Scottsdale and Flagstaff Blues Festivals
Pictured to the side: Taj Mahal, Koko Taylor, Kimberly and Kandy Kane, Eric Johnson
A couple weeks back as they say… the Blues Came to Town. Saturday night we headed up to Flagstaff. Along the way on the couple hour drive up I-17 we got caught in one of the worst rain storms I have seen in our 14 years in Arizona. The good news was that even though the show was outside and it rained most of the night, we had seats up front and under cover. the nights can get cold up there, but a great night of music made it all good. An old timer opened up the show and got the groove going, followed by a decent set by Taj Mahal. Taj was touring as a 3 piece band and his set was a little short, but always great to see him. The show finished with “our” (I can say that now after 40 shows or so) Robert Cray Band. The RCB set was, as always too short, but excellent. They even did a couple of old Blues Classics including Killing Floor that we had never seen them perform.
After the Flagstaff show we hustled it back to Phoenix as the next day was the all day long Scottsdale Blues Festival. We had VIP admittance which along with food in a special tent, better restrooms, t-shirts, two bottles of wine, etc - also meant we could get into the show 1/2 hour early - guaranteeing we could be first and weasel our blanket down front and center with the best seats - which we of course did. The rub meant that we had little sleep time we got back from Flag and got up early to get our space at the Festival.
The show has some excellent acts, including local legend Big Pete and the Rhythm Room Allstars (Bob C is a great guy), Kandy Kane (who put on a great set and Kimberly is pictured with above), Blues Traveler, Taj Mahal again, Koko Taylor and the Robert Cray Band. Of course we wanted to see the RCB again, but the treat was a chance to see Koko after 20 years since last show, and knowing she doesn’t have a whole lot of shows left.
What a great day of music, sun, vino, food and time with each other. It was sure draining out there from 9:00 am to 10:00 pm in the sun, but I can not imagine a better way to spend a Sunday - spoiled and diggin’ it.