Benoit, Magness, Lager, Bel Airs & PWF

by B.J. Huchtemann

Multiple-award winner Janiva Magness is a don’t-miss artist. She's one of the top female blues-roots-soul artists. She brings her powerhouse blues and soul to The 21st Saloon this Thursday, July 28, at 5:30 p.m. She's also performing at Lincoln's Zoo Bar on Wednesday, July 27, 6-9 p.m.

Fiery Louisiana bluesman Tab Benoit plays Knickerbockers in Lincoln on Friday, July 29. Award-winning Louisiana bluesman Benoit is on the road with New Orleans singer-songwriter Anders Osborne in support of their acclaimed CD Medicine (Telarc). Charismatic Cajun guitarist Benoit is a Grammy nominee, multiple Blues Music Award winner and activist for Louisiana wetlands. Osborne’s style encompasses blues, rock, soul and classic R&B. Medicine was produced by David Z who worked with Benoit on three previous discs. Z has also worked with artists like Prince, Buddy Guy and Gov’t Mule. Benoit and Osborne cooked up the songs 
that form the heart of the disc on the Louisiana bayou. Soak up their guitar-driven swamp-funk when the duo bring their band to Knickerbockers on Friday. See knickerbockers.net. This is an 18+ 9 p.m. show.

“What Should We Do? Run?”
Kris Lager Band’s van caught fire while driving home from South Dakota to make their Red Sky gig on Saturday, July 23.

Lager says his first thoughts were “What should we do? Run?”

While Lager and John Fairchild moved equipment and their trailer, bandmates Jeremiah Weir and Brandon Miller got the fire out with water bottles and a blanket . No one was injured. Miller’s family helped the band get to their Red Sky gig. They enthusiastically rocked the small crowd for a good 90 minutes despite the heat and the day’s bad luck, with the usually mellow Lager joking onstage about his reaction. Next time you see the group, buy a CD or a T-Shirt. Every little bit will help get their touring vehicle fixed.

In happier news, Lager may start writing lullabies. Congratulations to Lager and girlfriend Gina Blobaum who became proud parents of a beautiful baby girl named Journey on July 18.

The Lager band and bassist Brandon Miller are behind the Hullabaloo Music & Camping Festival on Aug. 5, 6 and 7 at River West Park, 233 & Maple. Check hullabaloomusicfestival.com.

Playing With Fire Needs You
This year’s sole Playing With Fire concert with Sharon Jones got the attention of fans outside the blues. Even rock colleague Tim McMahan jumped on the PWF bandwagon, writing several times about the event including a post-show commentary in last week’s Lazy-i column.
Though the heat cut down attendance it was an amazing night of soulful music. Founder Jeff Davis and the PWF team hope the event continues in 2012, but that is contingent on finding significant financial sponsorship. Visit PlayingWithFireOmaha.net to see how to help.

Hot Notes
Also check last week’s Lazy-i.com for a wrap up of the first ever Omaha Girls Rock camp for budding teen musicians, also find the link at thereader.com/lazy-i
The Bel Airs are on tap for the 21st Saloon next Thursday, Aug. 4, at 5:30 p.m. The Bel Airs also play Lincoln’s Zoo Bar on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 6-9 p.m.
Austin honky-tonk & country band Horse Opera plays Louis in Benson onThursday, July 28, (9 p.m. free show) and the Zoo Bar on Friday, July 29, 5-7 p.m.

The Sugar Thieves are back in the area with their retro-fueled blues sound. They play Jazz on the Green on Thursday, the Zoo Bar on Friday after 9 p.m. and The Hearland Cafe in Elkhorn on Saturday night. They were called "Arizona's most ass-whoopin-est band, Blues or otherwise" by the Washington Blues Society's Highway 99 Blues Club. 

July 21, Matt Schofield, Omaha, NE -- Great player, great show!

Schofield Moves, Red Sky, Last Chance for Matt Cox Band...plus Graham and Alvin Updates

by B.J. Huchtemann

The good news is this week Hoodoo returns to a weekly spot in the print version of The Reader. The size of the column has been shortened, however, so please bookmark HoodooRootsBlues.blogspot.com and follow Hoodoo on the web for expanded weekly content and web-only exclusives. Thanks to everyone who values this column and expressed their support. The print version of the column also appears online at The Reader site thereader.com/music but I can add more text plus videos and such on this page.  

Matt Schofield Show Moved to Union Pizzeria
The gig by English guitar phenom Matt Schofield has moved to the Union Pizzeria, 14th & Cuming downtown, on Thursday, July 21. This is a FREE show and starts at 6:30 p.m. Blues Society President Terry O’Halloran hopes to get folks already in the area for the blues-oriented Thursday of Red Sky Music Festival to come by and enjoy Schofield’s amazing talents.

Guitar & Bass magazine calls Schofield “One of the top ten British blues guitarists of all time.”

O’Halloran reports admission for local bands plus Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, Bruce Hornsby, 10,000 Maniacs (minus Natalie Merchant) and more during the afternoon is now $15. See all the Red Sky details at redskyfestival.com.

Here's Schofield at the FEQ Festival in Quebec just a couple weeks ago. His Omaha show is FREE!

Matt Cox Band Update
Your last chance to catch the Matt Cox Band is at the Red Sky Music Festival local bands extravaganza on Saturday. The band is scheduled to play at 3:45 p.m. on Stage C. See the fulll schedule including Kris Lager Band and other great local acts at  redskyfestival.com/Schedule.aspx

I previously reported incorrectly about band members’ plans. Nick Semrad is off to New York City. Andrew Tyler is headed for California. Eventually Ben Zinn will be going to California also. The full band, including bass player Seth Ondracek, is at the heart of Cox's brand new CD Tracks in the Sound. Check mattcoxmusic.net/press.html for more info and recent press on the disc.

The band will likely be playing as a trio once Semrad and Tyler depart. Here's a little taste.

