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Keb’ Mo (Photos by Jill Fisher)

A spontaneous and lucky opportunity arose to see eight-time Grammy winner Keb’ Mo (Kevin Roosevelt Moore) at the dakota in Minneapolis on Monday evening, Jan. 22. Since I was planning to be in the Twin Cities that evening anyway, I wasn’t about to pass up a chance to see this musician who recently had come to my attention.

His song “She Just Wants To Dance” off his 1994 debut album was introduced to me at a jam session about a year ago, which I instantly adopted as my personal theme song. As soon as his name was lodged in my brain I started to hear “Good To Be (Home Again)” on Radio Heartland, his latest release. Yep, here was a seasoned bluesman I wanted to hear more of.  

Keb’, who played both electric and acoustic guitars as well as harmonica, had three musicians backing him up on this evening—Casey Wasner on drums, Dane Farnsworth on keyboards (organ and electric piano) and Zachariah Witcher on bass. They were a tight, very professional group that took the stage a few minutes after 7 pm to deliver a fabulous 17-song set of all originals in the next couple of hours.

While Keb’ Mo’ is known as a bluesman, with specific references to the Delta and Country Blues, he began his musical career playing steel drums in a Calypso band, which was evident in at least one of the numbers he performed: “The Itch.” He also got jazzy with “All Dress up” and “The Whole Enchilada” which leads me to label his music as fusion blues. My take is that he has taken various experiences in his long career and mixed them up in a very personal and  unique musical style.  

Keb’s lyrics run the gamut from self-denigration to social commentary, with insightful observances about personal love relationships. One of his songs was the humorous “Gov’t Cheese” that had the crowd laughing but is also a sly comment on our society.

Another was “Shave Yo Legs” in which he advised his woman that she doesn’t have to change her ways or shave her legs for him. Ha! What a charming performer he was, chatting amicably between songs and introducing his band members with information about their origins.

There was only one song I took issue with and that was when he turned the stage over to his bassist for a solo (which was good) but which was diminished by loud drumming that conflicted with Zach’s free flowing rhythms and melody.

The show ended with Keb’s encore, “Marvelous To Me,” a song in which uplifting lyrics is the response  to a gray and gloomy day.  

One comment I must make about the dakota: it’s a dinner club, so during the show one is served an excellent meal that can’t be fully appreciated if one is concentrating on the music, as I was here. Another drawback of this venue is there is no dance floor, which is frustrating for a show by someone of Keb’s caliber.

To sum it up, what a wonderful concert and evening it was. It may be time for me to invest in some of his albums, so I can immerse myself in the full range of Keb’ Mo’ music.  

Lamont Cranston Band

As if that wasn’t enough blues for one week, I got to enjoy The Lamont Cranston Band at the West Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 25. A full house heard lead singer Pat Hayes and his seven fellow musicians do what they have decidedly perfected – get a crowd up and dancing.

Current band members are Bill Pelletier (bass), Rod Smith (electric guitar), Johnny “O” Keefe (guitar), Jim Greenwell (saxophone), Tom Donnohue (drums), Tim Wick (organ) and Bruce McCabe (piano). At this show, Ted Larsen filled for guitarist Rod Smith.  

The band played mostly original tunes, including his rockin’ “Upper Mississippi Shakedown,” and at least one classic blues cover: “Come on in This House” by Mel London, recorded by Junior Wells among others. Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me” was also in the mix.

Pat Hayes of the Lamont Cranston Band

Most interesting was Hayes’s latest compositions, “Ecology Song” and “This Is Holy Ground” which asserts that the “whole world is holy ground.” The encore was Papa Charlie Jackson’s 1925 song, “Shake That Thing” that had folks dancing to the upbeat finale.

What a concert! No one had any complaints and guess what—even the Curmudgeon, who wasn’t familiar with this band, thought they were pretty damn hot.  

