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"Blues on the Green"

  Austin, TX

  July 6, 2005

After cooling ourselves off in Barton Springs pool for a while on this record hot day, we headed over to the Zilker Park Rock Island stage for a free performance featuring a couple of bona fide blues legends, Hubert Sumlin and Pinetop Perkins.

I bumped into fellow Houston Instrument alum Ralph up by the stage, and Debbie found her semi-cousin Carolyn out in the crowd.

The supporting cast included Johnny Moeller and Shawn Pittman on guitars, Jay Moeller on drums, Roscoe "P. Coltraine" Beck on bass, Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff on sax, Clifford Antone on towel, and the ever-boring Jody Denberg as emcee.

Pinetop was one day short of his 92nd birthday.  His piano playing was a little muted, but his singing was enthusiastic, and he sure looked cute (according to Debbie) in his piano-key themed tie.  In examining the photos closely, I noticed it was embroidered with "Pinetop Perkins" on it, heh.

Hubert enjoyed the show from the onstage couch, along with a lucky guy in a Top Notch Hamburgers T-shirt.  Hmmm, sounds like a good idea for lunch, except they're naturally closed for summer vacation right now.

Roughly twenty years junior to Pinetop, Hubert was plenty spry and played with full intensity, and generally seemed to have a blast.

At one point, Hubert pointed at the mic and said "can y'all believe now I have to do this?", referring to his relatively reluctant role nowadays as singer and featured performer.  He's settled into this beautifully however, after decades of helping define electric blues and rock-and-roll guitar playing for the mighty Howlin' Wolf, whose songs made up the bulk of the Hubert's sets.

The "kids" in the band seemed pretty thrilled to share the stage with these two legends.  Hubert seemed to especially get a kick out of Shawn belting out a rather-convincing-for-a-skinny-white-guy version of Wolf's Moanin' at Midnight.

Pinetop finalized the night with an epic version of Got My Mojo Working, one of his one-time boss Muddy Waters' most famous and crowd-pleasing songs. 

Great show!  Now everybody hug and shake hands.

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