Hot Notes
The Hullabaloo Music & Camping Festival organized by Brandon Miller and Kris Lager Band happens August 5, 6 and 7 at River West Park, 233 & Maple on the Elkhorn River. Over 25 great bands perform. For tickets and camping info visit hullabaloomusicfestival.com.
Amazing blues vocalist Janiva Magness plays Lincoln’s Zoo Bar on Wednesday, July 27, (6 p.m.) and the 21st Saloon on Thursday, July 28, (5:30 p.m.) Magness is one of the top blues-soul vocalists performing today. She's a multiple Blues Music Award winner, including being the only female besides Koko Taylor to win the coveted B.B. King Entertainer of the Year (2009). She's also been honored by the BMAs with the Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year award. She was nominated by Downbeat Magazine in their best Blues Artist of the Year Reader's Poll category and is up for two Living Blues  magazine Awards. Magness is a regular headliner on the festival circuit and a must-see for blues fans. Check out Magness in action on Youtube.  

Hoodoo Heroes

Jon Dee Graham has launched the next phase of his JonDeeCo Co-Op. For a monthly fee of $10 Graham promises a wealth of content available only to Co-Op members including: "A NEW SONG EVERY MONTH, DOWNLOADABLE  TO  MEMBERS ONLY; A LIVE MONTHLY WEB-CONCERT EACH MONTH; A MONTHLY WEB CONCERT ONLINE EDITION OF ‘THE JON DEE & FRIEND SHOW’, WITH A DIFFERENT SPECIAL GUEST EACH MONTH; A NEW PIECE OF VISUAL ART FOR DOWNLOAD EACH MONTH; A WRITTEN-WORD PIECE EACH MONTH; PLUS ONCE EACH MONTH I WILL DRESS IN A BEAR COSTUME AND ADDRESS CO-OP MEMBERS QUESTIONS."
Co-Op members will also have "EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO NEW ALBUM SLATED FOR JANUARY 2012." 

Graham promises "not just recordings but webcast performances from the roof of my goddamn house… A CONSTANT TORRENT OF ONLINE CONTENT AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY TO CO-OP MEMBERS." (Yes, he's so excited about all this he's shouting, ladies and gentlemen. I'm looking forward to seeing how the virtual world of JonDeeCo evolves.)

Check the front page of jondeegraham.com for the complete JonDeeCo Co-Op Manifesto 2011. 

Graham's music is miraculous and moving, fierce and life-changing, luminous, tough and tender. Check out the first clip below for the passion and fire of Graham and his longtime bassist Andrew Duplantis and drummer Joey Sheffield rocking through "October" at Fitzgerald's Americana Music Festival earlier this month. 

The second clip is Graham acoustic, performing the sweet and beautiful $100 Bill.

Hopefully we'll see Graham in the Omaha-Lincoln area this fall, keep an eye on this column for details. If you like the sort of music I write about here, attendance is pretty much mandatory.

Dave Alvin & the Guilty Ones sizzled through their Zoo Bar set at the Anniversary Fest in Lincoln on July 8. Alvin is touring in support of his excellent new disc Eleven Eleven. Alvin stopped by Rolling Stone magazine where he recorded some intimate acoustic versions of two songs from the new CD plus an old favorite and gave an interview about the new disc and his creative process. Check it all out at rollingstone.com. Keep up with all things Alvin at davealvin.net.
Since I'm playing the video jukebox today, here's Alvin performing the first track from Eleven Eleven at SXSW courtesy of Music Fog.

FREE BLUES PARTY ON THE RIVER
That's right, on the river. This just in from Blues Society president Terry O'Halloran, who has assembled a cool bunch of players to get the blues party going at the River City Star landing:
" A bunch of BSO folks share July Birthdays, including Ric Cowger, Michelle Olmstead, Mia Weir (Keyboardist for Kris Lager Band) and myself, so we are throwing a bash this Sunday 7/24 at River City Yacht Club, 151 Freedom Park Rd, where the River City Star is docked. Doors open at 6pm, The Blues Society All-Stars will perform 6:30pm-10:30pm, it is an all-ages event, and I imagine we will be hanging out even later.

This edition of the All-Stars will be Craig Balderston, Dan Macca, Dave Cupek, & Mitch Towne, with special guests Brad Cordle, Dave Barger, Bucky McCann, Jon Pearson, Kris Lager, & Jeremiah Weir. Admission is FREE, but we are encouraging tipping the band to help with their compensation. This event will be right on the river’s edge, under the big tent. We will be bringing in high-powered fans to keep it comfy til the sun goes down. Hope you can make it. I’m really looking forward to a great night on the river amongst my Blues friends." - TerryO'


Zoo Bar History
And if you missed it, be sure to check out my abridged history of the coolest place on the planet, Lincoln's Zoo Bar. Check out the previous post at http://hoodoorootsblues.blogspot.com/2011/07/everybodys-rockin-at-zoo-bar-by-b.html

photo courtesy of zevents.com

Playing With Fire, Travelling Mercies, Sunday Roadhouse

 by B.J. Huchtemann

This week’s big event is the Playing With Fire concert Saturday, July 16. It’s set for Stinson Park at Aksarben Village. Missouri River flood waters washed out the Lewis & Clark Landing and threatened the proposed second site. A lot of people seem uncertain about where Stinson Park is. It is the park on the Center Street side of the old Aksarben property. Stinson Park is located at 67th & Center in what is now called Aksarben Village, across the street west of the Wohlner’s location. Stinson Park is a nice central location with plenty of green space and a fixed stage. Come early to stake out the best spot. There is free parking in the garage off of 64th & Center.

The event is free and donations will still be collected at the gate to benefit the Food Bank for the Heartland and Playing With Fire costs. No outside food or beverages and no pets are allowed. PWF vendors, including the Blues Society of Omaha, will have water, pop and adult beverages for sale. Food vendors will be on site.

This year’s headliner is Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. See the profile in this week’s Reader. Jones’ non-stop, electrifying performances are compared to Tina Turner and she has been called “the female James Brown.” Jones is riding a wave of “overnight success” in the mainstream media after spending 20 years performing as often as she could while holding down various day jobs, the most notable working as a prison guard. The band has appeared at major music festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo and the Austin City Limits Music Festival and has been featured on Austin City Limits.

