Kilborn Alley Show was a Killer!

Kilborn Alley at Big Cities Lounge on Thursday, February 19th. The crowd was small but fiery. The music was hotter than hell. Those who braved the cold stayed warmer than they would have with a hot night in the Reeperbahn! The show began promptly at 8:30 PM and the boys layed out two sets of the hottest blues along with some of the funkiest soul I've heard in 2009! All I can say is that if you missed this show you shuold be kicking yourselves in the ass for not coming out. This show was as hot as the one we did a few weeks before!

They are white and they are young musicians but they are fast learners with a lot of understanding of what the blues is all about. The music we were treated to belied their age. Whether burning up the place with their uptempo stuff or winding it down a notch with slow blues and soul, these guys deliver the goods. They have almost a decade of experience together, yet are still in their 20's. These guys are on the road to become something big in the blues world!

Lead singer and guitar player Andrew Duncanson is a great blues and soul singer. He's gritty, he's soulful, he's mean, he's everything you could want in a blues singer. And his guitar work is equally great. Josh Stimmel also plays lead guitar and provides some backup voals. His style is unique and strong, with chords and notes delivered with an abruptness and sound that makes your soul stir. Harp player Joe Asselin is also amazing. Amazing may be not strong enough. The harp wails and sings and tears at your heart and gut. He also sings harmonies and background vocals. Chris Breen on bass and backup vocals is stellar, too. Clean, crisp bass lines to carry the beat. And last but certainly not least is the old man of hte band Ed O"Hara. Old enough to be their father but younger in spirit than anyone else in the band, he anchors the group with his exceptional percussion work and harmonious vocals.

I snuck in a little video treat of one of the soul numbers. Enjoy!

Steve Jones

"Blues and Brews" Live Monday Night Jam!

"Blues and Brews Live" every Monday night at Sud's O'Hanahan's in downtown Beloit featuring Dave Potter and the Alley Kings. Monday night 2/16/09 was the first show and the place was packed. It is a jam session and over 12 musicians were there. The show runs from 7:00 pm till 10:00 pm. This looks like a great way to hear some good music and for local musicians to showcase their skills!

Sud's O'Hanahan's Irish Pub
(608) 368-1933
435 E Grand Ave, Beloit, WI 53511
Map It: http://maps.yahoo.com/map?q1=435%2BE%2BGrand%2BAve%20Beloit%20WI%20US&mag=5&lat=&lon=&ard=1#mvt=m&lat=42.499775&lon=-89.03483&mag=5&zoom=14&q1=435%2520E%2520Grand%2520Ave%2520Beloit%2520WI%2520US&gid1=16770360

The Kilborn Alley Blues Band to Perform at Big Cities Thursday, February 19, 2009

Well, this is quite the short notice but we have the opportunity to have The Kilborn Alley Blues Band come to town and who could pass that up? On Thursday evening, February 19, 2009 the band will be at Big Cities starting at 8:30 PM for some of their great music! Many of our members will remember them from last year when they opened the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival with a hot set of down and dirty blues!

Cover charge is only $5- a great deal! The music will be hot and you will not want to miss this show. Mark and Steve crossed paths last with the boys in the band at the Illinois Blues Music Awards at Buddy Guy's in Chicago and have been in touch with the band to get them to Rockford. Another cancellation was our good luck. Check them out on Myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/thekilbornalleybluesband "The Kilborn Alley Blues Band was formed in 2000 when Andy Duncanson was still in high school, and Chris Breen and Josh Stimmel were barely out. Within a few months Joe Asselin, from Maine, signed on, and in 2005 Ed O'Hara

joined the band. The line-up is Duncanson vocals and guitar, Asselin harmonica, Breen electric bass, Stimmel guitar, and O'Hara drums.The Kilborn Alley Blues Band plays filthy Chicago blues, with just a little bit of southern fried soul. The point of the act is to deliver the blow out bar show associated with blues at its zenith. Kilborn Alley is not about youth angst; it is about adult delirium.If we wrote the history of this band here, you wouldn't believe us. Just put it this way; Kilborn has played over seven hundred shows, and knows how to smile in your face and then kick you in the ass-- musically. "

This is "in your face blues," the kind that after you hear it your hair ismessed up and your clothes are disheveled as if you've just been run over by a blues train! That's because after you see them you will have heard some of the hottest music played by these young and talented musicians!!!

Kim Wilson Show Draws Huge Crowd!

Over 90 people packed into Rockford's Big Cities Lounge to listen to Kim Wilson on Tuesday night, February 3rd. Kim, backed by by the superb Doug Deming and Jeweltones and special guest Jeremy Johnson (and with a surprise appearance by piano legend Barrelhouse Chuck), gave the crowd a legendary perfromance. Whether it was the electricity in the air or the near zero temperatures ouside requiring attendees to get warmed up, the place was on fire after only about 12 bars into the first song. Kim and the bandmembers perfromed two strong sets of music that had the crowd clapping and on their feet.

Wilson's harmonica and vocals were strong. Whether blasting out originals or working great covers of other blues legends like Sonny Boy Williamson's songs, Kim captivated the audience. Doug Deming's guitar work continues ot amaze me for it's precision, clarity and just the fine overall musical quality of his work. He can pick out a tune with the best of them! Joing Deming on guitar this night was Jeremy Johnson from Minnesota, who held his own with some great riffs! The first set was hot and when finished the band mingled with the excited crowd.

At the onset of the second set, the old upright piano was broken out and Barrelhouse Chuck joined in the fun for the entire set! It was an even more rousing time when Kim's co-conspirator with the Cadillac Records Band played along. To note, Kim, Chuck and the Cadillac Records Band recently played one of the inaugural bashes in Washington. The music and performance by all were just outstanding. It was probably the finset show ever put on at Big Cities based on the size and reaction of the crowd!

Kim's newest album, Kim Wilson's Mix Volume I and Demmings' Double Down (along with some older CDs) were scarfed up by the adoring fans. We were also excited to learn that Deming has a new CD that is very close to release and that Volume 4 of Barrelhouse Chucks' Chicago Blues Piano is out!

If you missed this show, you probably missed the Rockford blues even of the year! Thanks go out to the Crossorads Blues Society whose hard work and financial backing once again made a another great show possible!