tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28933619.post1754125446347933235..comments2023-10-12T06:33:08.164-04:00Comments on In a Blue Mood: Memphis Gold Benefit Big SuccessRon Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17157101280813039261noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28933619.post-1650267082454349962008-06-14T20:50:00.000-04:002008-06-14T20:50:00.000-04:00Saw Charlie Sayles at the Tinner Hill Blues Festiv...Saw Charlie Sayles at the Tinner Hill Blues Festival in Falls Church, VA today. Sayles performed solo at the farmer's market in the morning and with Memphis Gold later in the evening. While the Memphis Gold show was good--I even bought a CD--what really grabbed me was Charlie Sayles playing solo harmonica in the morning. He had a harp and a mic, but kept time by tapping a snare drum with a drumstick in his right hand. This spare, stripped-down sound seemed to me to deliver blues at its essence: a hard-living guy (with an eye-patch!) laying down a groove, telling a story with his music, all for whatever tips he could get. I was captivated by the simplicity of the music, but at the same time, it was hardly clichéd. He used unusual progressions à la John Lee Hooker. That kept his music sounding fresh, demanding the attention of the passers by. I found him captivating. I was disappointed to learn that he does not have a current recording of that same solo style he performed this morning. With the success of the duo The White Stripes, it seems to me there is an audience for stripped-down blues.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076622427686802510noreply@blogger.com