Blues Society’s BluesEd youth band Crimson Dawn kicks things off at 4:30 p.m. Brad Cordle and his bad-ass R&B band heat things up around 6 p.m. Austin’s Malford Milligan Band plays at approximately 7:30 p.m. Milligan is a sizzling soul-blues singer who will appeal to fans of artists like Curtis Salgado or old-school vocalists like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Milligan was named the Austin Chronicle’s “Best Male Vocalist of the Decade.” Milligan also fronted an excellent Austin blues-rock supergroup called Storyville.
According to PWF Public Relations Director Ron Gerard, “the continuation of the PWF concert series in Omaha [in 2012] is contingent upon significant sponsors stepping forward."
Find all this year’s details and more on the artists in this week’s Reader PWF concert insert. Check playingwithfireomaha.net for online info.
 
Zoo Bar Birthday Success
The Zoo Bar 38th Anniversary fest was a great week of music and celebration.
 
“We managed to throw a really great party,” says Eileen Boehmer, Zoo Bar social media and communications coordinator and wife of co-owner Jeff Boehmer. “Our customers were happy, our bands had a great time and the Zoo is another year older. It doesn't get much better than that.”

Boehmer has set up a community blog at blog.zoobar.com where she encourages fans to post photos, videos and personal anecdotes about the Zoo Bar. Check zoobar.com for who’s playing when the bar reopens on Thursday, July 14.

Be sure to check out my abridged history of the Zoo Bar posted earlier this week at http://hoodoorootsblues.blogspot.com/2011/07/everybodys-rockin-at-zoo-bar-by-b.html
 
Travelling Mercies CD Release
Omaha’s Travelling Mercies hosts a CD release party at The Sydney on Saturday, July 16. Their new disc, Ghosts in the Bloodline, contains original tracks that range from driving to haunting. Songwriter/frontman Jeremy Holan leads the raucous band with members Danny “Bueno” Leonard, Vern Fergesen, George Prescott and Edward Spencer. Holan calls Travelling Mercies “an abridged history of American music offered up on a platter of losing lotto tickets, runaway dreams, Midwestern family history, hellfire and brimstone.” I think I coined the phrase “electric troubadour gypsy folk” that Holan also has posted on the band’s Facebook page. I’m a big fan of Holan’s songs and the unbridled abandon the band puts into performing. The Mercies are the last band of the night, so you can come late and still check them out.
 
Sunday Roadhouse
Dean Dobmeier’s and Gary Grobeck’s Sunday Roadhouse brings back the wild rockabilly of Nashville’s The Hillbilly Casino. The band’s blend of rockin’ showmanship and fierce musicianship makes for an exciting show for rockabilly and roots-rock fans. Showtime is 5 p.m. at the Waiting Room on Sunday, July 17. See sundayroadhouse.com for details and links to band interviews and videos.
 
21st Saloon Blues
Lincoln’s Lil’ Slim Blues Band has their Omaha CD release party on Thursday, July 14, at the 21st Saloon. Come support the band that will represent the Blues Society of Omaha in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
Acclaimed English guitarist Matt Schofield plugs in on Thursday, July 21. See mattschofield.net. Thursday shows begin at 5:30 p.m.
 
Hot Notes
Lincoln’s Rococo Theatre presents zydeco master Terence Simien & The Zydeco Experience on Friday, July 15, at 8:30 p.m. It’s an 18 and over show. The Rococo just announced the always magical Gillian Welchrococotheatre.com for details.
Please bookmark HoodooRootsBlues.blogspot.com to keep up with my latest posts on the web. performs Thursday, Oct. 13. See

“Everybody’s Rockin’ At The Zoo Bar”
or The Original Home of the Blues 
that Larry Boehmer Built
By B.J. Huchtemann

In honor of the just-completed 38th Anniversary, a reprint of the 35th Anniversary 2008 story on the history of the Zoo Bar. 
Copyright B.J. Huchtemann. A version of this story appeared previously in THE READER, copyright 2008, reprinted with permission.

The worn wooden floors and posters on the walls are saturated with soul. The Zoo Bar is a place where music, history and love mix up to make magic. Start looking closely at the posters. They tell the story. The posters are overlapped, faded and peeling, but still able to serve as a visual history of the last 50 years or so of blues music.

There were shows here by Luther Allison, Magic Slim, Albert Collins, Charlie Musselwhite, James Harman, Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Son Seals, Robert Cray, Jay McShann, John Hammond and Johnny Reno. Even the casual music fan will recognize at least a few of those names.

More recently, contemporary blues and roots favorites that have packed the club range from Tommy Castro and Kim Wilson, to Curtis Salgado, Tab Benoit, Janiva Magness, Candye Kane, Watermelon Slim and the Workers or the Hacienda Brothers featuring Dave Gonzalez and the late Chris Gaffney. All these great musicians have crossed the old hardwood floor and turned out magical performances on the Zoo Bar stage. There were plenty of shows by less well-known artists too, musicians who still left their mark, whether for a single show or a few tours. This room just seems to bring out the best in those who play here. For a serious music fan, all that heart, sweat and love creates some serious mojo.
Dave Alvin called it the Carnegie Hall of the Blues. 

James Harman (left) with Zoo founder Larry Boehmer (right)...Zoo Fest 2004. Nick Holt can be seen in the background. Photo by Conrad Good.

Longtime former owner Larry Boehmer summed the magic of the Zoo Bar up this way: “It’s the positive energy that you can feel on a good night, when the band is really cookin’, the crowd is SO into it. And it’s the LOVE, I think, between the musicians and the crowd, and it REALLY happens here, you know -- partly ‘cause the room is small, and partly ‘cause the place FEELS RIGHT for this kind of music. You know, just the energy is, it’s magical at times.

“The most fun packed into the smallest place of all” - James Harman
Southern California bluesman James Harman often reminds fans that “not every town has a Zoo Bar in it.” And it’s a fact, even places that had longstanding blues clubs have often seen those clubs fold up for one reason or another. Kansas City’s Grand Emporium was patterned after the Zoo and had a good run before closing a few years ago. The Zoo has weathered hard times more than once, both during the days of Larry Boehmer’s ownership and since his son Jeff Boehmer and longtime manager Pete Watters took over in 2000. But in 2008 the Zoo reached another milestone, as it celebrated its 35th Anniversary. That makes it two years older than the similarly legendary Antone’s in Austin. 2011 marks the 38th anniversary of the club.

