Ed Scheer’s Tuesday Night All Stars has been a fixture in the Smoken’ Joe’s BBQ & Blues venue for some time now. It will likely remain so, especially if Scheer keeps bringing in players like he did last night. Guitarist-vocalist Big Jack Ward and organist Ron Levy filled the small room with their wild, over the top blues musicianship.
Scheer also had his Love Dogs band mate Randy Bramwell on hand. This made for some heavy bass when Levy was playing his left handed bass notes, rocking the room even more while Big Jack Ward peeled off icy cool guitar phrases. Levy sure knows his way around his Hammond keyboard, offering swirls of notes and thumpy chords in an array of intervals and patterns with an edge. Scheer, singing from the drum kit, applied his earthy rasp to some tunes. “Take Out Some Insurance” by Jimmy Reed bopped along with nice touches from all four instrumentalists.
Most of last night’s magic came during the exchanges between players as they took turns handling the main melodic duties. Ward sang in in earthy, rootsie drawl, like he was born to sing the blues. In between those verses, Levy would take a solo and play even more of that old magic sound from yesteryear. Ward would eventually come back in and pick out a tasty blues melody line, right alongside it before Levy’s swirling organ chords would surround it.
“Big Boss Man” was played with a fulsome groove, organ and guitar percolating over it. Levy went to town, accenting some chords in the just the right places. “Have Mercy On Me” found Levy slapping out sharp blues chords and Ward playing a penetrating shard of a phrase. Levy unleashed some greasy organ chords on “T-Bone’s Shuffle,” sliding his organ swirls around in a jazzy glide until the foursome all jumped in at once with a band. Soon after, Ward took over with a dancing guitar line as the chords grew like explosive mushroom clouds. Bramwell took a solo during a punchy oldies number and put a lot of finesse into his elastic low end runs. Scheer played a drum solo, rapidly moving his sticks around his kit with the urgency of a man running from the police before the full band jumped back in with fury.
During a slow burner blues, Jack Ward expressed all the tender feeling this music is about, his guitar notes trickling forth as he crooned about thoughtfully about “This Old House.” Levy tapped out an interval of Morse Code-like notes, sparking like a live wire on the pavement. Levy then took it down low and slow, swirling some notes around with the coolness of a professional gambler shaking the dice before tossing them off to chance then bringing the organ to a higher, wider place. Ward walked his tender notes back in, and how good they felt to listen to when he turned up the juice and made them cry out the pain and sorrow of the ages.
The boys jumped right into “Turn On Your Love Light,” the Bobby Blue Bland version of The Grateful Dead classic. Saxophonist Dick Lourie, a.k.a. The Poet, blew some serious notes, notes darting out of his soul and through his horn like nobody’s business for a fun greasy number that the band and the crowd both enjoyed together. Ward sang and played “Your Mind Is On Vacation” with wit and style. “I Ain‘t Superstitious” by Willie Dixon gave Ward yet another chance to show case his rippling guitar notes.
Other guests put in noteworthy appearances near the end of the night. Local newcomer vocalist Gretchen Bostrom began her set with “Just A Little Bit,” her strong voice untamed by training, coaching, experience, which works for her in this primitive, primal music. She also brought some much needed charisma to the show, as the gentlemen were a bit staid throughout the evening. Guest guitarist Al Hayes played a more blues-rock than blues style but made the Georgia Satellites “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” a fun, rocking romp. North Shore blues legend Bobby Leger did a fine job on B.B. King’s “Help The Poor.” And the renowned Sir Cecil closed out the night with his R&B style interpretation of The Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There.”
Tuesday nights at Smoken’ Joe’s are the probably the best Tuesday nights around for miles. Ed Scheer’s All Stars is a fantastic concept and Scheer’s years of connections guarantees he will always have over the top players on board for plenty of kicking blues.
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