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Wow! It's been over a week since I wrote, but it's been busy. Getting ready for vacation can toake lots of time. Last night I went to see Watermelon Slim and the Workers at a local club. Great show, but LOUD! Man, that Slim attacks the mouth harps with so much energy (to say nothing of O2) and he tends to go for the highest notes possible. He has fantastic breath control, and manages to make the little reeds sound like saxophones or trombones. His renditions of Muddy Waters' classics were fine, rocking examples of what you can do with new interpretations. The Workers provided solid support, especially the drummer, who put on a real show! Slim's work on the slide guitar was also worthy of note. It was just...too loud. Of course, we were sitting right next to the speaker!
Opening the show was local blues hero Steve Strongman and his band (supplemented by keyboard wizard Jesse O'Brien) who put on a dandy show themselves. The volume was a bit more controlled, not so many screeching highs! Both Slim and Steve have new CDs to pitch, and they are well worth looking into.
Finally bought my MP3 player...a ZEN V Plus, 4GB. Lots of room, bright screen, easy to use, good sound...and the price was right. OK I don't get the snazzy white earplugs...but black goes with everything!