There are still a few of the great Chicago bluesmen on the scene and on the road.

One of them is Magic Slim and his band, the Teardrops, one of the prime movers of the Chicago sound for decades. His deep, gritty vocals and stinging guitar build a sound that carries the essence of the blues from his native Mississippi.

Slim (Mr. Slim?) is 69, a tall, imposing figure with a voice to match. He cranks out the blues with intensity and passion. Like so many bluesmen, he seems to love the blues life he lives.

And you can hear him tomorrow night at Moondog's in Blawnox, if you try hard enough. A couple of recent shows I've seen there -- really fine blues shows -- have been poorly attended.

Bluesmen like Slim are a piece of living history, among just a handful of musicians who still represent what we love best about this music.

Do yourself a favor. Do Slim a favor. Come out and soak it up live while you can.

Great new old blues

I've just come into possession of an excellent set of CDs and a DVD of blues from Blues Legacy, a British group which has found and lovingly restored some old tapes from the late '50s of American blues master performing in England.

It's one of the first real exposures for the Brits to the people behind the American blues, and contains in its essence the beginnings of the British blues performers who then brought the music back to the country of its origin.

It's historically interesting, musically significant, and great listening. Stay tuned.

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I've been letting some CDs pile up lately, and it would be good to get some off the stack.

One is not really new, but part of a batch sent to me by Jeff Ingersoll of Bonedog Records to show off his sparkling local bluesy lineup. One of these is Larry Nath's "Live It."

Nath is a roots, blues-rocking singer songwriter and guitar player.

He's a Western Pa. guy, which means he has some respectable roots in the classic traditions of regional music.

He and Pittsburgh's Jimmy Adler formed the Mohicans in 1989 and played around the area, including the old Decade in Oakland, home to much great music. (I know the business is fragile, but clubs like that should not have to die.) Adler shows up with his guitar for three cuts here, while Nath works the harp.

The tracks are a masterful blend of roots, rock and blues, all hung together with well-crafted tunes by Nath and Mike Sweeney, another local songwriter who gives every song his word's worth.

The title track, by Nath and Adler, is almost classic rock in a bluesy vein, talking about the "living it" of life.

Not everything rocks hard. "Lilly" is a tender love song, and "Tender and Tough," done with just a piano, is just that.

But it's the tough rocking tunes that catch the ear. "BoneDog Blues" is a gritty intro to the album, setting just the right tone, again, with Adler on guitar.

"The Killer and the King" is a clever Sweeney take on a Jerry Lee Lewis - Elvis cagematch. "Fool That I Am" is no slouch, either.

There are more. And they're worth a listen if you enjoy this kind of classic roots. It's a tight, crackling set, fueled by band members Brandon Barnes (drums), Jimmy Brotton (keyboards), Mighty Lil' Johnson (bass) and Jim Relja (guitar).

A nice outing by someone who should show himself more often in some area clubs.

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A little more on the Pittsburgh Blues Festival.

Jim Franciscus, the veep at the Blues Society of Western Pa., writes to add the names of Tab Benoit and Tommy Castro as headliners in addition to Taj Mahal.

The dates are on their Web sites -- Benoit on the 25th, Mahal the 26th and Castro the 27th. Sounds like a good festival lineup.

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Jim also wanted to let fans know about a Sunday afternoon (May 18) of local blues at Moondog's organized by Bubs McKeg (recent BSWPA International Blues Challenge solo winner) -- all proceeds benefit the West End-Elliott Meals on Wheels program.

Here's the lineup:

2 pm Shot O' Soul (Franciscus' new band)

2:50 pm -- Zack Tyler and Blu Razor

3:40 pm -- East End Dukes

4:20 pm -- Jimmy Adler w/Eric Spaulding on sax

5:10 pm -- Sweaty Betty Blues Band

6 pm -- Rich Kacin backed by the House Band (Bubs McKeg, Fred Delu, Eric Spaulding and Jon Erskine)

6:30 pm -- Billy Price backed by the House Band

7 pm -- Frank Czuri and Warren King backed by the House Band (featuring Paul Martello on drums)

7:45 pm -- Wild A$$ Blues Jam featuring members of all of the above.

Francicus notes: "It's a great lineup and should be a fantastic show. All are encouraged to attend and support Bubs McKeg and friends in raising money for this most-worthy cause."

Admission is $12.00 at the door ($10.00 for BSWPA members)

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Today's post was going to focus on the 2008 Blues Award winners, but while looking up some blues festivals, I was checking the Pittsburgh Blues Festival site to see if their lineup was available.

