[Harp-L] Madcat in beautiful downtown Florida

[Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

So, I drove the 88 miles to Largo (St. Petersburg) Fla., and got there an hour early. While milling around several people asked me if I had ever hear Triple Play, I had to admit that I hadn't BUT I knew what to expect from the harmonica player. Harmonica player? Yes, but he won't be what you expect. So who is this Chris Brubeck..I know of Dave Brubeck, he plays piano. Uh-huh, Chris is his son and also plays a mean 88 set, is also a multi instrumentalist. Will we like him? Hmm, I don't know your taste, but I think so. 

Aaaaanyway, I was there alone so got to overhear some conversations. It turns out that most people were there for an evening of entertainment and had no idea of what to expect. 

The show opened with 'Take 5', and within seconds, mouths were agape as Joel Brown on guitar, Chris on trombone, and Peter Ruth on harp let loose. Right from the get go, they had that audience in the palms of their hands. Then on to 'Polly', 'No body knows you'(when you're down & out), 'Feel so Bad' (like a ballgame on a rainy day), 'New Stew-Opus 2'. And so on. After a full hour PLUSD there was a 10 minute intermission and I got to hear people gushing about what they had just heard. Everyone was pleased. 

The second hour was just as good as Chris kept jumping from bone to pyano to fretless bass. His pyano style was reminiscent (to me, at least), of Mack Rebenec (Dr. John), and his fretless electric bass was of Charlie Mingus. His bone style took me back to New Orleans and had a beautiful 'smear' characteristic to it that I think was an over drip from his fretless bass..since both of those instruments are fretless. It was all very delicious.

Joel Brown was doing things on an acoustic guitar (with pick-up) that were really finger twisters. Made me think of Robert Johnson at times and in fact, several tunes WERE Robert Johnson tunes. 

But the coup di gras was Madcat..the cat in the hat..powerful Pierre, the axe man from the far north. Instead of Brubeck hogging the show, he had Madcat doing lead on most of the tunes, ALL the vocals but one, and the three of them did such tight harmony, it was just plain pure amazing. In fact, everything was tight. The stopping the tunes dead, the re-starting. Impeccable timing. Pete did a number 'Polly' where he played chromatic. Chromo? I've known him for decades and didn't even KNOW he played chromo. Super too. Man, that's so unfair. Chromo too?

Now I know that artists don't like to be compared to other artists, and I don't mean this in a bad way, but I was reminded of Sonny Terry. Pete has everything that Sonny had..and MORE. I would say that Pete ENCOMPASSES Sonny Terry AND several other players all put together. Ya'know, considering that last thread about: "There could have been a so and so without so and so" really struck me. In this case, there would have been a Sonny Terry withOUT Sonny Terry. And while I have heard Madcat many many times, he was never in a position to get the time, backup, sound system, that he had Saturday night. I have to admit that even I was stunned. And it did my heart good to hear the many accolades from the crowd as they filed out into the theater lobby. Many to have their new CDs autographed. 

I drove the 2 hours home as high as a kite. I'm glad I wasn't pulled over. "What're you ON son?".... Uh, I'm high on Madcat ossifer. "Madcat?, what's that some new kind of drug?" . Yup. Take me away.

smokey Joe

A note on 'hogging the show' . Went to a Steve Miller concert. Norton Buffalo hardly got 12 bars of play time. I swore to never go to another one. Many years later, I saw a (free) concert on PBS. Same danged thing. All Miller..no Buffalo. Disgusting.