“Oh, it’s a special place. It’s like a second home, you know?” James Harman said in an interview with me and The Reader for the Zoo’s 30th Anniversary. Harman has had an ongoing relationship with the Zoo since his early performances there. “The Zoo is the most fun packed into the smallest place of all. There’s a handful of old Midwest bars like that: tall, thin, narrow rooms with the stamped metal ceiling and the posters on the walls. But the Zoo Bar, it’s really the architect for it all.”

Harman was so smitten with the Zoo that he even wrote a song about it, titled “Everybody’s Rockin’ at the Zoo Bar.” James Harman’s bands were always hugely popular at the Zoo and Harman quickly became part of the Zoo’s extended family of regulars and musicians. Harman has returned for many of the significant Zoo Anniversaries, including the 35th Anniversary celebration. Legendary bluesman Charlie Musselwhite, another international musician with deep ties to the Zoo, was also on hand for the 35th Anniversary.

Harman and his band loved Lincoln so much that they’d set up their tours to see “how many days we could get away with in Lincoln,” Harman remembered. The band would even route back through for a night or two when they weren’t playing a gig. “The whole extended Zoo Bar family became extended James Harman family,” Harman enthused. “We’d be out on the road...and it would always be countin’ it off to Lincoln.”

James Harman (left) with Hollywood Fats (right). Photo from old Zoo Bar calendar, no photographer information available.

“An alley with a roof on it”

Veteran Lincoln drummer Dave Robel has been playing in Lincoln bands since 1965 when he was a teenager. Through the years he has been a part of a number of bands that have played the Zoo, beginning in 1973 with the Megatones. Any serious discussion of the Zoo Bar has two parts to it: one part is the magic of the music onstage, the other part is the connections formed offstage that people time and time again use the word “family” to describe. Robel has been part of both since the beginning.


“I played in the second band to ever play the Zoo Bar: The Megatones. December 15 and 29, 1973,” Robel recalled proudly. The Megatones was one of Charlie Burton’s many bands in which Robel has served as the drummer. The Zoo, Robel laughed, “was basically an alley with a roof on it.” Robel said that prior to taking the name of the Zoo Bar, the little joint at 136 N. 14th St. in Lincoln was known as The Bourbon Lounge. “It was a place for down and out drunks to go,” Robel remembered. “The whole bar scene really hadn’t taken off yet,” Robel explained, in terms of places where local bands could play original music. “If you played in a bar you played cover music,” he said.


“FREE JUKE BOX -- CHAMPAGNE 30 CENTS A GLASS”

Larry Boehmer was an extremely important part of this early scene at the Zoo. Boehmer was the person responsible for bringing live music to the bar and he was the sole owner of the club beginning in 1977. In the beginning it was his friends Jim Ludwig, Bill Kennedy and Don Chamberlin who had purchased the bar.

“I’m guessing a little, but I think it was 1972, I probably wondered in here,” Boehmer remembered in a 1998 interview with The Reader for the bar’s 25th anniversary.

”So I came in and checked it out, and it was just a hole in the wall, like it is now,” Boehmer chuckled. “They opened at 8 a.m. in the morning, a lot of garbage men would get off their shifts and come in and drink ‘til noon...it was a very interesting clientele, a real city kind of clientele.”

“But what these three guys were going for was a college crowd, and it wasn’t really happening...So they had a bar that they didn’t know what to do with!”

If you look closely up on the wall just east of where the sound board sits now, you’ll still find hand-stenciled posters from this period, likely lettered by Boehmer himself. “Free Juke Box -- Champagne 30 Cents a Glass” were the hooks.

“I approached Jim (Ludwig) and said, let me put a row of songs on the jukebox and I’ll bring people in,” Boehmer recalled. He was working on his MFA in the art department at UNL at the time.

Boehmer had a love affair with the blues that went back to his childhood as a farm boy, when late at night he could pick up blues from AM radio stations in Arkansas on an old tabletop radio. Plenty of people in Boehmer’s age group were similarly interested in old blues music. The 1960s had seen a revival in acoustic folk blues in particular. This was back before the Internet or other electronic media we now take for granted. In his undergrad years, Boehmer said his friends were making “pilgrimages to Chicago, bringing back the real deal...[old vinyl records]. Guys would go to the cities and bring it back, and then we’ d all just sit around and listen, We’ d wear these things out, the Freddie King records in particular, just wear ‘em out.”

Boehmer received his undergrad degree, a BFA in art education; from UNL in 1969. He taught senior high art and elementary art in Crete for two years, and was accepted into UNL’s MFA art program in 1971.

“The grad students would work til 10, 10:30 at night, you know, on painting or sculpture or whatever we were doing, then we’d go out and we’d drink beer and talk about art ‘n’stuff.”

With Boehmer’s urging, the art crowd started moving to the Zoo Bar on a more regular basis. Boehmer continued putting music on the juke box and hanging out at the Zoo himself.

“And I just started bringing people in -- I made a point of being here all the time...so if any of my friends came by I’d make sure I was here...and one row turned into two rows, which, within a couple of months, turned into the entire jukebox. There were no bands, but we’d just come in and we’d listen to blues and old rock’ n’ roll and stuff.”

During the summer of 1973, Boehmer had booked his friends The Cotton Blues Band into the club. When Robel and Charlie Burton played that December as The Megatones, “We played the short room,” Robel remembered, explaining that the bands originally set up in the space east of the coolers, along the north wall, facing out toward the area where the jukebox now sits.

“We were a six piece, rhythm ‘n’ blues, rockin’ R&B band...we probably sucked in nine different languages,” Robel laughed, “But people liked us.”

Robel remembered he was “shocked beyond belief anybody would listen to this stuff.” He recalled the Megatones’ set list as “relatively obscure covers, a lot of stuff that The Blasters came out with later, similar artists: old black R&B and white rockabilly guys.”

