A 16 Island Moon August 1, 2013

Hot, hotter & hottest…Welcome to the dog days boys and girls. Hot,

hotter and hottest… the islands have been packed lately and the traffic has been relentless. It hasn’t helped matters that there are four ferries down for maintenance. I actually saw the ferry line make a complete bumper to bumper loop around the city last Saturday. It was one gnarly gridlock. The good news is that we didn’t have to go far for great music.

Littlewolf…

On Thursday, a smoking little blues band from Lubbock, Littlewolf, showed up for a couple of gigs. They played the Back Porch then moved the show over to Giggity’s on Friday. This band combines the veteran talent of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Steve Lott with the young and beautiful Kristi Clanton on lead vocals and lap steel guitar. I’ve known Steve for many years and used to watch him play in such great Austin bands as The Lotions and D.K. Little’s Powerplay. He moved to Australia for about eight years in the early 90’s and really honed his craft. I hadn’t seen him for a long time, and watching Stevie play these two gigs in Port A was inspiring. He’s definitely at the top of his game… clean, fast and tasty. His new band mate, the adorable Miss Clanton, gave us quite a show. She’s one of those skinny white girls with the soul of Big Mama Thornton. This 22 year old delicate little flower is no delicate little flower. She can howl and wail with the voracity of a freight train. I wouldn’t take her on with a bazooka. She’s no slouch on the lap steel either. These show were not only great musically, they were interesting to watch, too. There was a lot going on up there. We’ll get them back here before long. I think Port A is a good fit.

Clay McClinton…Also on Friday, Clay McClinton (Ft. Worth,

TX) played at the Back Porch. Clay is the talented son of the Texas roadhouse legend, Delbert McClinton and the heir apparent. He’s definitely inherited the roadhouse lineage. There must something in the water up there, those Ft. Worth musicians have a boogie vibe going like nowhere else. Players like Delbert, Glenn Clark, Johnny Reno, Robert Ealey, Steven and Sumpter Bruton, T-Bone Burnett, Dave Bottlehead Miller, Billy Wade Sanders… even the late great Townes Van Zandt and on and on, claim Cow Town as home. Clay gave us a text book example of a great roadhouse performance. I especially appreciated his harmonica ability. He even looks a little like Delbert. You can’t help but love this guy.

got on stage with the T-Birds and sang Stormy Monday in falsetto. It didn’t work at all. Back then, the T-Birds used to do a bunch of Lazy Lester tunes (I’m a Lover Not a Fighter, Sugar Coated Love, etc) and had a totally infectious beat that the whole world would soon grow to love. I remember those early days well when the “crowd” was basically the band’s girlfriends

and the bartenders. They caught on though and caught on big. They eventually played stadiums and arenas around the world and opened for such stars as the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. They got signed by a major record label and were on regular rotation on MTV. The T-Birds really did put out some cool records with songs like Tuff Enough, Powerful Stuff, Wrap It Up, How Do You Spell

Love and Why Get Up. There were a number of personnel changes… Franny Christina replaced Buck on drums for a long time, Preston Hubbard replaced Keith on bass and a number of noteworthy guitarists took their turn trying to replace Jimmy Vaughan (Duke Robilard, Kid Ramos, Nick Curran). Keyboardist Gene Taylor played with the band for a long time, too. The present day line-up has a couple of Austin’s finest, in my opinion. Johnny Moeller and Mike Keller now fill the guitar shoes and Johnny’s brother Jay Moeller now plays drums. The Moeller brothers and Keller are long time Antone’s alumni and I feel are as close to the original line-up as anyone Wilson could have chosen. I can personally attest, they are sensational musicians and hold their own with any line-up this band has seen through the years. And of course, Kim Wilson is the glue that makes this machine work and always has been. He is simply the best. This show will be a homecoming of sorts for me and it is certainly at the top of my DO NOT MISS LIST. See you there!

And that’s the truth!

