarbrick, Rob Paparozzi, Chris O’Leary and David Johansen…(yea, he plays harp too)…all swappin’ solos back and forth, pushing each other to the peak of their abilities. Now this is somethin’ you ain’t gonna see too often, folks…and I gotta plug Nancy here…she really shined and showed everybody what she can do!! Hubert, we love you!! (I think I’m ganna learn to play some harp!]