Friday night saw local bluesman Bobby Bryan and the Original Downtown Players performing at The Brink Lounge. It was the first time that either The Dulcinea or myself had been there and we both found it to be a nice place. The couches looked comfortable and it was dimly lit giving a nice mellow atmosphere. However, the establishment was not meant for the likes of your humble narrator. An extensive wine list warranted its own menu while the more general drink list included abundant fine spirits including lengthy columns of scotch and tequila. The lounge was dead when we arrived and I was the only person donning a t-shirt. I was on-call for work and was, much to my chagrin, unable to drink and I the bartender was visibly unamused at my order of their finest 7-UP. Bryan could be heard tuning up in an adjacent room.
Shortly before the show was set to begin, a large group of middle-aged folks came down the stairs as I was heading up. My fears that the show would be severely under-attended were allayed. Indeed, the venue filled up shortly after the performance began. The room featured a goodly sized stage flanked by an ornate spiral staircase with a dance floor before it. The lights were down low, which I appreciated, but the joint was, in my opinion, just too fancy for a night of gritty music. There was just something wrong with the scene. The audience consisted mostly of graying folk with the majority of men still clad in their business casual uniforms accessorized by the obligatory cell phone holster. However, when Bryan got down to business, the odd juxtaposition of music born of the hard times of Delta life and a mostly white audience which bespoke of at least a modicum of affluence, dissipated.
The band was in fine form. Bryan his trademark funky shirt and vest and The Dulcinea opined that such a shirt in a color more suitable for my melanin-deprived skin would look good on me. Drummer Rick Flowers had a Gustav Klimt t-shirt on and he spent his time behind the kit with a big toothy grin plastered on his face as he always does. Bassist Lon Walker's lanky frame didn't move much but his fluid playing was solid. Steve Skaggs' was off at the side of the stage hidden by shadows like Robert Fripp. He may be the least appreciated member of the band but his organ work is more than that of a mere yeoman. His playing fills out band's sound perfectly and his solos are always great.
I don't recall the set but "Forty Days" and Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do" were aired as were tunes by Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland. Listening to them, it was easy to understand why they won the Wisconsin Blues Challenge – they are tight. I don't have to tell you that Bryan has the chops but I will say that one of the great pleasures of the show was how seamlessly the guys were able to move from blues to funk. One second Bryan is hammering out some classic blues solo and then next thing you know his foot has gravitated towards a wah-wah pedal and the beat has subtlety changed for the funkier.
As with the band's performance at the Madison Blues picnic, the atmosphere on stage was light-hearted with between song banter and Flowers alternately being congratulated for recently lost his bachelorhood and being given grief. During a set break, I was outside having a smoke and was joined by a younger woman who was also enjoying the show. Flowers came out for a smoke himself and the woman commented on how much she loves his playing and watching him with that big grin he always seems to have. Clyde Stubblefield may get all the press, but Flowers is still brilliant.
The crowd enjoyed every minute. By the second set, folks began to migrate onto the dance floor. Some younger folks had wandered in and joined the older members of the crowd but the dance floor was all-ages.
Bryan's next appearance is on the 8th at The Harmony.
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