Musical Journeys: Blues Cruise Day 1

Blues Cruise Day One; Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Caught a 6am from PDX to Memphis via Houston. Picked up car and headed south through Lula, Mississippi to Helena Arkansas. Lula an odd little town, locals are bored and spend time shooting holes in “Lula Corporate Limit” sign. No kidding!

Helena was a different story – a tired old town with lots of Blues history and plans for the future; this is the home of the King Biscuit Blues Festival every October, attracting 100K attendees every year. We walked up on the levee to see the high water threatening the town. A little scary but folks think it will not breach the levee. Met Sam Dilardo, local shopkeeper born and raised in Helena; lots of stories and plans to revitalize the downtown. It was an interesting visit.

From there to Clarksdale, site of intersection of Blues Hwys 49 and 61. Ate ribs at Abe’s BBQ, slept at the Shack Up Inn, and caught the show at Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club. Band was Bill “Howlin’ Mad” Powell; a John Lee Hooker lookalike. Good band, had some guests sit in, including Josh “Razor Blade” Stewart, a local character. “The Razor” conned us into buying a homemade CD for $15. We stayed to hear him sing with the band. Not much in the way of vocal chops but not terrible – would have been better if he stuck to his songs instead of constantly haranguing the audience for participation.. His CD was about as good as the set. Can I get an AH HAH (his repetitive signature)?

On to the Crossroads tomorrow.