August 17th gig at The Palms

An awesome night. Enrique Corro opened for Jerry, and the crowd loved him. He plays so fine. Larry Aberman subbed for Pepe on the kit and knocked it outa the park, man. Brian Monroney (Tom Jones show) sat in on guitar and fried it, OMG!

9:30 a.m., Cheryl just left to return to her day gig in Walnut Creek :(

So, sorry for the blogging delay. Sometimes it just gotta be that way. Let me get back on it...

First, thanks to all of you for coming out to hang. Yet another fine crowd.

Below, Larry Aberman is subbing for Pepe. Larry is in the Cirque "Zumanity" show, and is one Top Shelf cat on the kit. This was his first night with the band.

I really dig Larry. I watched and listened closely to him in particular all night. He was mostly not lookin' at the charts; he'd totally 'shedded the stuff. He was right in the center of the hump all night. The tempos were right on the money, and he played with great energy and confidence. You gotta understand, he'd had no rehearsals, just had to learn the tunes off the CDs and the sheets, yet he sounded like he'd been in the band for months. Five stars, bro'. One A-List professional.

LOL! I also dig Larry 'cause he reads my other blog and talks to me all the time about all this other stuff that interests us both.

More shots from a great show...first, Santa Fe alum Enrique Corro opening for Jerry. I simply love the response he gets from the crowd.

Dr. Lenny, Board Certified Surgeon of Nastiology...

Gotta love the new 'do, too.

Above, Abe LaMarca filled in all night for Tyriq. Tyriq is over at Excalibur with his group "Jamestown" this week. If I can stay awake, I'll be over to see them tonight.

Below, Gil and his light-evading black trumpet.

Below, our friend Brian Monroney (Tom Jones, Herman Matthews & Friends) sittin' in to set the room on fire during "Wishing Well."

After the show, Brian gave me the nicest compliment. In addition to my stuff for the band, he apparently reads and digs my other blog stuff (and the episodic drive-by rants I now put up on Facebook), like Larry does. That means a lot, man. I told him "Go figure; all I ever wanted was to be a rock & roll guitar player."

Again, thanks to everyone for comin' out. Don't forget to go see Tyriq this week at Excalibur (and Backbeat Village US this Sunday at the Trop), and check the links column for schedules of our many friends (and click the new Champlin link on the upper right to buy Bill's new solo CD).

Also upcoming of note:

PHOENIX returns to NEW YORK-NEW YORK

PHOENIX
will be returning to their old stomping ground
when they perform at
ROK VEGAS
THE NIGHTCLUB AT
NEW YORK-NEW YORK HOTEL & CASINO
LAS VEGAS.

Thursday, August 27th
2 SHOWS
Doors open at 10:30PM
Come on out and help us rock the house!

And, as Jerry Lopez announced from the stage last night, he'll be appearing with Clint Holmes for "An Evening of Romance" at the Suncoast on Aug 28th, 29th, and 30th, 8 pm each night. Tix are $29.95, call 636-7111.
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CODA

Oh, yeah, Lou Curalli hipped me to Chévere de Chicago in an email recently. Very cool.

Chévere is Chicago's leading Latin/Jazz/Funk/Blues Band, mixing Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, Jazz, Blues, and just about everything else together into an exciting and unique collage of sound. Characterized by high voltage percussion and compelling original compositions, Chévere has performed in and around Chicago and the Midwest for 30 years.

The band has played many large outdoor festivals, including several appearances at The Chicago Jazz Festival and Summerfest. The core of the band has stayed together for over 25 years, giving the band an almost telepathic ability to interact spontaneously onstage. The band has an impressive array of virtuosic melodic soloists, and the percussion section, deeply rooted in traditional folklore and religious music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Brazil, is heavily featured on almost every tune.

Bad Boys. Listen to the cuts on their website.
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