"Blues By the Bay 2008 sets new
standards for Humboldt County"
by Michael the K

This years " Blues By the Bay "festival comprised of some of the
best acts on the circuit. Glen Maxon who has been in charge for the past
few years did a 360 degree turn from last years event. Last time Glen
created a Bill Graham ( Bill Graham productions )type event, . He
married into the Blues oriented event the likes of "Big Brother and the
Holding Co. Big Brother ,whos lead vocalist Janis Joplin went on to
become a legend in the "Rock and Roll" , San Francisco music scene in
the 60's . Her unique vocal stylings (a combnation of Big Mama Thorton
and Bessie Smith) have left a permanent impresson on the music
heritage.
The group now reformed with 3 original members ( Sam Andrew guitar and
vocals ,Peter Albin bass and vocals and drummer David getz) was a big
draw in last years show .
The lead vocals were taken on this time by Cathy Richardson of Chicago
who did a fine job on turning out a House of Janis type performance .
What a thrill to see this legendary group perform in such a intimate
type setting . The crowd went wild as they recreated the 60s true to
form.

The Kaye Bohler Band dazzles the crowd

This time out Glen ,leaned back towards a true Blues type show
.Some of the incredible highlights included Sundays opening act
"Diunna Greenleaf and Blue Mercy". Diunna wowed the crowd by leaping off
the stage and walking into the audience ,seemingly singing personally to
all she encountered .
Her Gospel based music set the pace for the rest of the acts to follow
and drove the crowd to a frenzy. What a hard act to follow , I said to
myself as I watched the musicians warming up back stage ready to take
their turn at bat. I could see a nervousness in their faces as they
observed the incredible Diunna win over the crowd. But they being
the true to form professionals , more than met the grade. Another
incredible act was Shane Dwight . Shane has everything going for him An
incredible guitarist ,good looks and a way with the audience the pros
long for. His set varied from old" Rock and Roll, Blues and ended with
a tribute to Led Zeplin and the famous Jimmy Page guitar licks . Once
Again the crowd rose to their feet in applause .

Roy Rogers and the Delta Rythum Kings preceaded John Mayall
the headliner on Sunday . John who has been in the buissiness for over
40 yrs is a legend and has had more famous musicians in his bands than
any other
musician i can recall. (Please see David Giarizzo's review and bio of
Mayall and his peformance here ) Back toRoy Rogers, wow this man is
incredible ,he more than covered his reputation ,hammering out
unbelievable licks on guitar that made your jaw drop. I spoke briefly
to Roy after his set. Roy displayed a hometown, humble attitude
,verbabaly praising the festival and his pleasure of being involved .
Roy more than impressed me and I can't wait to see this act again.

Shane Dwight rocks them "Jimmy Page" style

 

Humboldts own Earl Thomas hit the stage , introducing his
back up band for the day. Backing Earl was the "Ike and Tina Turner
Band ". Wow another big surprise. Earl went on to itroduce the locals
to the tourists, which I thought was so humanitarian in this dog eat
dog world of today. Earl is surely a man of the people .

Ron Thompson who was the opener on Satuday's show had only a
drummer playing a snare drum . Ron Whos band the Resistors have been
around for a long long time. I have worked with them in the past at the
now defunked "Full Moon Saloon in San Francisco in the mid 80s and I was enthusiastic about seeing Ron again . Ron did not dissapoint me one bit and has not missed a beat over the years . His style and deliverence has evolved to state of the art.

Diunnna Greenleaf intimately serenades the festival audience

Kaye Bohler of the "Kaye Bohler Blues Band " made her debut
at the festival and the crowd welcomed her with open arms. Kay
delivered a fine tuned , high energy set that again excited the audience
to interaction. Kay was a fine addition to this incredible line up.
What can i say about Joe Louis Walker that hasnt already
been phrased . Joe is one to be recond with and always delivers a
pristine show. Joe headlined on Saturday and left the crowd screaming
for more . Joe more than set up their wanting more the next day. Joe
is a perfomer of legendary talent and delivery and a real crowd pleaser
.

Ruthie Foster , Henry Butler , The Jackie Payne Steve Edmonsen
Band and the Phantom Blues Band rounded out the bill of fare.
All turning out incredible perfomances and showing that Blues is still
alive and still able to drive the audience wild.

Roy Rogers dazzles the crowd !

Summing this all up, once again the Blues By the Bay'"
festival was a huge hit . Great performances ,great sound ( furnished by
Snohomish Artist Guild of Everett Washington and elequently mixed by
Cliff Verhoeff and his crew ) . This is one of the finist festivals I
have ever attended . I was so pleased to cover this event for our
readers. Thanks again to Glen Maxon who booked and created this event .
Glen grouped a fine cast of performers technicians and stage crew along
with untold amounts of great volenteers that made this even possible.
Thanks to KHUM radio who broadcast the event locally and worldwide on
the World Wide Web (a first for Humbold County) Those that did not
attened or hear the broadcast certainly missed out on a worldwide
experience. The 3000 plus attendees will certainly indorm you of what
youv'e missed. Do not to miss next years event. We wonder what Glen has
in store for us in 2009?