B.B. King

Back in October, I think, Jackie caught B.B. King at the ACL Moody Theater. I saw B.B. King live long ago at Antone's (when it was on Sixth Street) and at Armadillo World Headquarters. A venerable guy, but sitting down these days!

Young Bluesmen

Jackie submitted this photo from her night out New Year's Eve with this note:

We spent the early part of our New Years Eve at Maria Maria where the Peterson Brothers Band from Bastrop was playing. We made a special point of checking them out and weren’t disappointed. Glenn, the guitar phenom, is 15 years old; his 12-year-old brother, Alex, plays bass (and also played the violin on one number, while Glenn backed him up on bass). So many of the old blues musicians died in 2011, including Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, who had planned to record with the Peterson Brothers in 2012. But listening to these talented young men gives us hope that the blues tradition will carry on.

Here’s to a upbeat 2012….

Jackie

Maria Maria is a club and restaurant on Colorado where good music and Mexican food are inspired by Carlos Santana. They have several locations in California as well.

Playing for Change

Our friend Jackie saw this amazing band at Antone's on Saturday. She says: "This was an ensemble of 10 musicians from around the world, all fantastic." The group is a non-profit and you can read about them here.

Pianorama

Five keyboards and a drum set. That was the kit for Marcia Ball's Pianorama on Sunday at Antone's. There were more piano players than keyboards and some trading around ensued. Riley Obsborne, far right, and Marcia and another player sitting in are providing rhythm and bass here while Floyd Domino solos.

If We Don't Like Something We Have a Concert

Last night there were several concerts around Austin to benefit a group trying to return long-time DJs Larry Monroe and Paul Ray to local public radio station KUT after they were laid off. We went to Antone's where the lineup of blues was nothing short of amazing. This is a picture of Grammy winner blues man (and 'super harp') James Cotton (seated) blasting a tune. (Taken with iPhone by FFP.) I don't know what will happen with the fan dispute over the radio executive's decision. But this was a legendary concert. KUT should see if they can't harness this force for their own good. Someone, it might have been Jim Franklin, legendary poster artist who did some MC work, said "If we don't like something in Austin, we have a concert." There are worse recipes for peaceful coexistence. I usually think it's an empty phrase but some nights I think we really are the Live Music Capital.