Well, I believe we still got the blues. We did three gigs in Switzerland - one old favorite and two new ones. All featured packed houses, serious blues fans and lots of fun both on and off stage.
The band is sounding better than ever - I am really blessed to be able to play with three great musicians who are also dedicated pros and wise guys:
- Markus Baumer on keys
- Sal Lombardo on drums
- Ivan Rougny on bass
The Montreux Jazz Café gig was something new for me. I've played just about every kind of gig there is - on ships, boats, the back of trucks - but this was the first time I played at an airport. It wasn't what I thought - the Jazz Café is a classy restaurant and music club, with a nice stage, lights, etc, and pix and memorabilia from the famous Jazz Festival (where we played in 2007). The local blues posse came out to hear us, and a good time was had by all.
Dos Amigos in Oberbuchsiten is our home base - family and friends always turn out for this gig, but this time they really went wild. The place was packed to the rafters, and they were dancing, drinking and doing all the right things. We got carried away and played for about four hours (a super-long gig by Swiss standards). This was our 20th year at Pädu's place (Dos Amigos is his third club since we hooked up back in 2003).
La Pinte in Farvagny, near Fribourg, is a typical local Swiss restaurant, but the owner is a huge music fan, and he's set up a music venue in a separate building out back, with a big stage, a PA, lights and all that is proper. The local live music fans showed up and made this a fitting finale for the tour.
Club gigs in Europe tend to be very different from club gigs in the States. At home in Florida, there might be 50 bands playing in town on any given night, and there's only so much audience to go around, so our audience usually consists of our fans who live in the neighborhood, plus whoever happens to be eating dinner or drinking at the bar. People drift in and out, and the room often clears on the first break. In Switzerland, it's about quality, not quantity - when a live band is playing in town, it's an event, and the music fans come from far and wide. They fill the room, and stay until the last note is swept up from the floor, often demanding several encores.
Photos by Jean-Marc Etienne
