Barbeque sauce always makes it better, don't it? A little light finally shined down on Big City Summer Fest with Ribbin' On The River. Barbeque-scented smoke filled the downtown air and was so tempting that I bet more than a few vegetarians crossed over to the dark, delicious side. And talkin' 'bout tasty, man, you shoulda seen Austin's Guy Forsythe lay it down. Starting with some mellow juke on his uke, Forsythe wailed and plinka-plinked "St. Louis Blues" before graduating to the saw to cut up "Summertime." It was when he dug into a mean, mean rub shuffle on his big black guitar that things got good. Texas blues at it's finest.

Time constraints had the bands overlapping a wee bit, and Phillip Walker's old-school, balls-out blues 'n' boogie kinda steamrolled Forsythe's first few numbers. Walker was loud and raucous but falls into that category of artists I think could do better if they gave some of the standards a little break. I mean, Christ, how many times can you hear "Got My Mojo Workin'"? That mojo's gotta have holes in it by now.

While this festival struggled on its maiden voyage, Boulderfest is now in its second year and seemed to cruise effortlessly in the South Wedge all weekend. Saturday afternoon I got to see Smock, which played exuberantly if not a little sloppy. These guys obviously love what they do. The Lobster Quadrille - with voices on high and various things found around the kitchen - shouted and banged glorious anti-gospel to the clouds, as if the GWAR-meets-Disney stage spectacle were a tent in the middle of a Depression-era dustbowl. I love this band as much as I hate church. Maybe it should consider passing a collection plate.

Eddie Nebula and the Plague played an extra-long set of rock 'n' roll with some metal might. That Harley keeps a mean bottom end. The set was full of the band's sarcastic twist on covers from Billy Idol to KISS, as well as plenty of Plague crowd pleasers like "Red Beans and Rice" and "Rochester Girls."

And speaking of Rochester girls, there's a new one. The jury's still out on the name, but Grinders guitarist Todd Dentico is now a proud papa of a bouncing baby girl.