Alvin Youngblood Hart at Chickee Wah Wah...

If you haven't listened to Alvin Youngblood Hart you should. Bluesman Taj Mahal said "he's got thunder in his hands." One review referred to him as "the love child of Howling Wolf and Link Ray." I have all his CDs, recordings by groups he has been part of such as the South Memphis String Band and many compilation albums he has contributed songs to. During our stay in Fontainebleau State Park near Mandeville, La we ventured across the Pontchartrian Causeway into New Orleans to see him rock out at Chickee Wah Wah.        

A W.C. Handy award winner in 1997 and a Grammy Winner in 2005 Alvin's recording of a Stephen Foster song Nelly Was a Lady received a feature in Bob Dylan's new book, The Philosophy of Modern Song as a song that matters. He's also been out on tour recently opening for Mike Campbell of Tom Petty fame. I guess that shows you that people that know, they know. 

The music rocked and for you gear heads out there he had a huge electric guitar sound through a small Fender and a small Marshall amp. I mean small as in Champ looking sizes. The guitars were funky looking pawn show jobs that are souped up sound monsters.   

As an extra bonus Papa Mali was asked on stage to jam. Some of the old Nacogdoches crowd that hung out at the old Crossroads club might remember Papa Mali, who back in those days used his real name Malcom Welbourn and played in a reggae band The Killer Bees  that played there frequently through the mid 80s. I think I have all Papa Mali's cds also as well as one by the Killer Bees.          

I am not sure where you can buy Alvin Youngblood Hart cds these days. There's a few on Amazon. There's some tunes on Bandcamp. You can come over to my house and listen or you can get out and see a live show. It will be live.