Blues

“Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel.”

–     Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970)

Sunday night, along with my smokin’ hot wife, I’ll make my first pilgrimage to Antone’s.  Hadden Sayers is in the house.

With equal parts excitement and remorse (for never seeing the original Antone’s), this will be our first time enjoying one of the things that drew us to Austin.  The live music buzz in this city is so real that it’s almost surreal.  It’s everywhere — it’s palpable.  There aren’t many cities where one can be exposed to so much good music in so many unexpected places.

Even if the Blues is “hard to feel” for those of us living a Blessed life, it’s a musical style that has made a difference for me.  It’s connected me to history (BB, John Mayall, Clapton’s Robert Johnson tribute and then the “real” Robert Johnson…), it’s kept me awake for loooonnnnnng drives back to the farm from Wichita, Brookings, Lincoln and Milwaukee (not to mention a REALLY long drive from Cedarburg to Austin!), and it’s given me a chance to feel music.

Listen to Led Zeppelin’s first album, or early Rolling Stones.  Many of the greats started with a heavy Blues influence.

No doubt Hadden Sayers will mix in some hard driving country and rock and roll.  But the Blues will be there, and thanks to tickets from Live Music Sue, so will Jodi and I.

Happy Sunday!