Blue Dogs 25th Anniversary Show At The Charleston Music Hall Was A Doggone Good Show

The lively and diverse Upper King Street around the John Street area is a mecca of shops, restaurants, and bars. Last night, the outdoor temperature was perfect for taking a window gazing stroll or for doing some people watching at the outdoor venues of the local establishments, such as 39 Rue de Jean, Hall's Chophouse, Republic, and Joe Pastas, which were all standing room only. Everyone was having a howling good time pre-concert and then around 8:00 pm, the whole affair took the expected turn.

The Charleston Music Hall proceeded to go to the dogs - more appropriately, the Blue Dogs. It was a celebration of their 25th Anniversary Show and from the front doors to the backstage - where the real party was obviously taking place - it was a rockin' good time. They picked and sang to a sold out Hall with a 3 1/2 hour, non-stop parade of special guests including Radney Foster, Edwin McCain, Don Lotti, Danielle Howle, John Satterfield and the Archtypes to name a few, but that was just the 'Dog' treats.

Bobby Houck, acoustic guitarist and vocalist for the Blue Dogs, tossed out a 'Dog' biscuit when he lightheartedly proclaimed his long-time partner, standup bassist Hank Futch, had been cheating on him by his Occasional Milkshake collaboration with high-spirited guitarist Mark Bryan of Hootie and the Blowfish, who joined the group on stage. Hank and Mark along with Doug Jones and Gary Greene performed a couple of their songs and Mark did a duet with Danielle Howle of Firework Show.

To top off the highlights, the big 'Dog' bone came late in the second set when Bobby invited Charleston's favorite son, Darius Rucker, out from the backstage to sing the Blue Dogs hit song "Isabelle" and it was a free-for-all from there. Darius and the Blue Dogs next sang the Bob Dylan-Old Crow Medicine Show inspired song that has become the now famous Rucker version of "Wagon Wheel" from his "Lady Antebellum" album and the roof blew off the house.

Hootie and the Blowfish joined the pack and performed a couple of their hits including the song "Time". Radney Foster rejoined the group with a couple more songs. Daren Shumaker dazzled on the mandolin and David Stewart artfully played the guitar. The night was closed out with the whole gang of performers joining the Blue Dogs in a climaxing tribute to their Mama's with their "Make Your Mama Proud" song from their 2004 album "Halos and Good Buys". In the finale, there were so many musicians on stage Radney Foster couldn't find an available plug-in for his guitar. So, he did what all good musicians do - he improvised.

Everyone present, including yours truly,  had a doggone good time, but the continuous parade of honky-tonkers and bluegrass musicians gave fits to the stage hands that handled the assortment of guitars and mandolins with their array of plug-ins and foot pedals. Despite a couple of glitches, they handled the challenge superbly accompanied by a well orchestrated light show. It was well worth the $21.05.

The Charleston Music Hall, one of the oldest buildings on the block, was constructed in the mid-nineteenth century by the South Carolina Railroad, known historically as The Tower Depot. It was designed to resemble a Medieval castle and featured a three-story tower that was unfortunately destroyed in the Charleston Earthquake of 1886. The rest of the building sat vacant for sixty years, until 1995 when it was transformed into the intimate, first class performance space it is today.

"There is not a bad seat in the house," is an appropriate slogan. I can attest to that fact. My seat was in section H-REAR, Row 9, Seat 9, the bird's-eye view on the second level. I could still see the facial expressions of the performers.

Click on Charleston Music Hall for upcoming shows and performances. February 13th will be the Elise Testone Album Release Show. You can purchase tickets here.

Charleston Area Concerts And Music Venues Highlighting Its Homegrown Talent

The sound of music is in the air, it is everywhere in the Lowcountry. Few people may know this, but Charleston was home to the first musical society in North America called the St. Cecilia Society. It was formed possibly in 1766 as a private subscription concert organization, meaning members only. The exact date of its formation is speculative because early records were destroyed during the Civil War.

Popular musical tastes were much different then compared to what they are at present-no shakin' your booty or shagin' on the pier in those early colonial days. The musical society was greatly influenced by British tastes. Works of concert composers then favored in London were heard in Charleston between 1766 and 1820, the year the concert series came to an end. Musical tastes were changing, a country wide financial crisis unraveled the local economy and induced the society to curtail its activities. The society still exists today. The organization has a punch named after it called the St. Cecilia Society Punch.