A big event this past weekend was the Duluth Does Elton John concert at Sacred Heart Music Center on Saturday, Jan. 27. Twenty-seven separate acts—solo musicians and bands—donated their talents for this benefit concert, each covering one of the 464 songs Elton John has recorded. There was only one no-show, even so the event lasted four hours, with two short intermissions.

Laura Lee, news anchor with CBS/NBC’s Northern News Now, and Wisconsin Public Radio’s Robin Washington hosted the event, providing introductions of the artists and commentary between acts.  

The sold-out show got off to a good start with Danny and Angie Frank covering “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with backing by several other musicians. They noted that this song was sung at their wedding. Second on the program was Shane Nelson who performed solo. Well known, he received a warm extended welcome by the audience. His chosen song, “Circle of Life,” written by Elton John and Tim Rice for the Disney animated movie, The Lion King was a good fit for his voice.

One of the remarkable aspects of this show was how many of the songs were obscure or even totally unknown. And because Elton John is known for his flashy stage attire, virtually all the musicians were inspired to emulate him. It was a colorful and visual treat.   

As with any concert having this many artists and variety of numbers, there were bound to be some high and some low points. The most successful performances tended to be by those who chose well-known, upbeat songs, while others made one wonder whether anyone juried this show. However, overall the musicianship was just fine.  

Misisipi Mike

Here's my list of what I felt were the best of the bunch; In the first set, beyond the opening numbers noted above, Misisipi Mike Wolf’s cover of “Tiny Dancer” was an especially fun one where cue cards were held up to encourage the audience to sing along on the choruses and sing we did!

“Levon” by Born Too Late showcased  Rokkyn Nelson-Kavajecz’s soaring vocals. The Fish Heads gave us a bluegrass version of “I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues” (which really worked) and Janie & The Spokes rocked the place with “Bennie and the Jets” to close out the first set.  

Janie of Janie & The Spokes

The second set included an obscure selection, “Empty Sky” played by Laurie BoeDee accompanied by George Ellsworth on electric bass and Marvin Pomeroy on drums. Some folks thought this was awesome, others not so much. But most everyone I spoke with thought that “Love Song” by Skarlett Woods was one of the best performances of the entire evening.

Woods had Eric Bong, Shawna Weaver and her sister Sarah Phillipps join her in giving us some heavenly four-part harmony. One person said that it was just short of goosebump producing. The piano piece, “I’ve Seen That Movie Too,” played by Nancy MacGibbon with trumpet accompaniment by David Haaversen was also well received.   By the third set of the evening, some attendees began leaving due to the lateness of the hour and so missed soloist Kaylee Matuszek’s full out vocalization of “Madman Across The Water.”

Skarlett Woods and friends

Darin Bergsven provided a pleasant change of pace with his guitar instrumental of “Crocodile Rock.” Crooked Miles (a group I have praised in print previously) played a righteous version of “Susie.” The final number, “The Bitch is Back,” covered by Ross Thorn & the Horny Back Toads was an excellent rousing number to end the slate of individual performances.

Perhaps the concert should have ended with it, as the grand finale, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” sung by all the participants was not particularly enjoyable.  

Among the comments shared with me by those who stayed the course till the 11 o’clock hour, was that the number of performers for these Duluth Does concerts at SHMC ought to be more limited and thus juried. However, overall it was a show worth seeing if only to see our favorite acts and clue us into some excellent musicians we should seek out in the future.  

Errata: Now for some corrections to recent columns: first, in my profile of Mark Howley, leader of the Virgil Caine band (Jan. 11 issue of the Reader), I mistakenly included the Centerville Allstars band in a list of defunct bands. I was informed that this group is still active and playing around our region. Now that I am clear on this I  look forward to attending one of its gigs.

Second, I wrote that the guitarist Mel Annala had passed away in 2020. Wrong. He might have said, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Nor is he the father of John SonofMel as I wrote. My apologies for both of these gaffs (and any others than may not have come to my attention)!