Dave Robel behind the drum kit at the Zoo Bar, 1977.     Playing with Charlie Burton's Rock Therapy.   Photo by Ted Kirk from Robel's archives.

“All of a sudden there was an alternative scene,” Robel said, noting that various players were involved in this new roots scene that blossomed around the Zoo. Larry Boehmer himself is also a musician.

If you mention the Zoo Bar to most any national blues or roots musician, their eyes light up. They’ve either got a story about the Zoo or they’ll tell you that they really wish they could play there. The place is known for being a place where music fans know what’s good and show their appreciation. The crowd is known for taking the musicians it appreciates into its extended family.

Magic Slim Plays the Zoo

The Zoo was the first white club that Magic Slim played, outside of the neighborhood black clubs in his hometown of Chicago according to Larry Boehmer. The booking came thanks to a fortunate connection Larry made with Chicago musician and promoter Bob Riedy. “Bob Riedy turned out to be a hell of a contact,” Boehmer said. “Unbeknownst to me, he was actually booking and actually taking blues to the North side of Chicago for the first time.” Suddenly, the Zoo Bar had a blues scene going that was only rivaled by the hot clubs in Chicago.

From the beginning, national musicians were quick to became part of the Zoo family. Boehmer remembered that Magic Slim first played the Zoo in January of 1975. On the drive home, traveling in two cars, Slim and his band were involved in a multi-car accident due to bad weather conditions.

“There were some injuries as well as damaged equipment,” Boehmer recalled. “The Zoo 'family' raised them some dough and they were both surprised and appreciative.” 

Magic Slim on the Zoo Bar stage. An early photo taken for Zoo Bar promotions.  Details on photographer unknown.

Magic Slim and his band became regular performers at the bar, soon playing week-long stints. Boehmer became godfather to Slim’s son Shawn (AKA Lil’ Slim), and Magic Slim is godfather to Boehmer’s son Jeff, who is now a co-owner of the Zoo. Magic Slim and his Chicago band would play week-long stints at the Zoo and pack the place. In the 1990s, Magic Slim moved his family from Chicago to Lincoln, and he can be found hanging out at the bar when he’s not on tour.

Albert Collins (above). Photo from old Zoo Bar calendar. No photographer noted.

 Luther Allison, autographed photo.

Zoo Bar Favorites

Everyone has had their favorites, but both Boehmer and Robel remembered great blues guitarist Albert Collins fondly. The influential “master of the Telecaster” passed away in 1994. “The first time Albert Collins played,” Robel said, “I was a block and a half away and hear this screaming guitar. I was drawn like a moth to a flame...he just blew me away.”

“I forget, either he called me or an agent called me for him, an’ it was just like, a call from God, ya know?” Boehmer laughed, “here’s my idol, I’ve always wanted the guy to play here, and he was available.”

Albert Collins would play three-day weekends at the Zoo for about 10 years, “until he got really too expensive,” Boehmer said. From about 1978 through 1988, Collins was a regular performer. In addition to being a hero to many musicians, Boehmer remembered that Collins was a “wonderful man. Some of my fondest memories were, after he started to get a little success, and he was able to buy a bus -- he was so proud of the bus, HE would drive it, he wouldn’t let anybody else drive it. So we’d be watchin’, here’d come Albert, and he’d have his little hat on and his driving glasses and he’d pull that bus up...he just loved that bus.”

Another great guitarist, Luther Allison, also had a special bond with the Zoo. Allison passed away from cancer in 1997. He was the first national act to play the Zoo, in September, 1974, on the strength of a contract drawn up on the side of a paper sack. Allison’s last gig at the Zoo, in May of 1997, was taped by NET for its now defunct Backstage Pass concert series.

Luther “always played the club,” Boehmer said. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Allison lived in Paris. But Boehmer noted that Allison “when he came back from Paris he only had a limited number of days available, but he would turn down offers in the area for double what I could pay him. Just said, ‘I’ve always played for Larry and I’m always gonna play for Larry.’”

“Luther was great. He was great the first time he played here and he never put on a bad show in all the years he played here, which was, how many? Twenty-four, I guess. Awfully powerful performer.”

“He had the guitar chord that stretched a mile long,” Robel remembered, and did a walk through the audience while playing. “People had never seen that before.” 

Artists from Magic Slim to Matt “Guitar” Murphy to Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs to the Hacienda Brothers have all made lasting connections with the Zoo “family.” Jeff Boehmer and his wife Eileen reunited the classic Forbidden Pigs line-up of Bacon, Justin Jones and Hot Rod Jerry DeMink to play their Lincoln wedding reception at the Zoo Bar.

Hacienda Brothers frontman Chris Gaffney had an association with the Zoo that went back to his first appearances there to gigs with Billy Bacon and a famous incident during the 25th Anniversary. Gaffney was touring with Bill Kirchen’s band and after a Monday night gig at the Zoo, dropped out of the tour to spend the rest of the week hanging out and partying at the club. When Gaffney died in April of this year from a diagnosis of liver cancer, the bar filled up on a Sunday afternoon to raise money for Gaffney’s family, to the tune of over $3000. Not bad for a club with a 125 person capacity. Robel was one of the Zoo community that became fast friends with Gaffney, even backing him up when he played some solo gigs in the summer of 2007. Robel remembered how in 2005, after being on the road for several weeks in a tour that brought the Hacienda Brothers back to the Zoo for a last-minute 4th of July gig, Gaffney “rolled out of the van saying ‘Man, I just wanna hear some AC/DC or something.’ He’d had enough of country music.”

Hacienda Brothers co-founder Dave Gonzalez (currently bandleader of The Stone River Boys) also has ties to the Zoo that go way back. Boehmer estimated that Gonzalez’s rockabilly band The Paladins first played the Zoo in the early 1980s. It was on their first national tour before they had released any CDs. The Paladins became a hugely popular band at the Zoo. That popularity, along with Chris Gaffney’s ties to the club, meant that the Hacienda Brothers had a built-in audience from the beginning. They packed the bar to capacity every time they played, often playing three or four nights in a row.

