101 Things

Something new on graffiti-allowed section of the river flood wall. However, no list was provided. Maybe the panel is designed to be thought-provoking. You have to figure it out for yourself. Is it worth the bother?

There have been suggestions offered in the past. My high school library in The Bronx had a great selection of magazines. One of them was called Sing Out, the premier folk music magazine of the day. From time to time they ran columns by a great blues harmonica player, Tony "Little Son" Glover. 

In the spring of my senior year, when I had decided to attend St. Louis U, he wrote a piece called The Ten Best Things To Do When You Get The Blues. Number 1, the ultimate act, said simply: Piss in the Mississippi. It will give you a feeling of immortality.

So you can guess what one of first things 17 year old me did when he hit town. By the way, it didn't really help.

    

Harp

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A blues singer belts it out at last weekend's festival. You might wonder if his hands were cold but that wasn't possible. I think we've had 11 days with record high temperature so far in 2012, including Sunday when these were taken.

So what is with his hands? He is playing a small harmonica. usually known as a blues harp in this context. The players bend and twist the notes like hot oil. Here's a great example, played by Paul Butterfield. The crowd loved it but evidently the fashion police had not arrived by the time I took these.

Hey, there's actually going to be an Arch picture tomorrow.

Listening To The Oldies

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The blues is an old art form by American standards. It was appropriate, then, that many of the performers I shot at Bluesweek were, um, mature musicians. One or two might even have been my contemporary. But it's spring (even if it feels like summer) and a young man's fancy may turn to thoughts other than melodies and chords. Unless, perhaps, he finds a way to use them to advance other interests.

St. Louis Blues

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One of the things going on during this Memorial Day weekend is the Bluesweek festival downtown. It's so refreshing - no hassles about "professional" cameras. It was hot out on the streets with music to match. Some of it was so intense that it could, as they say, blow you away.