Vacaville Represents at Sac IBC
Mick Martin’s Birthday Party
Northern California Blues Festival
Bodega Seafood, Art & Wine Festival - 8/23/08
B.B. is still the King of the Blues
Mr. December at Constable Jack's - 5/9/08
Ron Thompson - 4/12/08
Okay, so everybody loves Ron Thompson. He always has a hot, fast paced show and is usually surrounded by other talented musicians in the form of a blues band. But on occasion, fate steps in. On Saturday, April 12th at the Torch Club in downtown Sacramento fate was alive. Ron showed up ready to play as always. Bass player AJ was there but the drummer AJ lined up to play wasn't any where around. When nine o'clock rolled around, AJ was dispatched to find the drummer and Ron took off flying solo.
Now Ron has been around a long time and going it alone is something he has done on many occasions, I'm sure. But witnessing him playing solo blues is quite a spectacle. It was reminiscent of those old blues moves with a guy sitting on the porch or down by the bayou, wailing away to his own beat. Tapping both feet to keep time as he played his old stratocaster with a harmonica slung around his neck, occasionally reaching over to work the keyboards. At one point he stood in front of the stage on the dance floor, in the dark with no microphone and just let it roll. Almost no one got up to dance, like we were a little mesmerized. It really was a throwback to old school blues. It's easy to forget the roots of it all sometimes with all the superbly talented blues bands out there.
As if timing were everything, the drummer, Stefon Dubose, showed up right at the end of Ron's first set. After a little break Ron was back with a band and he took off to new levels, entertaining the full house with his solid, party style blues. All of a sudden the dance floor was packed and everybody was off and running. Ron is an extremely talented musician, playing several instruments on any given night, guitars, harmonica, keyboards, the mandolin and even the drums on occasion. He played a part of one set on the keyboard in the old Jerry Lee Lewis rock a billy style. Then it was right back to good old guitar slingin' blues.
His back up crew on this night were also talented dudes in their own right and got to show their skills. AJ had more than a few chances to show off his slap style bass playing and Stefon turned out to be a very good drummer. I joked with AJ and Stefon at the next break about them forfeiting some of the night's wages for leaving Ron hanging out there alone on the first set. We had a good laugh, even though, as Stefon confirmed, it was true.
It turned out to be a great show and the first set was a great set up for the rest of the night. Those in the club got to see a fantastic display of the multiple levels of blues music and went home much better for the experience.
"Keep your eyes and ears open ~ the Blues are alive in northern California!"
Cole Fonseca at the Torch Club - 3/28/08
Blues Blowout at Cache Creek - 2/1/08
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