A tiny town in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Gold Rush country, about 15 miles from Auburn and 60 miles from Sacramento, Coloma was the site of hot weather and hot blues for a crowd of over 2,000 blues lovers.
The temperature was in the mid-80’s at an unshaded grassy park on the banks of the American River, but cloud cover and a slight breeze in mid-afternoon provided relief. The festival was well organized, with a good sound system, food booths, copious libations, and even plentiful recycling bins. Kudos to the organizers.
The party began with a set by Mick Martin and the Blues Rockers, a Sacramento group often voted best blues band of that area. Bandleader Martin provided strong vocals, tasty harmonica playing, and some droll humor; the band, featuring guitarist Tim Barnes, was solid; singer Dana Moret displayed powerful pipes, but needs to be less histrionic and honor the song more.
The same goes for the next act, Albert Cummings and his band. A Blind Pig recording artist from Massachusetts, Cummings is one of those myriad young white guitar virtuosos (think Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Bonamassa, Johnny Lang, Anthony Gomes; the list goes on) who believe that if 7 notes can be played in 2 seconds, 9 notes will sound even better. More is not always better; in the blues, feeling always trumps skill.
Well, the real thing was purveyed by the next group, Sista Monica and her band. Hailing from the Santa Cruz area, Sista Monica Parker in recent years has overcome a serious health
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problem to resume her place as one of the (unfortunately under-recognized) finest female vocalists around. Her set featured gospel, jazz, and soul as well as straight blues; her band, especially the guitarist and keyboard player, was right on; and her dynamic engagement with the crowd earned her a deserved standing ovation.
Well, I thought, now we’re in a for a let-down after Sista Monica: Coco Montoya, more guitar pyrotechnics, yadda-yadda....Boy, was I in for a surprise. Montoya and his tight band played a set of excellent electric blues, featuring his gritty vocals and fine lead guitar licks. His playing, and feel for the spirit of the music, were the perfect contrast to the spurious emotionality of Cummings earlier.
An afternoon of fine blues closed with the headliners, the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Co-founder, lead singer, and harmonica man Kim Wilson led the group into a blazing set of traditional blues tinged with rock-and-roll and Texas soul. With a history of such proficient lead guitarists as co-founder Jimmy Vaughan, Duke Robillard, and Kid Ramos, the band has suffered no loss of talent with the two current guitarists, Nick Curran and Kirk Fletcher. Curran’s dyed red hair, tattoos, and painted fingernails were a visual counterpart to his fiery leads, while Fletcher’s phlegmatic stage presence was belied by his equally flaming licks. The whole band rocked!
My only suggestion to the Coloma folks: add some acoustic blues to next year’s show. Either way, I’ll be there.
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