Chris Gaffney (center) with Dave Alvin (left) & The Guilty Men (Gregory Boaz on bass, Joe Terry on keys).

Blues legend Charlie Musselwhite is another celebrated bluesman with deep ties to the Boehmers and the Zoo. In the 1980s, Musselwhite would often have Larry Boehmer’s band backing him for regional dates. Halloween was a favorite night for Musselwhite at the Zoo, and he’d often be tasked with handing out treats to the neighborhood kids while Larry was at the bar and Larry’s wife Rosalie took the Boehmer boys, Jeff and Tim, out trick-or-treating. One famous tale Musselwhite told was how he once handed out dental floss to the neighborhood trick-or-treaters. While Boehmer was still the owner of the Zoo, he had a mural of one of Musselwhite’s CD covers painted on one of the walls and had Musselwhite autograph it. The mural is still there, marking an important part of the Zoo’s history. Musselwhite played the Lied Center in the fall of 2007 and was excited to hit the Zoo Bar afterwards. He jammed with Magic Slim onstage that night after plugging the Zoo a few times to the Lied crowd. Current co-owner Pete Watters noted, “somebody like Charlie doesn’t have to [play an event like the Zoo Anniversary] if he doesn’t want to.”

In 2000, Larry Boehmer retired to Eureka Springs, Ark., a move that surprised many. He went there intending to finally work on those paintings he’d never gotten around to during all his years operating the Zoo. Instead he mostly ended up working as a blues musician, most often with Baby Jason Davis and David Watson in a trio they called The Tablerockers. Part of the blues tradition has always been the handing down of the music from one generation to another, who keep the traditions alive while adding their own spin to the music. Likewise the Zoo Bar has been handed down from Larry Boehmer to his oldest son Jeff and Pete Watters, who has worked at the club over half his life. Jeff Boehmer also continues his father’s musical tradition, the younger Boehmer plays bass in The Tijuana Gigolos and joins his longtime friend Lil’ Slim in the Lil’ Slim Blues Band.  Dave Robel is the drummer for the Gigolos and other bands. There are easily half a dozen other bands made up of Jeff Boehmer’s friends and peers who represent the current generation of roots musicians. Bands like the Lil’ Slim Blues Band, the Blues Messengers, the Kris Lager Band, the Mezcal Brothers and Son of 76 & The Watchmen reflect the present day vitality of the music. Levi William represents a new generation of blues musicians coming up in the same tradition that the Zoo has long been famous for nurturing.

“Man, we’ re gon’ ta play some blues in here” - Luther Allison, 1973
The first time Luther Allison set foot in the Zoo Bar he proclaimed “Man, we’re gon’ta play some blues in here!” As the official 35th Anniversary celebration approached and this piece was originally prepared for print, co-owner Pete Watters said, “Harman, Musselwhite, the Bel Airs, are guys who built the bar and a big part of the reason why the bar is still there.” He always sees the schedule for the Anniversary as one that “respects the past of the Zoo Bar and also looks at some of the new artists. I want the Zoo to be a vibrant place that respects the past.”

Or, as Charlie Musselwhite said when he was interviewed before the 35th Anniversary, “The Zoo Bar is one of my all time favorite bars and it’s also one of my all time favorite places to play the blues. It’s just great in every way. I could fill pages of all the good times I’ve had there and all the reasons it’s a great place, but the short version is that the staff and the owners (mainly Larry Boehmer) have always been really nice to the musicians and the patrons are all real blues lovers and all together that makes it a great place to play. It’s always a party there and I never ever had anything even close to a bad experience there and I always looked forward to a few days in Lincoln and hanging out in and playing at The Zoo. It really felt like home. It’s a shame every town doesn’t have a place like the Zoo. What a great world that would be.”

Zoo Bar calendar, circa 1984. Note the week-long Magic Slim stint and multiple dates by many popular artists. Calendar from the archives of Dave Robel.

Dave Alvin & Zoo 38th Anniversary, OEAA Showcase

by B.J. Huchtemann

It’s a huge weekend for music with three big festivals for blues and jazz fans and the OEAA Summer Showcase in Benson.

Dave Alvin’s Friday night set at The Zoo Bar 38th Anniversary Street Fest is a don’t-miss show. A searing guitarist and songwriter, Alvin only hits the metro every two years or so. He’s a Zoo Bar favorite and his 9 p.m. set on Friday, July 8, on the big stage is sure to be a barnburner.

Alvin is touring in support of his new release Eleven Eleven (Yep Roc). Alvin describes himself as “a barroom guitarist” and on Eleven Eleven he delivers more of the sizzling guitar firebursts, simmering emotions, stories of old bluesmen and lost lovers, of heartache and hard times that are signatures of his work. “The usual stuff,” as Alvin observes wryly in the liner notes.

The tracks feature great players from Alvin’s bands through the years. Hardcore Blasters fans will love the raucous and humorous duet between Alvin and his big brother Phil on “What’s Up With Your Brother?”

Fans of Alvin’s “other older brother” and late, great Hacienda Brothers frontman Chris Gaffney will appreciate the inclusion of “Two Lucky Bums.” It’s a duet with Gaffney recorded before Gaffney became ill that was previously only available online. Gaffney died in 2008 after a short battle with advanced liver cancer.

Preview the disc for free online at davealvin.net via the Facebook link provided. Look up Eleven Eleven at yeproc.com for music samples and to purchase digital downloads. Homer’s downtown has the CD in stock.

The rest of the Zoo’s weekend schedule includes four great bands inside on Thursday, July 7. Catch Kill County (5 p.m.), Kris Lager Band (6 p.m.), Matt Cox Band (8 p.m.) and Lil’ Slim Blues Band (10 p.m.)

Friday night’s festival kicks off with the Tijuana Gigolos inside the bar at 5 p.m. On the outdoor stage it’s the Brad Cordle Band (7 p.m.), Dave Alvin & The Guilty Ones (9 p.m.) and Brave Combo (11 p.m.)
Saturday the lineup for the outdoor stage is Academy of Rock Showcase (1 p.m.), Son del Llano (3 p.m.), The Derailers (5 p.m.), Stone River Boys featuring Dave Gonzalez (7 p.m.), Kelley Hunt (9 p.m.) and the much-anticipated reunion of Lincoln legends The Self Righteous Brothers (11 p.m.)
The outdoor street fest is an all-ages show and a great chance to introduce kids to some of the best roots and blues music around. See zoobar.com for admission info.

