I dont even know where in the world to begin. Ill start with tonight:  JOHN NÉMETH IS BACK!!! For some reason he only comes through once a year, so dont miss him. Here's what Steady Rollin (much more on him in a minute) and others had to say:

"I remember telling friends up North in '80 that they should go see Stevie Ray Vaughan, but they weren't impressed because he wasn't famous yet. It will give me great pleasure to say, 'I told you so!'

about John Németh. You'll see."?Bob Margolin, Blues Revue Magazine Dec/Jan 2005

"Either John Németh is one of the greatest vocalists in the world or this was the best performance of his life, or both."?Bob Horn, Washington Blues Society

See you tonight. Tomorrow night is the maiden Blues & Greens voyage of the Blues Ambassadors (who are getting lots of votes for Best Poster)! Our own Jerry Deall, who has played this stage countless times, is on harp, so were all pretty excited to hear him with his own band. http://www.thebluesambassadors.com/

Saturday night is the return of Tijerina and Patti Cavalleros birthday, so were ready to party. Tijerina, out of Albuquerque, are simply wonderful, and it will be so nice to see them again. And yes, Todd Tijerina is a fiancé. Come on out and show both Patti and Tijerina some love!

Ok, now back to last week. Wow. Im still in a state of shock that the Blues Stars lined up and graced us with so much tremendous music.

So heres what happened: I came in last Monday after not having checked my email for a couple of days. I saw one from Dan saying that Jason Ricci & New Blood were going to be in the hotel all week! A while later (I had 119 emails...Im not making that up), I saw an email from Dean Mueller of the Insomniacs saying they were going to be in town on Wednesday and Thursday. I also knew the My Tommy Castro Band were staying in the hotel for a few days after their KILLER show Monday night, and since all three bands had Wednesday off, and we didnt have music scheduled...well, you all know where I went with that. I screwed up my courage and asked them for an All Star Jam!

They agreed and it was.  I called Al Chesis of My Beloved Delta Sonics and asked if they would back line and host the extravaganza, and they agreed. This, right after hosting their monthly jam the night before with JR&NB as guests.

My Beloved Delta Sonics opened the jam with a killer set, and closed it with Jason Ricci, Al, and Nick Cottonseed Clark trading licks! The start was so solid and tasty that I knew then what kind of a night it was going to be. I wasnt disappointed, but it went far beyond even my ridiculous expectations. Far beyond. Next up was Gretchen Troop with Vyasa Dodson of the Insomniacs on guitar, Buck Weed on bass, Byron (JR&NB) on drums and Keith Crosson, My Tommys amazing sax player, for Use Me. It was spectacular!

After that, Ms. Jill Watkins joined Vyasa, Buck Weed, Byron, and Alex Shakiri (Insomniacs, keys/harp) for far too much fun. Then JR&NB took the stage for a short set during which My Tommy snuck on stage and joined them. Kate Keiser then came up for a number, followed by a wonderful round with My Tommy, Jeremy Vasquez, Dean Mueller, and Dave Melyon (drums/Insomniacs). Then Paul Söderman got in the mix with Jeremy, My Tommy, and Lionel Young.

The evening closed with Scot Sutherland (MTCB, bass), Jason, Jeremy, and Rex Peoples. Wow, what a night. What a tremendous night. Heres a wonderful write-up by Mike Cote:

http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/all-star-jam-a-slice-of-blues-heaven/

All that, and we hadn't begun the Second Annual Shipless Blues Cruise yet. That all started Friday. Steady Rollin Bob Margolin, Prodigal Son of the Outlook arrived mid-day ready for lunch and ready to jam.

Todd Buck Weed Edmunds was on Mark Diamond's stand-up bass and Bob on guitar for a great opening set during the Meet and Greet portion of the evening. They were then joined by Jill for a number in her cute sailor hat before the evenings headliners took the stage. Jason Ricci & New Blood delivered two sets, and then the jam began. Nick Cottonseed, Bob, Jeremy, Shawn Starski, Buck Weed, and Al played for over an hour to close out the evening. And we still had Saturday to go.

My Beloved Delta Sonics opened the day at 3:00 with a set that was sure to set the tone for the night. They KILLED! They closed their set with Jason blowing the place apart and then Bob got into the fun.

The Informants followed, and had both Jason and Bob sit in with them, and they all delivered. After that, the evenings headliner, Bob backed by the Delta Sonics with Buck Weed on keys, reminded us all what the Blues is about. Tremendous, nasty old Blues! Then the jam got started with Bob and JR&NB having more fun than anyone expected. I have it on good authority that Bob had a great time playing their stuff. As you all know, JR&NB arent exactly traditional Blues, but Bob sure loves what theyre doing. At one point, he and Weed exchanged instruments, with Bob on bass and Weed on guitar.

Fortunately, we recorded the weekend, so we should be able to get some of those numbers on our site soon.

The evening closed with Jill on stage with JR&NB! That was a personal treat for me. Just sayin.

Speaking of Jill, shes going to help me set up photo albums for our site. Between Monday with Castro, through to the Sunday jam with Bob, I took almost 500 shots, so we have to organize them a bit first.

That, and all shots that engender me a second chin, GONE.

Bobs jam Sunday was another night of irresistibly great music, hosted by Mark Diamond and Lionel Young.  Again, many of our local musicians showed up, and Bob mentioned a couple of times what world-class musicians we have right here! Hes right. So very right.