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Joe Mack/ Richard Lockhart…

On Saturday, my favorite Oklahoma pal, Joe Mack, blazed in from Tahlequah to play Shorty’s. Joe is also the editor-in-chief of the coolest alternative music magazine in OK, Currentland and is one brainy character. He reminds me of Dale Rankin in many ways. Joe stuck around town for an extra day and invited his musician friend, Sky Smeed from Kansas to join him at the weekly Tarpon Ice House jam on Sunday hosted by Uel Jackson. That impromptu session turned out to be one of the best shows I saw all weekend. Also on Saturday, Rich Lockhart (Victoria, TX) wowed the crowd at Giggity’s with some guitar acrobatics. He’s really starting to turn into a solid act over there.

DO NOT MISS LISTThis weekend

It should be another hot weekend of music… on Thursday, August 1st. the occasional lawyer band, the Deadbeats will play the Back Porch, the Free Beer Band will be at the Tarpon Ice House and the local country faves, Three Way Street will be at Giggity’s. On Friday, August 2nd, the friendliest man in country music, Thomas Michael Riley will bring some hollerin’ and swallerin’ to the Back Porch; there will be a full blown 80’s dance party at Giggity’s with Full Body Puppets (Rockport, TX); the acoustic Brett Mussey Band will be at Shorty’s and local songbird extraordinaire Carol Elliott (Port Aransas, TX) will play her first Friday gig from 6:30- 8:30 at the Tarpon Ice House. Also, Elliott will play the new Handsome Sailor Beach Club on Conn Brown Harbor in Aransas Pass on Saturday night. The HSBC is a

very cool outdoor palapa bar and marina across from the sailor’s memorial. This wonderful place is the creation of the Handsome Sailor himself, Capt. Tom Doran, and has a similar feel to the Back Porch. On Saturday, August 3rd, Larry Joe Taylor (Stephenville, TX) will play the Porch, Texas Sand will be at Shorty’s and our local C&W phenom, Melissa Brooke will return to Giggity’s. Port Aransas Summerfest…But the big news on Saturday

is at Sharkey’s Beach Club in Port A. Drum roll please…. The Fabulous Thunderbirds will kick start the August concert series called Port Aransas Summerfest. The great Toman Brothers (San Antonio, TX) will open the show. Also slated in the month are Joe Ely on August 10, Rick Treveno on August 17, Cory Morrow on August 24, Jack Ingram on August 31 and Los Lonely Boys on September 1. All of these shows are “all ages” and will start at 6:30 p.m. The cost of admission is $20 for advanced tickets and $25 at the door. These are all outdoor concerts to be held on the property right behind Sharkeys. Bring your lawn chairs but not your ice coolers… beverages will be on sale there.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds…The T-Birds are a Texas blues band that got

their start in Austin in the mid 70’s as the house band at a little club call Antone’s. The original members of the band consisted of Kim Wilson on vocals and harp, Jimmy Vaughan on guitar, Keith Furgeson on bass and Mike Buck on skins. They used to play every Sunday night and I remember it well. A very distinct memory I have is one especially cold winter night when nobody was in the place and Rolling Thunder Revue was in town and was staying at the Driscoll Hotel across the street from the club. In walked Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. Dylan sat in the corner and chain smoked cigs and generally acted really weird while Mitchell

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Live MusicThursday, August 1Three Way Street @ Giggity’sDead Beats @ Back PorchFree Beer Band @ Tarpon Ice HouseRPG, Funeral Ash, Derangement, Until the Grave @ House of Rock

Friday, August 2Thomas Michael Riley @ Back PorchFull Body Puppets @ Giggity’sBrett Mussey Band @ Shorty’sTiffany Duckworth @ Cinnamon ShoresCruise Control @ South Texas Ice HouseBilly Snipes @ Uppity’sRay T & the City Crew @ The Flats LoungeDavid & Barbara Brown @ Coffee WavesAnother Level @ Dr. Rockits90 Proof @ House of Rock Spazmatics @ Brewster Street The Deadbeats, Scarecrow People @ Executive Surf Club