Road Trip Blues

The 18th Annual South Loup River Blues Festival also takes place at Old Mill Park in Arnold, Nebr., on July 8 and 9. See southloupbluesfest.com. Baby Jason Davis makes his annual appearance, playing this year with Earl Cate’s band Earl & Them on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The rest of the bands on Saturday, July 8, include the Matt Cox Band, Lil’ Slim Blues Band, Kris Lager Band and old-school blues from Clarksdale, Miss., musician Super Chikan & The Fighting Cocks.

Riverfront Jazz & Blues

The annual Riverfront Jazz & Blues Fest has relocated to the Orpheum Theatre for performances on July 8 and 9. Omaha’s own Karrin Allyson returns for a Saturday night set in support of her acclaimed new disc ‘Round Midnight (Concord Jazz). The festival focuses on jazz with artists on Friday night including Rick Braun, Gerald Allbright, Peter White, The Whispers and TIZER. Appearing Saturday night in addition to Allyson are Jonathan Butler, Eric Darrius and vocalist Maysa. See omahajazzandblues.com for ticket prices and details.

OEAA Summer Showcase

Also this weekend, the OEAA Summer Showcase takes over Benson with more than 55 bands at five venues Friday and Saturday. Check oea-awards.com or facebook.com/oeaawards for the schedule. A two-night wristband good for all venues is only $15. Wristbands may be purchased at the door at The Waiting Room, The Sydney, Barley Street Tavern, Burke’s Pub and Pizza Shoppe Collective.

Jon Dee Graham Co-Op

There is no Omaha show with Hoodoo hero Jon Dee Graham this week, but the Austin legend plays Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines on Thursday, July 7, at 8 p.m. Graham appears in Sioux City at The Promenade concert series on Friday, July 8, at 6 p.m. (see fridaysonthepromenade.com). The three-time Austin Music Hall of Fame inductee has launched a new opportunity for fans to support his music and receive exclusive access to special music offerings via his JonDeeCo Co-Op. See jondeegraham.com.

Hot Notes

Check HoodooRootsBlues.blogspot.com for more music updates from me. Remember the Blues Society offers a pretty comprehensive calendar of blues and roots shows at omahablues.com.

Former Hacienda Brother and Paladins co-leader Dave Gonzalez and his current band The Stone River Boys play a last-minute 5:30 p.m. show at The 21st Saloon on Friday, July 8. Earl & Them featuring Baby Jason Davis with Earl Cate plays the 21st on Thursday, July 7, at 5:30 p.m. The Lil’ Slim Blues Band has their Omaha CD release at the 21st on July 14.

Zoo Bar 38th Anniversary all week long...Street Fest on Fri & Sat with Dave Alvin @9pm Friday and Kelley Hunt @9pm Saturday....Self Righteous Bros close things out on Saturday night! Party!

Updates, Zoo Bar Turns 38, Suhler, Lager, Cox’s New CD

By B.J. Huchtemann

Playing With Fire has announced a new second location site due to continued Missouri flooding. There is only one PWF concert this year on Saturday, July 16. The event is now scheduled for Stinson Park in Aksarben Village, 67th & Center. The lineup is exciting with headliners Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings bringing their retro-fueled funk and R&B to town. Also performing is acclaimed Austin soul-blues vocalist Malford Milligan and his band, along with the Brad Cordle Band. BluesEd youth band Crimson Dawn opens the show.

Gates open at 4 p.m. Bring a lawn chair or blankets. No coolers or pets. Please park in the parking garage off of 64th & Center Sts.

PWF organizer Jeff Davis is also hosting a series of ticketed concerts in Glenwood, Iowa, to benefit their outdoor amphitheater there. The first concert with Carolyn Wonderland was cancelled due to concerns about flooding in the area and Davis hopes to reschedule it. At press time there was no word on the second Glenwood concert, set for Saturday, July 9, featuring Dawn Tyler Watson, Paul Deslauriers and Trevor Finlay. Watch playingwithfireomaha.net for late-breaking announcements and details on the July 16 PWF Concert.

Suhler Rocks
Don’t forget that the great Texas blues-rock band Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat hits the Zoo Bar on Wednesday, June 29, 6-9 p.m. Suhler and his mighty fine band plug in at The 21st Saloon on Thursday, June 30, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Suhler matches his considerable guitar chops with taste and imagination. So, for example, if he covers a Hendrix tune, he takes out his vintage National Steel guitar. Suhler released a new CD earlier this year, Texas Scratch. This is a collaboration with three other Texas guitarists: Vince Converse, Buddy Whittington and special guest Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Suhler’s previous release, Tijuana Bible, was nominated for Best Blues-Rock Album at last year’s Blues Music Awards. Suhler and his band Shawn Phares (keyboards), Carlton Powell (bass) and Jimmy Morgan (drums) are a serious force to be reckoned with, playing with what often seems like telepathic abandon. Suhlers “day job” is as guitar sideman in George Thorogood’s band. Check jimsuhler.com.

21st Saloon Blues
The 21st Saloon Thursday blues shows are scheduled to continue through the summer. On Thursday, July 7, it’s Earl & Them featuring Baby Jason Davis and Earl Cate. On Thursday, July 14, Lincoln’s high-octane Lil’ Slim Blues Band has their Omaha CD release party. For those who don’t know, Lilí Slim is Shawn Holt, son of Magic Slim, and he is doing his daddy proud with his blistering Chicago-style playing and sound. On Thursday, July 21, catch British guitar star Matt Schofield. Look him up, he’s one of those “guitar player’s guitar players.” The month closes out with award-winning Southern California blues and soul vocalist Janiva Magness and her great band on Thursday, July 27.

