Buddy Guy: An American Blues Treasure

Buddy Guy: Large and In Charge at the Tulalip Amphitheater

It's not too often any more that BowlingJoe gets blown away by something completely unexpected when it comes to live music. But it happened last year at about this time. Just for the fun of it, in the summer of 2007, I got tickets for my son and myself to go see a blues musician by the name of Buddy Guy. I'd heard some of his stuff that he recorded on the Chess Records label and knew that he was out of Chicago and had been a student of the great Muddy Waters.

What we weren't prepared for was a man in his seventies to hit the stage with vigor and intensity that would put most 20-somethings to shame. He played loud. He played piercing rapid fire machine gun notes. He played inspiring blues music. And he was genuinely happy to be there doing it.

Last Thursday Bowlingwidow, Muffinheadedboy (along with one of his friends) and I paid a return visit to Buddy Guy at The Tulalip Amphitheater. He and his band were the first part of a twin bill with George Thorogood and The Destroyers.

Again, Buddy Guy didn't disappoint. Clad in white overalls and a white hat, he had command of the stage and at one point during the 75 minute set wandered around in the crowd chatting, singing and playing solos for a good 15 minutes. I got the feeling that most of the crowd was there to see Thorogood because of a lot of empty seats at the beginning, but Buddy Guy got their attention in short order. And rightfully so. He played stuff from 1969 as well as from his new CD, "Skin Deep". He played the guitar with his teeth, a cloth and a stick he swiped from his drummer. And never hit a bad note or missed a beat.

Click here to watch and listen to Buddy Guy play a blistering version of "Damn Right I've Got the Blues" from around ten years ago.

As for George Thorogood and the Destroyers.....well......I'll give them credit for being a competent and tight bar band with a lot of familiar songs such as "Bad to the Bone" and "Move It On Over". But as far as their live act is concerned, Thorogood's constant posing and grandstanding wore out its welcome in a hurry. Is his core audience stupid enough to buy into this crap? The sad answer is, yeah, probably. I used to own some of his stuff on vinyl and that will be the way I'll choose to remember him and the Destroyers as opposed to the pretentious and uninspiring set that they delivered. Back in the 70's and 80's he was the underdog, recording straight ahead, no b.s. rock for Rounder Records. Too bad he morphed into George Thorogood the character.

Thorogood and a Destroyer

I'm not alone in my thinking either. My brother (we'll call him SteelheadScot) and his girlfriend saw the same show at a casino in Shelton the following night. And he left the Thorogood set even earlier than we did (but loved Buddy Guy's performance).

Here's the bottom line. If you ever have a chance to see and hear Buddy Guy live, and are even remotely a fan of the blues, run (don't walk) to the ticket window and buy. I'm thinking and hoping that he'll be able to keep this up for another 20 years but ya just never know.

Skookum Brewing

BowlingJoe with owner/brewer Ron Walcher

Back in the day, BowlingJoe was a fairly active homebrewer. It was a lot of fun messing around with different recipes of malt, hops, yeast and even such off the wall things as molasses and coffee. Pale ales, brown ales, porters, stouts. I took a crack at all of them and have to admit that some of them turned out pretty darned good. And then there were others that had more than a hint of "something sour" in them.

I gradually retired from the scene as Muffinheadedboy was getting older and brewing needed to take a back seat to coaching and supporting whatever he happened to be doing.

I can't really say I miss homebrewing very much, in large part because there are so many small breweries around who have refined and perfected their processes to a degree that I can't even come close to. They're producing world class beer. One of those places is right up the road from us between Smokey Point and Arlington. Whenever we get a chance, as we did yesterday afternoon, Bowlingwidow and I like to go to Skookum Brewing, established in January of 2007. The term "skookum" is of Chinook jargon origin and in general means good, strong, or first rate.

To get to the brewery and taproom, you turn left down the dirt road (10 mph speed limit), go past the house with the bulldozer, continue beyond the horses grazing in the field off to the left. When you see the cows on the right, you're getting close. Park underneath the shade tree in the yard across from the barn. No, really, it's like that. And it's a lot of fun being in that beautiful country setting with owner/brewer Ron Walcher and co-owner Jackie Jenkins. There's no friendlier crowd than the dozen or so customers that are there at any given time to enjoy a pint or to pick up a keg or a growler. And with seating mostly outdoors, a nice day is always a bonus.

