2009 Chicago Blues Festival, Friday, Part 3: Vince Agwada, Maxwell Street, Surprises

Back to Friday at the Chicago Blues Festival. My watch had stopped, and I didn't realize it was so late, so I arrived just at the end, not the beginning as I had planned, of Vince Agwada's set at the Gibson Crossroads stage. Anybody who thinks the blues is stuck in the past or suffers from "Standarditis" (a recent Blues-L discussion) hasn't heard Vince Agwada. His contemporary, edgy guitar style is definitely original.


In his band is another young contemporary bluesman, Russ Green, who credits Jimi Hendrix and Sugar Blue as his influences. I first saw Russ several years ago when he was playing with the Chicago Blues Harmonica Project. His style works great with Agwada. I wish I could have seen more than just the end of one song.



I also missed most of Sam Lay's set. That's a drawback of having several simultaneous stages. I wonder how many guitars Sam Lay has now. Ever time I see him, he has a different one, I believe.


I did see much of the Maxwell Street Revisited set at the Mississippi Juke Joint stage. Maxwell Street is all but kaput as far as live music goes, but the spirit lives on, and these bluesmen brought it all back. Dancin’ Perkins, Iceman Robinson, Smilin’ Bobby, Bobby Too Tough and Frank “Lil Sonny” Scott played several classic blues songs.

Dancin' Perkins comes by his nickname naturally, as you can see. Can you see "Lil Sonny" Scott's instrument? It's a tambourine with clusters of house keys added to it. He bangs it rhythmically against some kind of pipe.



Some of the Maxwell Street group also performed on Sunday at the Maxwell Street corner, where the historic Blues Bus was set up. There wasn't a stage, but there was room for the musicians to play right on the street, just as they did back in the day. The Maxwell Street Foundation also had a tent set up for information in support of the foundation.

I took the photo of the Blues Bus just after Piano C. Red finished performing.

Near the bus was the booth of the Koko Taylor Celebrity Aid Foundation. The booth was draped with a black mourning cloth, and inside was a large card bearing Koko's image, where fans could sign tributes. The card was almost filled up when I saw it. On Sunday, there was a different card there. I wonder how many were filled up.


Koko Taylor's spirit was felt throughout the festival. Many musicians honored her memory with a few words or a song dedicated to her.



Walking around the festival, I encountered a few nice surprises. At one of the sponsor booths, Zone Perfect, I came across Little Al Thomas singing with Eddie Taylor Jr. playing guitar.


Later, I stopped into the Route 66 Roadhouse stage, where panel discussions and demonstrations are held, to see something mysteriously titled Beginning Blue Progression Workshop. What I discovered was Carl Weathersby playing a Flying V and talking about styles of the blues.

I was frustrated with the Route 66 stage because I couldn't see into the tent very well. Instead of leaving the back of the tent open, fest organizers set up a small set of bleachers. Fine if you had a seat on the bleachers. Otherwise, good luck trying to see.