Saturday, August 3Larry Joe Taylor @ Back Porch Melissa Brooke @ Giggity’s Texas Sand @ Shorty’s Carol Elliott @ Handsome Sailor Yacht Club Fabulous Thunderbirds/ Toman Bros. @ SharkeysTiffany Duckworth @ La PlayaSpark in the Dark @ Coffee Waves Passafire, Stick Figure, Tatanka @ House of Rock Matt Hole & the Hot Rod Gang @ Executive Surf ClubJ.R. Castillo @ Brewster Street Reno & the Groovegetters @ Dr. Rockits

Sunday, August 4Open Jam w/ Uel Jackson @ Tarpon Ice HouseAntone & the All Stars @ Giggity’sTumble Dry Low @ Bernie’s Beach HouseOpen Jam @ Neptune’sBallabajoomba Poetry Slam @ House of Rock John Eric Open Mic @ South Texas Ice HouseRed Giant @ Dr. Rockits Monday, August 5Mike Williams @ Tarpon Ice HouseJustin Estes Band @ Dr. Rockits

Tuesday, August 6Open Mic @ House of RockTiffany Duckworth @ Doc’s

Scarecrow People @ Executive Surf Club Broken Down Legend @ Dr. Rockits

Wednesday, August 7Open Jam w/ Wolfjaw @

Flats LoungeRun Down Legends @

House of RockFlat Broke @ Dr. Rockits

Thursday, August 8Three Way Street @

Giggity’sFree Beer Band @ Tarpon Ice HouseAloha Dave & the

Tourists @ Back Porch Kyle Park @ Brewster

Street

Friday, August 9Dust Devils @ Back

Porch J.T. Coldfire @ Giggity’s

Independent Thieves @ Shorty’s

Ray T & the City Crew @ The Flats Lounge

Hilda Lamas @ Sunset Sounds

Nick Gaitan & Umbrella Man @ Executive Surf

Club Tiffany Duckworth @

Cinnamon ShoresGrassfire @ Coffee

Waves Shake Down @ South

Texas Ice House Kyle Park @ Brewster

StreetLeopold & His Fiction,

Obscurred by Echos, Blind Owls @ House of

RockRuben V @ Dr. Rockits

Saturday, August 10

Miss Neesie & the Ear Food Orchestra @ Back

PorchStatesboro Revue @

Giggity’sLittlewolf @ Shorty’s

Joe Ely/ Larry Joe Taylor @ Sharkeys

Fight for Freedom Benefit @ House of Rock

Spark in the Dark @ Coffee Waves

Junior Gordon @ South Texas Ice House

Paul Renna @ Executive Surf Club

2nd Saturday Sing-Along Piano Show @ Brewster

Street Green Party @ Dr.

Rockits

Sunday, August 11Antone & the All Stars @

Giggity’s

Tonight

Ray T & the City Crew

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The Deadbeats Aug. 1Thomas Michael Riley Aug. 2Larry Joe Taylor Aug. 3Aloha Dave Aug. 8Dust Devils Aug. 9Miss Neesie & Earfood Aug. 10

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Full Body Puppets Aug. 2Melissa Brooke Aug. 3J.T. Coldfire Aug. 9Statesboro Revue Aug. 10Will Owen Gage Aug. 16Raeanne & the Ride Aug. 17Open 2pm-2am Daily. Kitchen open til 1am. 722 Tarpon, Port Aransas, TX

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Brett Mussey Band Aug. 2Texas Sand Aug. 3Independent Thieves Aug. 9Red Giant Aug. 10Ruben Limas Aug. 16Noel McKay

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Carol Elliott plays the Tarpon Ice House this Friday and the

Handsome Sailor Beach Club on Saturday.

Joe Mack & Sky Smeed were in town this weekend and played Shorty’s and the

Tarpon Ice House.

Littlewolf played the Back Porch and Giggity’s last week.

Melissa Brooke will play Giggity’s on Saturday.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds will play Sharkeys on Aug. 3.

Clay McClinton played the Back Porch last Friday.