Man, Dr. Lonnie Smith is one cool cat. His B-3 pumped and swirled smoothly before two enthusiastic crowds at Venu last night. The joint was positively sardined as Smith and guitarist Mel Henderson and drummer Yuron Israel laid it down. Smith even sang a tribute of sorts to Johnny Mathis, holding the last note for easily a minute and a half. At one point, his fingers left the keyboard but continued to play as he held them up - as if summoning something out of the audience.

Reminiscing about his Buffalo rock 'n' roll days (as he described a greasy pre-turban coif that sounded a lot like mine), he was interrupted by a cat in the crowd who had apparently sung with him in The Teen Kings. Big hugs were shared on stage. A first-rate gig.