ChicagoBluesTour™

“Harmonica Showdown” goes international @ Wabash Tap

Deak Harp

Giles Robson

If you are a harmonica fan, this is a show not to miss, and it will feature some complementary styles, making it a real primer on blues harp, one of 3 special sets included in the Spring 2009 Chicago Blues Tour, and now, the battle’s got an international flavor with the addition of a third performer from Britain.

In the time-honored tradition of “cuttin’ heads”, Deak Harp will take on two youngish upstart Chicago harpslingers, Omar Coleman and Harpmonster, as well as a twentysomething British phenom, Giles Robson, from the UK band The Dirty Aces, whose high-energy interpretations of the Chicago idiom have gained a strong following overseas.

Harpmonster

Omar Coleman

Deak is a solid Delta player in the heavy-tone James Cotton vein, and his band is a classic Chicago-style group that often includes local veteran drummer Twist Turner, so there is certain to be a solid rhythmic pocket for harmonica battles. Coleman plays primarily in the melodic, methodical Little Walter / Big Walter style, but occasionally veers into the busier style favored by modernists like Sugar Blue. Harpmonster is a flashy player who’s been known to pull out a chromatic from time to time, but has been off the scene for a while due to recent illness, so he will be marking his return to the performance circuit with this appearance. He seems to favor an approach that’s more countryfied, a la either of the Sonny Boy Williamsons. For blues harp fans, this is the show to see. (8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.)

GILES ROBSON VIDEO: Click this link to see video of Giles Robson jamming with Sugar Blue

Johnny Drummer @ Lee’s Unleaded

There’s a reason why we send early buses to Lee’s Unleaded Blues. Johnny Drummer & the Starliters have held the weekend set at Lee’s for 13 years, an eternity with the fickle blues audience, and it’s usually standing-room only by the end of the first set. He’s a crowd-pleaser, switching between keyboards and harmonica, wandering the audience as a vocalist, and clowning just enough before he calls up local luminaries that add special flavor to the show. He’s put out 3 well-received CDs on the Earwig label, and tours overseas frequently, so Chicago fans are lucky to see him in such an intimate venue as the historic, cozy Lee’s Unleaded, a lounge which dates to the 60s, when it was called the Queen Bee and featured Muddy Waters and Lefty Dizz, among others. It now fashions itself as “Chicago’s modern juke joint” and is one of the more popular southside hangouts.
(7:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.)
Lee’s will be featuring Johnny on the Spring 2009 Chicago Blues Tour, May 16th. You can still get tickets for the early departures that get you out in the smaller clubs like Lee’s before the “regulars” show up and it gets crowded. He’s one of three performers who perform classic blues on the Tour, which also features Deak Harp and Taildragger.