All the Concerts Fit to Print

We got a couple of free tickets to the Paramount Blues Festival, here in Grafton, so we went. But really, at ten bucks for the weekend, the show is so cheap it might as well be free.

We got there mid afternoon and met our friend Dennis. The weather was decent - warm in the sun and chilly in the shade.

We saw Nick Moss, first. His band does a variety of bluesish stuff. Mostly blues and blues rock. One song really sounded like an Allman Brothers jam. Nick's bandmate, guitarist Michael Ledbetter sang some songs, and those were more R&B.

Albert Cummings's band was good too. More straight ahead blues. During their set some light rain came through. Not enough to bother me much, but by that time it was getting cold, so with a threat of real rain on the way, we left. I'd like to have seen Ana Popovich, but her set was called, six songs into it. I believe Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo went on later, since they were playing inside the beer tent.

Cyn and I went to the blues fest on the Saturday. We sat in the late summer air and sun, and heard a few blues bands. The first we saw (second for the day, I think) was a guy called Hawkeye Herman. Apparently, he does a lot of talks at schools, and it seemed like he was talking to kids. Some people appreciated this. Rory Block was after him. She also knows a lot about the blues, but her delivery is conversational rather than lecturing. And she's a great player. After her, we heard Honeyboy Edwards. I was less impressed by his music than I was to just be in the presence of a living legend. Then we heard Steve Cohen, Jim Liban and Stokes (and two other guys). They are among the great talents on the Milwaukee Blues scene. Then we went home, skipping Billy Flynn and Zac Harmon. Harmon was finishing his set as we walked back, and from the sound of it, I'm sure I would have enjoyed his show. We went back for the headliner, Nora Jean Brusco. She's a Chicago area blues/soul singer. A very energetic crowd-pleaser.

Before we left, I was trying to decide how cool it was going to be. I decided on jeans an a t-shirt, with a light jacket just in case. We set up our lawn chairs in the sun, and we baked. There was little breeze and not a cloud in the sky - low 70s. Fortunately, Cyn brought sunscreen. After about four hours, the sun dropped behind the tops of some trees. Strangely, at that time the breeze picked up and it got a little chilly. I put my jacket on and stayed reasonably comfortable. After we went back, it had gotten downright cold. It was around 55. We had dressed warmly, but were still cold. Should have gone up and danced.