Over the next two hundred years music has morphed in the Lowcountry. A period of time significant in the evolution of music in Charleston was the early 1900's. The Gullah culture of Charleston's sea island and its dock workers played a huge role in the development of what would become America's classical music, jazz and everything associated with it. Step aside New Orleans, jazzy Charleston humbly and quite possibly predates you, if you were to consider the evidence and the sociological development of enslaved Africans where European art was Africanized.

Avery Research Center

Many Charleston musicians of that period learned their craft with the Jenkins Orphanage Bands who were taught and trained at Charleston’s Jenkins Orphanage, one of the country’s first private black orphanages. Others were taught and trained at a school founded in 1865, Charleston’s Avery Normal Institute, now the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. The Center is located on the site of the former Avery Normal Institute at the College of Charleston.

In 1923, James P. Johnson, composed a song bearing the cities name using the driving rhythm of ragtime. Cecil Mack penned the lyrics for the song, but the words are relatively unknown in comparison to the tune. A dance of the same name was inspired by the song that became a dance synonymous with the 20's, the "Charleston". Everybody in the country was twisting their feet and kicking up their heels and the dance found a permanent place in musical history all due to the cities cultural influences. At the time, the "Charleston" was considered an immoral and provocative dance. Little did they know what was yet to come.

Darius Rucker in concert

Today, Charleston is still a cultural center for the musical arts. The Spoleto Festival and its compliment, Piccolo Spoleto, are proof of Charleston's immeasurable contribution to the performing arts. The two festivals feature music of all genres ranging from classical to jazz. Their mission is to present programs of the highest artistic caliber with a mix of distinguished artists and emerging talent both internationally and locally. Over the years Charleston has produced some phenomenal talent.

August 17 and 18 one of Charleston's sons, Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish, will perform a concert at Family Circle Magazine Stadium called Homegrown. The band came together in 1986 while in college at USC. Hootie and the Blowfish plays a mainstream pop variation of blues-rock, with an easy-going sound. Since debuting in 1994, the band has produced a string of Top 40 hits and sold over 25 million albums over the years. This is their 8th consecutive time at the Family Circle Magazine Stadium. They established the Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation benefiting children of South Carolina through education and supporting school music programs. You can purchase tickets for the concert.

Eddie Bush and myself

Eddie Bush is another homegrown talent and a Charleston favorite. From the time he decided music was his calling, and that was a very early age, Eddie committed himself to becoming a great guitar player, which he has accomplished. He astounds his audiences with his fiery guitar licks. He also dedicated himself equally at being an excellent singer and songwriting. He toured with Eric Johnson, played as part of a trio called One Flew South, and has been recognized nationally and locally for writing various moving ballads. I have seen Eddie perform on many occasions throughout the Charleston area. I have met Eddie personally and he is as engaging one on one as he is on the stage. He makes you feel like he is your next door neighbor, which in my case Eddie is a close neighbor. For the list of Eddie's future engagements, click here for his calendar.

Chelsea Summers

New musical talent continues to emerge in the Lowcountry. A young singer/songwriter I call "Summerville's Sweetheart" is making inroads into the local pop scene. Like any journey, it begins with the first step. Chelsea Summers began her journey at the age of thirteen, teaching herself to play guitar. Her first venue was outside her mother's store on W Richardson Ave in Summerville. She played for the Third Thursday crowds who gathered on the brick patio in front of the store to share some light conversation and refreshing beverages courtesy the Summers. It was then and there I first discovered Chelsea. I was captivated. You could compare her to Taylor Swift or Hilary Duff, but she is uniquely Chelsea. I have closely watched Chelsea hone her acoustic skills, sweet vocals and emerging stage presence. She has opened for Parachute, attended Nashville Songwriter’s Association International Advanced Songwriter’s Camp, and recently returned to Nashville. Her newly released CD features her own works and the songs are soulful and soothing. Click here for the list of venues she will be appearing at around the Lowcountry.