It's not -- it's comin soon, they say -- but I did remember that I've been hearing that the great Taj Mahal would be one of the headliners. Crafty investigative journalist that BlueNotes is, he checked the Taj Mahal Web site, and sure enough, Taj is planning on being here Saturday night, July 26.

By the way, for those of you who might want to enjoy the Poconos Blues Festival this year, you should know that it's the same weekend as Pittsburgh's. And they have a pretty good-looking lineup. It might be worth the trip just to see Jimmy McCracklin and Sugar Pie DeSanto. (Why couldn't BlueNotes have a nickname like "Sugar Pie"?)

The Blues Hall of Fame winners were named last week (I know, it's this week already, but I was waiting for the list with all the nominees to come up on the Blues Foundation site.

This year, instead of Memphis, the awards ceremony (think of these as the Oscars of the blues) was held in Tunica, Miss. They had a lot of great nominees and a lot of great winners. The envelope, please: (winners in bold)

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Blues guitarist Chris Cain brought his bombastic self to Moondog's Saturday night, and tore the place up, down and sideways with his big guitar and even bigger voice.

Until Saturday night, I'd only known him through his recordings. What a difference a body makes. It was joyfully exhausting just to watch.

The San Jose, Calif., bluesman shows hints of rock and jazz in his versatile guitar work, which is flashy and functional at the same time -- that is, not just flash for its own sake. But his emphasis is the blues, and there's no mistaking that when he bends the wire. He's a manic-depressive on guitar, but minus the depressive.

From the first big guitar notes, he hits the stage with a presence that doesn't quit until the night ends. He moves, his head bobs furiously to the music, he grimaces and mugs and shoots sly little zingers into the audience between songs.

It's a complete performance by a veteran bluesman who knows how to work a crowd -- and work it into a happy blues frenzy.

Of course, I use the word "crowd" metaphorically. The "crowd" was probably 35-40 people at best, and a half-dozen of those were members of John Pergal's tough, bluesy Pawnbrokers, who opened the night with Pergal urging the audience to go home, get some friends, and come back.

I mean, c'mon blues fans. There must be hundreds of thousands of people with a half-hour or so of Moondog's. So it was a Pens-Flyers playoff night. Come out afterward and celebrate with some great music.

It's to the credit of Pergal and Cain that they turned in rousing sets for just a handful of appreciative fans. I guess that's why it's called the blues.

I sat behind a table of four, who it turned out, had motored from deep in the state of Virginia just to hear Cain whip the blues. Now those are fans.

He's a player you won't get to see that often, since he's not a regular in the club circuit on this side of the country -- I asked him how often he got here, and his quip was, "Whenever they let me out." He should get a hall pass more often.

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It turns out that the film industry pushed Pergal and the Pawnbrokers into Moondog's.

A DreamWorks romantic comedy called "She's Out of My League" is filming in and around town, and they had taken over the Thunderbird Cafe for four nights of filming. It should be interesting to look for the T'Bird scenes in the film,

By the way, for a little more info on Cain, here's a bio from the Blind Pig records Web site, where he's released some albums.

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By the way, if you click on the link under the photo above, you'll go to this article, again, but with a set of image links at the top left. CLick on any one of them for a little slideshow of my photos of Chris at Moondog's. It's kind of a clunky tool, but better than nothing. I think.

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There are a couple of unusual musicians in town this weekend, one bluesy, one -- well, rootsy, for lack of a better word.

First the blues. Tonight at Moondog's in Blawnox, West Coast guitarist Chris Cain comes to town.

Cain is an interesting blend of music and musician (African-American/Greek), with stinging guitar and a big deep voice that makes you look around for the real singer.

He was raised in a family full of music and the many early influences have given him a strong foundation in the blues.

He doesn't come this way very often, and should be worth hearing. He's not a real well-known artist, especially out here on the near-East Coast. Here are a few older intereviews that might help you get acquainted: Blues Access from 1997 and Triviana from 1992.

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The other show, Saturday at Moondog's is Webb Wilder, whose rootsy music blends country and rock, and according to some quarters, surf music. He's also a filmmaker who has produced award-winning short films, and has been described as "roots-rock's only true Renaissance man."

He's not really a bluesman, unless you consider that we are all bluesmen (ok, blueswomen, too).

I've listened to his new CD, "Born to be Wilder," and it's an indescribably pleasant mix of musical Americana, minus the pap. So give him a chance if you have the time.

Singer, guitarist, bandleader, filmmaker, humorist-Webb Wilder may be , and not to be missed.

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