But you have to time your visit well, as their modest but mighty tap room is only open a precious few hours a week. Fridays from 4-7 pm and Saturdays from 2-5 pm. Ron and Jackie do have other "real jobs" after all. Being big fans of the hop bitterness of India Pale Ale (IPA) we usually opt for Skookum's Jackass IPA. It begins with a malty and somewhat sweet flavor but then sneaks up on you with a full dose of hops. Other offerings include Skookum Pale Ale, Woody's Oak (with light caramel and wood tones), Amber's Hot Friend (a west coast style malty amber ale), and Mule (kicks like one with heavy usage of both malt and hops).

Ron and BowlingJoe in the taproom
In addition to going straight to the source, Skookum beers are available at several pubs and restaurants in the area including G.A. Maxwell's in Marysville, Ivar's Mukilteo Landing, Fred's Rivertown Alehouse in Snohomish, Conway Pub and Eatery, and Olympic Tavern in Arlington. A complete listing along with directions, photos and other information can be found on their website.

Skookum Brewing is located at 19529 17th Dr. NE in Arlington. If anyone ever wants to join us on a fact finding expedition to Skookum Brewing, be sure to let Bowlingwidow or me know.

The Plummeting Tortoises

BowlingJoe is quite possibly the only member of the United States Bowling Congress who also belongs to a book group.

The Plummeting Tortoises: Tim, Steven, BowlingJoe, Robert

Being both a bowler AND a native of the Olympic Peninsula is normally the kiss of death when it comes to literacy, but through practice and perseverance I’ve somehow managed to rise to the occasion and buck this trend. It was actually never really my intention to join a book group.

You see, I have these friends who are fully involved in the whole reading thing both in their professional and personal lives. Tim pretty much makes the Bellingham High School library a functioning entity. Robert is the music library supervisor and professor of history at Western Washington University. Steven is a highly regarded Advanced Placement English teacher at Squalicum High School. Randy, the fourth original member, tragically passed away in 2004. This is where BowlingJoe comes in.

The Plummeting Tortoises book group formed in September of 1995 when they unveiled “A Map of the World” by Jane Hamilton. A total of 121 books have been read and discussed to date at the (mostly) monthly gatherings that rotate from house to house. The rule is simple: choose any book and when it’s your turn to do so, you’re also the host for that session and are responsible for planning the main course for lunch and assigning side-dish and beverage duties to the others. Often, the food and drink is somehow tied to the book choice. For example, the book “Hadji Murad” by Leo Tolstoy practically begged for borscht and vodka to make an appearance. Of course, this philosophy can prove to be problematic when you’re reading a novel set in places such as Antarctica. It’s simply too hard to find good lean cuts of penguin or plankton these days. And we’re really screwed when the book is set in outer space.

In December of 2004, after a couple of weeks of contemplation, I decided to accept the group’s offer to join the Tortoises, replacing Randy. It was certainly a departure from life as usual for BowlingJoe, would exercise some brain cells that have gone dormant, and would be the perfect excuse to listen to good music and eat/drink heartily each month with friends. Robert picked the first book after my enrollment. I lucked out, as he tossed us a softball with “Chronicles: Volume 1”, the Bob Dylan autobiography. It was an interesting and quick read, as well as one that’s a lot of fun to do with a Dylan impersonation running silently through your brain as you’re reading it.

When it comes around to my turn at book selection, I keep threatening to choose “Bowling: How to Master the Game” by Parker Bohn (great book by the way) but I’ve spared them (sorry) so far. I did, however, give them “Freakonomics” by Stephen Levitt a couple of years ago, a best selling non-fiction book that explores the hidden side of economic forces. They took it in stride, although the “you’re f***ing kidding me, right?” initial reaction from one of them was priceless. To his credit and my relief, he didn’t retaliate in my direction with “War and Peace” which he could have done.

We met last weekend, outdoors at our place, going over “Out Stealing Horses” by Per Pederson. It wasn’t a long discussion as we all agreed that it was an interesting and insightful book that didn’t hit you over the head with a lot of conclusions. I elected NOT to stay in theme for the meal this time since lutefisk and smelt didn’t sound very appetizing. (But not to worry, as we did pull out a bag of Swedish Fish candy for dessert). Since it was such a nice day, the main course consisted of a couple of dry-rubbed 4 ½ pound chickens with half-full beer cans placed strategically in their cavities as they sat in a 250-degree propane smoker for a four hours. Beer can chicken as it’s called is delicious and one can find recipes throughout the Internet. Combined with corn on the cob, a nice salad and a chocolaty dessert provided by the rest of the family of Testudinidae, it made for a fine day indeed.