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Travel
West Young Man
When you think about
Cleveland what's the first thing that comes to mind? Is it the Rock ‘N’ Roll
hall of fame? Or maybe, the flats, how about the Browns, or the Indians?
Well when’s the last time you heard the “Blues” mentioned in the
above sentence? Probably never. Well a short ride west on I90 will change your whole opinion
on what Cleveland has to offer to a blues fan.
On a recent road to trip to “the mistake on the lake” the usual
sight seeing spots were put on hold as music was the name of the game.
First up on Friday evening, “The Mighty Clouds of Joy” at the
Cleveland Museum of Art. Only Joe Ligon remains from the original
quartet. Unfortunately, a disagreement about the sound level during
sound check kept the band toned down during its first set, which
included its BIG gospel/R&B/disco hit of the 70’s “Mighty
High”. The band picked it up a little more in the second set as Tim
Wooden sang the gospel classic “Walk Around Heaven”. The show
finally ended on a high note as the band seemed to say well we’re
done, but we’ll show you how it could have been, and picked it up
several notches. Not a bad way to kick of a weekend, but the night was
just starting.
Next, off to one of the few real juke joints I have ever been to. The
Cascade Lounge. Located at 8012 St. Clair Avenue on the East Side of the
city, The Cascade Lounge is a no frills local joint. A small sign, which
overhangs the door, is the only indication that you’ve arrived. After
paying a $3 admission, you enter into a place that has no pretensions of
being anything other, than a place to have a good time in. Inside beer
is sold by the can and a no-frills store (that sells pretzels etc..)
sits in the rear. A long bar stretches the length of the lounge and is
only augmented by tables and chairs. But best of all The Cascade Lounge
features an honest to God blues player: Guitar Slim. Guitar Slim, who
real name is Nathaniel Savage, in reality, has more in common with
Elmore James than the real Guitar Slim. Slim who is originally from Snow
Hill, Alabama, has been playing at the Cascade for the last 30 years, is
the prototypical bluesman. Dressed impeccably in a three-piece suit and
a white bowler hat, he plays the blues to make people feel good. A
mostly local crowd hears Slim belt out classic blues with upbeat tempos
and Slims searing slide guitar playing. Slim, who begins promptly at
10PM, starts the show off with the slide on his pinky finger and
finishes the show around 2:30AM, ends with the slide in the same spot.
This is no music for the faint hearted. Slim augmented by his son,
“Little James”, on drums and a cast of characters that has all the
makings for real a “Blues Brothers” movie sequel includes “Texas
Slim” on guitar and “Crazy Marvin” on harp. They play tough
Chicago based blues all evening long with the intentions of getting the
crowd up and dancing. This is how it must have been in Chicago in the
60’s when places like Theresa’s and Peppers were the places to be. A
must stop for any true blues adventurer.
Saturday night brought us out to Savannah’s to see Travis
“Moonchild” Haddix and his band. Savannah’s, located in Westlake
(30676 Detroit Rd), has quickly established itself as the place to be,
and see, national blues acts (more on that later) in the Cleveland area.
Travis, who makes his home in the Cleveland area, was a treat to see, as
his music on several of his nationally distributed CDs has always caught
my attention. With free admission the place was packed with mostly a
suburban crowd wanting to dance to the classic sounds of R&B
flavored blues. Mustang Sally, some Booker T & the MG’s, and Percy
Sledge’s “When A Man Loves A Woman” were standard fare from
Travis. To be fair to Travis, he performed these worn out bar standards
with musical grit and flair that indicated to me given a chance to kick
out his own originals he would be a performer to be reckoned with.
Although the tunes may have been shop worn the band and Travis’s stage
presence were not. The band, which featured a full horn section, were as
tight as good be, and then, there was Travis himself. Travis dressed
from head to toe in a bright red suit for the first set appeared on
stage for the second set in a completely different suit. This time, from
head to toe in a gold/yellow suit. Not only were the clothes up to snuff
for an R&B star but Travis also had his own personnel valet. Still
had time to catch Guitar Slim for a nightcap at the Cascade. Half the
crowd from the night before is there again. Its late Saturday night in
Cleveland and the Cascade Lounge is jumpin’.
Thank
God its Sunday. But Sundays in Cleveland means Savannah’s. Craig
Patterson who books the “Blue Sunday’s” presents a line-up that is
one of the best I have ever seen. Alberta Adams, AC Reed, Guitar Shorty,
H Bomb Ferguson and Carl Weathersby are a few who have been invited to
be on stage for one of Craig’s “Blue Sunday” performances. For our
return visit it would be non-other than the magic man himself, “Magic
Slim”. Magic Slim (Morris Holt) is one of the toughest blues players
in the genre today. No frills, just balls to the walls grit. As always,
Magic’s band, “The Teardrops”, which consists of Magic’s brother
Nick on bass, Michael Dotson on rhythm guitar and Allen Kirk on drums,
opened up the set with a couple of tunes.
Nick belted out a wicked version of McKinley Mitchell’s “The
Town I Live In”, followed by Michael Dotson covering Guitar Slim’s
“The Things I Used To Do”. With Nick calling the star of the show up
to the stage, we new we were in for a good time as Magic did a little
jig walking up the stage, the band kicked into a set of fine originals
and solid covers. “Crazy Woman” from Magic’s “Black Tornado”
CD was followed by in no particular order “Break’n Up Somebody’s
Home”, “Think”, “I Gamble, I Gamble”, “Look On Yonder
Wall” and “The Blues Are All Right”. Slim ripped into every song
with the grit and intensity that is rarely seen by todays blues players.
(Wolf records has a great series on Magic CD's entitled “Live From the Zoo
Bar”, a great place to start a Magic Slim collection).
So
the next time somebody mentions Cleveland tell them to check out two
great blues joints, The Cascade Lounge and Savannah’s (www.thesavannah.com).
(Dave
Moskal)
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