(Advance to 1997) - Liz Mandville, Johnny B. Moore in Chicago

"Tuesday, May 20^th 1997. Wild Bill and I paid Lorenzo at Blue Chicago on Clark the $6 cover and were escorted by a waitress to a seat in the crowded half-club. The Aron Burton band was knocking it out tastefully, warming up the crowd which included 50 German tourists. Singer Liz Mandeville Greeson got on stage in her little green dress (she remarked that it looked bigger in the store!) and quickly took command, joking with the crowd in English and broken deutsch. She has been singing blues since 1982, and has a strong repertoire and - dare I say it - lots of sex appeal. She writes her own songs; her cd "Look At Me" (Earwig 4938CD) contains 14 songs all penned by her. "I'm So Blue (Cause Both Of My Men Are Gone)", "I'm on a Rocket Tonight", "That's What A Man'll Do To You", are some of the numbers she belted out. One set and then Wild Bill and I had to walk 4 minutes to Blue Chicago, the sister club on Clark to catch our other act.

Blue Chicago is a great blues club -- my favourite -- because it has these ingredients. Good sized stage, ten or twelve tables and booths right up front with an excellent view, a long bar further back selling Honey Brown, sweet waitresses, clean rest rooms, plenty of seating along two sides of the bar and all the way to the back of the club (actually the entrance) -- oh, and excellent blues acts.

When Johnny B. Moore came on stage, his wife had already made her over to my table to sell his latest cd, "Troubled World" on Delmark (DE-701), which she proceeded to sign. I had seen Moore in the late '70s with Koko Taylor, and he is as tough as ever, and very self-assured. He has a gritty, solid groove and an intensity on-stage that drives his band hard.