What Goes Together?-Hootie and the Blowfish Return To Charleston

"Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage." These famous lyrics are from a song written by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. Not many today would remember those names. Later, the song was introduced by Frank Sinatra in the 1955 television production of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" that aired on Producers' Showcase and recorded by Capital Records. Now, Sinatra is a name many no doubt still remember. The lyrics were also chosen as the theme song for the sitcom "Married with Children". The lyrics play on the idea that some things are just made for each other or to put it another way, go hand-in-hand. Although, the couple in "Married with Children" defied that simple logic.
 
There is an endless list of things you can think of that go together and they don't have to be just inanimate objects. Peanut butter and jelly, peas and carrots, salt and pepper, rum and coke, Jack and Jill, Rhett and Scarlett, Bogey and Bacall, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, stock market and bankruptcy(thought I would just non-chalantly sneek this one in), and we get the picture. You probably could come up with many, many more of your own than this quick list. This can also apply to places, like New York and Broadway, Seattle and Pike Place Market, Orlando and Disney, LA and Kodak Theatre, San Francisco and Golden Gate, and Rainbow Row and Charleston.

Well, there are many things I can think of that go with Charleston, and one of them is Hootie and the Blowfish with lead singer Darius Rucker. Hootie and the Blowfish formed in 1986 when the quartet met when they were freshmen at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. There origin may not have been Charleston, but Rucker is home grown Charleston talent. They will be in Charleston this weekend for the "Hootie and the Blowfish Homegrown Weekend" event at the Family Circle Stadium.

This will be their ninth anniversary at Family Circle Stadium and come together for a two-night musical engagement kicking off Friday, August 12th. The opening act will be Toad the Wet Sprocket. Don't know who Toad the Wet Sprocket is? They are an American alternative rock band that formed in 1986. Then Saturday, August 13 beginning at 2 PM, Ken Block and Andrew Copeland of Sister Hazel as well as other national and regional acts (TBD) will be featured. Hootie and the Blowfish will wrap up the festival with a performance Saturday night at 7 pm. Ticket information and times.

Charleston Will Be Getting Its Idol On

Could the next American Idol be from Charleston? Next month, and that would be July, American Idol is coming to the best town around. The wanna-be's and could-be's will compete for the opportunity to fulfill a dream by securing a spot that would take them to "Hollywood, Baby". Well, for a select few it will be a dream come true, for others a disappointment turned darkest nightmare. Idol fans have seen it season after season, tears of ecstasy  and tears of agony. Thousands will audition, few will be chosen. Keep your expectations reasonable and it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity of fun and the ultimate experience, but never the end of the world. Talent is discovered in many ways.

Charleston has produced outstanding talent before. One Charleston singer/songwriter, who had a dream to sing, has deep roots in the Lowcountry. The performer's family goes back many generations and first gained fame as a lead singer and rhythm guitarist in a rock band founded in 1986 with a fishy name. The band charted six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. In time the singer went solo and then country. This Charleston performer is described as having a rich baritone voice. The sentimental ballads and bright hooks that are a part of his recordings made this person the most successful African-American country singer since Charley Pride. The band's name was Hootie and the Blowfish, and its lead singer, Darius Rucker. Many of his songs were inspired by his own life experiences.

Rucker’s success in the country music format was recently recognized at the 43rd Annual CMA Awards when he received the Top New Artist title and again with ACM, Teen Choice, and AMA Award nominations. His 2008 Album release, Learn To Live, produced three consecutive No. 1 singles and Top 5 smash, “History In The Making.” His second country album, Charleston, SC 1966, a title which pays tribute to one of Rucker's biggest influences, Radney Foster, includes the multiple-week #1 hit single, "Come Back Song," and his Top 10 single, "This."

The registration for American Idol will occur July 20 and July 21 and auditions will take place July 22 at the North Charleston Coliseum. Potential contestants will be coming from all over South Carolina and no doubt other states, but not only contestants will be coming, their families and supporters will be accompanying them. How does that all add up? Charleston will be rocking that week, heavy with inspiration and perspiration. The beaches will be heating up, the restaurants will be cooking, and the nightlife will be sizzling. It will be an opportunity to see the diversity that is built into this country. Expect the crowd to be predominantly young and ambitious. That's what it is all about, with an emphasis on having a good time. Get your Charleston on, the best town around.

North Charleston Coliseum, 5001 Coliseum Dr, North Charleston. Directions-Charleston map. Looking for things to do? Check out all the articles on my blog.