I SCENE IT: Watermelon Slim, Wanda Jackson
By Frank De Blase on Oct. 26th, 2007 at 2:55pm 0 Comments
Two doses of Oklahoma in two days has got me feelin' OK. Sporting a slightly more Western motif than his standard day-glow Detroit duds, Watermelon Slim and his band, The Workers, brought the blues and boogie to the Dinosaur stage Wednesday night, October 24. It was Slim's third trip
here and the word is getting out. I'm warning you now, next time this cat comes to town there will be no room to move. With his guitar prostrate on a sort of altar cluttered with harmonicas, various old medicine bottles (used as slides), and assorted bits of mojo, Slim got to work. His voice was rich and powerful with phrasing akin to those late-night voices that crackle and haunt CBs on the Interstate. The Workers pounded as Slim howled about low-down women and his lonely life on the road, first as a trucker and now as a musician. You just gotta see these guys. Just tell 'em Large Marge sent ya.
Legendary rockabilly filly Wanda Jackson rocked the German House Theatre Thursday night with her back-up band, The Lustre Kings from Albany. And everybody knows I'm kinda fond'a Wanda.
Led into big bop battle by the long, tall Mark Gamsjager and his big guitar, The Lustre Kings warmed up for her majesty with some authentic slap, bang, and twang.
Jackson's voice is still that sweet blend of coquettish coo and sex-kitten snarl. At 70 years old she still has a firm grasp of rock 'n' roll's underlying seduction. She ripped through ultra-fine takes of everything I hoped to hear, like "Fujiyama Mama," "Funnel Of Love," and even her takes on some of The King's Sun Records material. She proved she's still the queen of rockabilly.






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