2 November 2010

Backyard Heap Blues


Some people love the blues. Some people like the blues. I like the blues, like the blues a lot, but I do not love the blues. The blues do not speak to me the way they speak to some people, way down deep in the dark night of the soul, motherfuckers.

I would not trade in my blues records ever even if I only like, not love, the blues. Sometimes the blues is the only fuel that will burn in the old backyard heap that is me.

Maybe the first blues player I ever saw was a young white guy in a club in England. Cannot even remember his name but he could sure play. I reckon he must have died soon after I saw him; he had too much talent, too much feel for the game, to go unnoticed. Not in England.

Saw Muddy Waters. Around 1980 it was. I was the punk rocker in the house. Muddy did not give a fuck. I did not like the way the blues people danced. Not then. The blues people did not appear to have a taste for speed.

Rory Gallagher would have been my next blues show. There were a few punk rockers at that one. Rory was a god to me, like maybe Neil Young is to you. Could be I saw Rory twice. Maybe that is just wishful thinking. Rory never let anybody down, not even his undertaker.

The last bluesman I saw singing on the stage was Jim Byrnes. Jim, of course, is Vancouver's very own Rory Gallagher. He played acoustic, all by himself, friendly, kick you in the motherfucking gut blues. Must have been twenty years ago but I remember it well.

That night Sonja said to me, "We should go see more blues shows," between hits from her wine.

We never did. It is hard to take in a blues show once you have seen the Runaways.

6 comments:

Tim said...

I like punk rock. The Butthole Surfers, Mutants, Fear ,SEIZURE, Circle Jerks, Romeo Void and lately The Subways. Check out Charlotte Cooper on bass. I thought it'd be easy to score with those punk rock girls when I was a long haired hippie type. One of them let me get close and kicked me in the nuts. No dice that night.I didn't give up though because why would I? You're right. Fucking Rory could blow. Maybe you might like kaosradioaustin.org. I do.

Mr. Beer N. Hockey said...

What I do sometimes, when I am trying to write something here just about every day, is riff off somebody else's idea. Yesterday was your turn in the barrel. I never saw Stevie Ray, have a few of his records in the collection, so I had to write about what very little I know of the blues. I like it when Muddy sings about smoking dynamite.

istvan said...

Beer,I once had a chance to see punk rock in action,the bounser said 'Budda wouhd'nt like you'[pony tail]good advise.So how about Crissy?She bridged the gap.

Mr. Beer N. Hockey said...

I took every bit of advice the Buddha's bouncers shared with me. i.e. get out and stay out.

If by Crissy, you are referring to Crissy Hynde, she never did it for me. I was in the middle of what some people call Dope City punk rock's Altamont, Hardcore '81, softies like Crissy were never hardcore enough for this born to loser.

Tim said...

Leila and the Snakes? Leila T. Snake? Yep. Me and her, after I dyed my hair and got some wolverine pants.. I know how to fit in where the babes are. I was always a fast learner and I still am motherfuckers.

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