Zoo Bar 38th Anniversary
This year’s Zoo Bar birthday party starts up on Tuesday, July 5 when you can catch Sons of 76 (6 p.m.), Lucas Kellison (8 p.m.) and Kansas City R&B/funk band The Good Foot (10 p.m.). Wednesday, July 6, it’s Baby Jason and Earl Cate in Earl & Them (6 p.m.), the funky country of Austin’s Stone River Boys (8 p.m.) and Mezcal Brothers (10 p.m.). On Thursday, July 7, catch Kill County (6 p.m.) Kris Lager Band (8 p.m.) and Lil' Slim Blues Band (10 p.m.) See zoobar.com for details on the Street Fest scheduled for the weekend, with Dave Alvin headlining on Friday, July 8, and Kelley Hunt on Saturday, July 9.

Matt Cox CD Release
Matt Cox celebrates his new studio CD release Tracks in the Sound at The Waiting Room on Sunday, July 3, at 9 p.m. The Filter Kings and The Mezcal Brothers also play. The new CD was produced by Charlie Johnson of the Mezcal Brothers at Lincoln’s Fuse Recording. Cox’s rich, distinctive voice, fine songwriting and great playing all set him apart. His sound should appeal equally to fans of Americana, indie folk and blues. The disc reflects the best of Cox’s excellent original material as played regularly through the last year by his amazing band: Seth Ondracek (bass), Ben Zinn (electric guitars), Nick Semrad (piano), and Andrew Tyler (drums). See them now, as Semrad and Tyler are planning to move to New York City to try their musical luck there.

Hot Notes
The Holland Performing Arts’ next Music & Movie event is Friday, July 1. Kris Lager Band rocks out and the movie is Jurassic Park. Gates at 7:30, music begins at 7:45. No outside food or pets allowed. See omahaperformingarts.org.
Lincoln roots-rockers Tijuana Gigolos bring their party sound to Harrah’s Stir nightclub on Friday, July 1, after 9 p.m.
The Lil’ Slim Blues Band has their Lincoln CD release party on Saturday, July 2, at the Zoo Bar.
Sioux City’s Saturday in the Park is on for Saturday, July 2, with acts including Ben Harper, Cee Lo Green, Grace Potter and Los Lonely Boys. See saturdayinthepark.com.
Visit HoodooRootsBlues.blogspot.com for Hoodoo updates.

Welding Burns from Rod Picott, or Water Pump, Thermostat, Radiator, Head Gaskets

"I learned a little somethin' about how things are,
No one gets a bonus
'bloody knuckles and scars
No one remembers your name
Just for working hard."  - Rod Picott
"Rust Belt Fields," from Welding Burns



On the title track of his new CD Welding Burns, Rod Picott sings about "broken dreams, wrecked cars, broken bones and welding burns" over a spare instrumentation spiked with banjo and fiddle. I'm new to Picott's music but he's another of those hard-working, road-warrior troubadours who's winning a fan base one road show at a time. And deservedly so.

On Welding Burns Picott mines the fertile territory of the everyday in Guthrie-esque polaroids of the 21st Century where folks are scrambling with jobs lost and love lost, trying to get along. 


Some of the tunes like "Black T-Shirt (and a parking lot)" remind me of our own Midwestern mid-century days and nights growing up. Others like "410" with its tale of desparation puts the mirror up to the dark side of tough times. Tunes like "410" will appeal to listeners who like the hard-scrabble character stories of artists like James McMurtry and Dave Alvin.

Like both of those artists, Picott has a rough-hewn voice with plenty of grit. But he can also put a sweet purr down to serve sweeter songs like "Little Scar," a longing, romantic tune remembering a girlfriend through little things like her knees exposed by her summer dress. Another notable track is the melodic and melancholy reminiscing of "Jealous Heart."
"Sheetrock Hanger" has a real anthemic feel that definitely makes me think of Woody Guthrie and his songwriting pals. 

The spare production is beautifully played and arranged with fine emotional punctuation from pedal steel, fiddle, banjo, harmonica and harmony  vocals.

Like a lot of indie folk songwriters, Picott is a solo act on the road. And last month he had some really bad luck when his vehicle broke down in the midst of a string of important dates set to launch this CD. But headaches turned to triumph when one friend and fan donated her frequent flyer miles to get Picott where he needed to be. Meanwhile friend and fellow musician Stacey Earle (who's performed at Omaha's FolkHouse with her husband Mark Stuart) posted Picott's plight to her website staceyearle.com asking folks to donate via the web to help Picott out. 
The website hasn't been updated yet but you can see the original post and part of the story at  staceyandmark.com/RodsRide.htm

Via Facebook and his publicist Picott recounted the latest to me today:
"I just have to rent a one way car from Nashville to Waynesboro VA. on Tuesday to pick it up and continue the tour. With 256,00 miles it was probably time for some tidying up but it could have picked a better spot than the mountains of Virginia. So goes the road...I changed out the radiator myself when it broke down but it also needed a water pump and of course when the water pump died the head gasket blew as well. Stacey Earle put together a paypal fund and raised $1300 towards the final bill of 1475.00, isn't that amazing? So I'm just blown away by both the gesture and the generosity of people. I have great friends and great fans as well."

He ended the note with what sounds like the beginning of another song
"Water Pump
Thermostat
Radiator
Head Gasket
Two car rentals
One flight
One cab ride
One borrowed car 

Best,
Rod"



Visit rodpicott.com for more on the artist and for info on how to get the disc from Village Records. For more on the disc, purchase info and a sample of the title track see rodpicott.com/ROD_PICOTT/STORE.html  And friend Rod up on Facebook. He's a talented songwriter with heart, depth and lyricism worth your attention.


-B.J. Huchtemann

Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat, 21st Saloon, June 30, 2011

rock 'n' roll....pure and simple...powerful stuff. It must have been 100 degrees INSIDE the bar last night but that didn't stop the high-energy rockin' onstage or on the dance floor....great night of music, musicianship, fun and dancing!

Jim Suhler & Monkey Beat, Zoo Bar, June 29, 2011

Jim Suhler tearin' it up...great shows at the Zoo Bar and 21st Saloon this week. The real deal...a don't-miss band.