LONG BEACH BLUES FESTIVAL
1997

Aug. 30 - Sept. 1

The theme of the year was "Chicago Blues" as the Chess Records celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. Though it was rather odd to see this kind of setting in Southern California, the Fest was full of good music and excitement. There were some artists who were not from from Chicago as well. Like John Lee Hooker who now lives in the Bay Area who used to make big hits in Detroit. I believe the reason why he was in the line up was because he had recorded for Chess for a while. Similar things can be said about some other artists like Chuck Berry.

The set by Otis Rush was quite powerful and impressive. I have seen many of his shows over the years but this one definitely was one of his best yet. He is known to have a very severe ups and downs in his performance and I have also seen some of his worst, but this performance was really exceptional. Each note on the guitar was very strong and the tensions were kept high till the end. His vocals were majestic and soulful, too. The songs he played included "Right Place, Wrong Time", "Double Trouble", and the classic "All Your Love."

Ike Turner's Rhythm & Blues Revue was a real treat. Joing with the overwhelming forces of the Ikettes who did the dancing and vocals, Ike showed a supreme R&B show at the level of golden days of Ike & Tina Revue. Not much new, but not much was lost over the years, either. The band wrapped up the set with "Proud Mary." I personally liked the Ikettes' flashy outfit. God knows why...

One sad thing was that Luther Allison who was originally scheduled to perform on the first day of the Fest died 2 weeks earlier on August 12 due to lung cancer. Buddy Guy filled his spot. "I wasn't supposed to be here..." Buddy said, "But my best friend died, so I've got to do my best to fill his spot." He sure did a great job filling in. Junior Wells was also scheduled to perform on the same day but had to cancel because he too was hospitalized for cancer treatment. Little Milton did a great set as a substitute for him. Etta James was another one who canceled. She had a high fever and couldn't make it. Ike Turner's Revue was her substitute.

The Soul Stirrers were another great one at the Fest. Though it's been many years since Sam Cooke left the group, you could still feel the strong influence of the late soul master through their music. They sang "The Change Is Gonna Come" and that was very moving. Their great soulful harmony proved that they are still one of the best gospel quartet in the nation.

Harmonica veterans James Cotton and Snooky Pryor both showed that they still can boogie real good. Cotton doesn't sing anymore, but his band featured a good vocalist Darrell Nulisch and did a fine rockin' set (without drums!) Where there is a will there is a way, that's what I thought about it.

Other performers were Billy Boy Arnold, Jimmy Rogers, Hubert Sumlin, and Diamond Jim Greene. Last year's theme was "Texas", "Blues from Coast to Coast" the year before. What's up next? Memphis? New Orleans? Am I the only one worrying that they might ran out of ideas if they stick to this theme concept?