This past weekend I stopped by St. Louis on my way home for Christmas break and had a great time (car problems and icy roads notwithstanding). I got to see good friends from college and have some light dinner conversation about covenental theology, training up children, and the ethics of a range of embryonic procedures. I got to hang out with Wes of Wilderness Wonderings (which I couldn't recommend more highly) and his lovely wife Steph. We discussed adoption, some great ideas on imagination and Christian living, and poor thinking skills (all three of which I hope to post on soon). AND I got to hear some amazing blues.
This blues was provided in the confines of the renovated BB's Jazz, Blues, and Soups (not to be confused with BB Kings mediocre chain). The good BB's is a deceptively large blues bar located at 700 S. Broadway in St. Louis. They have music every night of the week, usually jazz earlier in the week, and blues for the back half. If you're ever in town I highly recommend it.
I also highly recommend the two acts I saw last Saturday:
1. The Bel Airs
Several bands have sported this name, but these guys hail from Columbia, Missouri. They're a three piecer and they play rhythm and blues, jump blues, and basically anything blues-like that is conducive to dancing. I wouldn't recommend their cd's, but their live shows are phenomenally fun. This was my third time to see them, and I was sad that I had worn my body down from the week of paper writing such that I was unable to enjoy them for more than a set.
2. Joe Price
That said, I in no way felt cheated. Remember in That Thing You Do, when the black valet is suspicious of Guy Patterson and quizzes him to see if he's worthy of being told the best jazz club in the city? After Guy answers some very esoteric questions the valet exclaims: Get in the car. GET. IN. THE CAR! That's how I felt the whole time I was listening to Joe Price(often accompanied by his wife Vicki).
Joe plays a brand of blues that is, in the literal sens of both these words, unusual and compelling. For most of the show he was picking and playing slide and Vicki was playing an electric resonator. At one point though, Joe picked up a gorgeous, early thirties National resonator. He could also be considered a multi-instrumentalist as his foot stomping is purposeful and driving and integral to much of the music (much like Hooker, though, unsurprisingly, with more complex rhythms).
It took me a while to figure out how to describe the style that the Price's play, because the electricity threw me off the track. In fact Joe plays electric guitar, but in the country style, much the way that bluesman first played electric before they developed separate styles adapted to the medium (most notably Memphis and Chicago blues). The best way to describe Joe's playing is as a cross between Elmore James and the Muddy Waters field recordings (with a little bit of John Lee thrown in for good measure).
I'll leave you with a (poor, unfortunately) sample for your listening enjoyment:
