Last Sunday was a rainy, unseasonably warm afternoon. Despite the slushy weather outside, the Wan-Tu Blues Jam taking place inside the Village Trestle in Goffstown, New Hampshire kept things comfortably cool.A young guitarist named Jake Chapman went up to the band area to play and sing some Jimi Hendrix numbers. His rhythm was wide and loud on “The Wind Cries Mary” and he filled the room with that Jimi style guitar. Chapman went into “Born On The Bayou” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and it gave him a chance to show how strong his vocal is becoming. Chapman’s best number, though, was Hendrix’s “Red House.” He rocked out on his guitar while capturing the largeness of Hendrix’s sound.
The next line-up featured Laconia guitarist Jerry Ray Basnar who jumped right into his set with Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Sweet Little Thing.” Basnar played it with oomph and style, never sounding tired even though he’s been playing it for a long time.
This line-up also featured drummer Gary Mavrogeorge who applied a subtle, adept touch on the skins all the way through his set. Mavrogeorge didn’t do any hard-charging smacks, but he played very tastefully and he’s so self-controlled, weaving tapestries of sounds from each part of the drum set. Mavrogeorge also teaches instruments at his Mavro Music Studio in Auburn, New Hampshire(603-483-5779).
Jerry Ray whipped up a frenzy on guitar with plenty of fire in these fine blues notes he was paying out while saxophonist Jerry Paige, who once worked with Tiny Turner, showed he still has it, firing off some horn shots that got everyone’ notice. Gary Calderone, who plays sax, harmonica, and sings gave it his all at the microphone and added an extra layer of meaningful depth to that serious sound the band was putting out It was also a treat, though more humorous than musical, when Trestle owner Steve Pascucci did some trombone work with the boys. Jerry Ray eventually lead the band into Lynyrd Skinner’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and he did justice to the spirit of the song.
It was a real treat to hear jam host and sound man “Slutty” Pete Zona sing Bob Dylan’s “Tangle Up In Blue,” as Zona has a lot of fun wrapping his voice around Dylan’s flowing, stream of consciousness lyrical poetry.
The next line-up of players featured guitarist-vocalist Rick Amidon singing the quaint “There’s No Place To Park In Boston.” Each verse Amidon sang was funny as hell, especially for those who live outside the city and have to deal with its ancient roadways designed three hundred years ago during the horse and buggy era. Wally “The Hammer” Nichols did the first of a few drum solos that night and he was the same old powder keg-rolling thunder-hammer of the gods, making all that beautiful and controlled racket. Some dual harmonic blasts from Calderone and Pascucci sounded really cool too before Amidon closed out his set with some Muddy Waters.
Chris Noyes came back up to perform a classy rendition of “Big Black Car” with the Lazy Ass Horns playing along to it from their table while youthful sax player Joe Cunningham was on stage. Sitting at a table between the stage and sax players Paige and Calderone gave the song a stereophonic quality. You could hear the horns on either side of you. For readers not yet familiar with the Wan-Tu experience, Paige and Calderone are called The Lazy Ass Horns simply because they are too lazy to get out of their seats and often prefer to play their saxes from their table. These two are characters who will never fail to put a smile on your place.
Cunningham got slow and mellow later in the set, making a platform for Noyes to launch his svelte vocal interpretation of Gary Moore’s “Still Got The Blues.” Guitarist Paul Dickinson ripped into some mean lead phrases while harmonica player Matt Walker did his groovy harp work and bass player Ray Soucy kept it anchored and smooth.
Later on, member of area cover band Nobody’s Fault, guitarist Dave Zangri and bassist LauraJean Graham, came on strong with Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.” Zangri’s growl of a voice showed he’s mightier than the average bear. Graham too rocked out at the microphone on Sheryl Crowe’s “Have Some Fun” while Zangri backed her up with some sharp spiky leads. Graham got her funk on belting out “Funky Music” before Zangri and drummer Rick King kept the groove going and growing during a reggae portion of the set.
Singer-harmonica player Dave Glannon stopped by on the way to his own blues jam at Johnny Bad’s on Elm Street in neighboring Manchester. Glannon performed a credible, traditional version of “Train Kept A Rollin’” that brought out the roots of that song which many of us who grew up with the Aerosmith version never thought about.
The vibe and talent was so strong that the jam automatically went into overtime, as everyone likely stopped watching the clock. Jerry Ray came back up to sing and play The Doors classic “Roadhouse Blues” with serious support from harmonica player Rob Robbins.
It was another strong showing for Wan-Tu Blues Jams at the Village Trestle. The warmer weather will eventually bring motorcyclists out to the biker-friendly bar/music room that has its own magic. The food is good too. I had a double cheeseburger with my diet Coke and I tell you it was a Samuel L. Jackson level tasty burger.
