Two days of riffs, pipes, and harmony

By David Weiner, Forty-Niner Online
Sept. 11, 1995

"I feel like playing something so funky you can smell it!"

That unsubtle declaration came courtesy of Buddy Guy Saturday evening at the 16th Annual Long Beach Blues Festival at Cal State Long Beach.

And Guy wasn't bluffing, either. The former opening act for The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton burned up the CSULB athletic field for the second straight year, proving to be just as satisfying a headliner as the rock 'n' roll gods mentioned above.

At times Guy seemed like he'd absorbed the spirit of Jimi Hendrix, offering furious, long guitar solos, at one point even threatening to play a cover of "Voodoo Child" (the only promise of the evening he didn't make good on, unfortunately).

The only thing more amazing than the performance of Guy and his band was the possibility that someone might have been even better Saturday.

That distinction belongs to Otis Rush, who preceded Guy and played such mean, precise guitar licks and sang with such passion and authority that one was left to wonder why he hasn't achieved the fame of blues stars like Guy, B.B. King and John Lee Hooker. (Rush wrote the blues classic, "I can't quit you baby", which he performed Saturday.)

Fact is, nearly all the acts on Saturday's bill were spectacular. The music got underway at 10 a.m., and by noon the crowd had already heard the likes of Floyd Dixon, Jimmy Witherspoon and Fat Possum Juke Joint Caravan.

The first highlight of the day, though, was a 45-minute set by 73-year-old Charles Brown.

A classic blues singer and pianist, Brown has been recording since the 1940s. Wearing a sequined, leopard-spotted jacket with a complementary fez and a gold bow tie, Brown had the audience in the palm of his hand, playing with a warmth and style that involved members of the crowd as if he were sitting on his porch telling them stories. He closed with the 1947 classic, "Merry Christmas, Baby."

At that point things were just getting started. Brown was followed by The Johnny Otis Show, featuring the knockout duo of Linda Hopkins and Big Jay McNeely.

Neither Hopkins, with her powerhouse pipes, nor McNeely, who turned up in the middle of the crowd and blew away everyone with his sax, appeared to need a microphone.

New Orleans pianist/singer Dr. John was next, bringing up a puzzling question: Why would anyone with a name as cool as Mac Rebennack want to change it to Dr. John? Nevertheless, the good doctor brought the goods Saturday. Rebennack's hour-long set swung with that feel-good brand of New Orleans funk that is his and his alone.

Throughout the day, one was reminded that blues is probably the most egalitarian form of music in the world. The vibe on the athletic field was as genuinely mellow and good-natured as any I've experienced at a concert before (it wouldn't have even surprised me to see Mark Fuhrman getting down in the front row).

Well, maybe it wasn't that mellow, but there was a nice bit of irony during Dr. John's set, when a group of blues fans responded to a skywriter's enigmatic urging to "defect now" by line dancing, a brand of carefree revelry that originated - where else?- in New Orleans.

Other observations that testified to the soothing power of the blues included a large number of families with children in attendance, many dozing peacefully in their lounge chairs or just spread out on the grass, folks playing frizbee and football on the penumbra of the field, the sweet aroma of green leaves burning, and, of course, thousands of gallons of beer being happily consumed- or relatively happily, considering the $4 per cup charge.

Sunday's bill included Brownie McGhee, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and the Stax Record Review featuring Mavis Staples, Booker T. and the MGs and the Memphis Horns.

The Blues Festival was held at CSULB (its original home) for the third straight year. A brief interruption occurred in 1992, when the event took place at Shoreline Aquatic Park near downtown Long Beach.