That's right, I may never run out of things to say about last weekend's Chicago Blues Festival.
It was packed with talent that made it hard to know where to go and listen next. It was hard to leave one great performance because you might be missing another great performance.
But I shouldn't be complaining about the abundance of good times. Here are a few notes and photos from some of the Friday shows.
I've already written about the historic piano man, Little Willie Littlefield, but the first time I saw him was Friday afternoon on one of the smaller stages, and he put on an impressive show.
He seemed as genuinely happy to be playing as the crowd was to hear his smooth, old-fashioned R&B and blues keyboard work.
He goes way back into the '40s, when his bluesy triplets influenced other early R&B men like Fat Domino, but after mixed success in the U.S., he took his career to Europe and lived in the Netherlands for almost 30 years.
It's hard to imagine that his infectious performances didn't get more love here, but they were hard to miss in Chicago. Maybe I'm overdoing it a little, but I think trailblazers like Willie need to be recognized for what they did, and still do.
I was pretty annoyed to hear someone behind me call him a "hack" during his show on Sunday, just before B.B. King took the stage.
Another intriguing performer was Omar Shariff, another piano player, who offered everything from soulful blues to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." He outfitted himself in red, white and blue spangled cap and vest, noting that people tell him that his name is "unamerican."
"It's my name," he said. "I didn't pick it. I love my country." Another little piece of eccentric blues Americana.
I made sure that I did get to see Sam Lay, the legendary drummer for many blues great in the 1950s and '60s -- Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, James Cotton and, as a founding member, with the The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Lay also just happened to be Bob Dylan's drummer at the infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival concert when Dylan was booed for plugging into electric music.
He's since taken up the guitar, which is what he presented in the Friday small-stage show. His down-home acoustic set was a lesson in the way the blues should sound.
Another guitarist I made sure to catch was Jimmy Johnson, who didn't start recording until he was 50, and has made it worth thwe wait.
He sings in the higher registers, and it gives his blues a unique high lonesome sound sometimes. He's another bluesman whose roots go deep, and who it gets harder to see these days.
I already mentioned the blues gathering Friday night of Eddy Clearwater, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Lonnie Brooks, Billy Branch, Otis Clay and Johnson.
But I mention them again here because I found my photo of Clearwater in full Indian headdress (ablove), and it's too good not to include.
One of the features on the Friday night main stage was a set of some of my favorite old soul music, led by Willie Henderson's Big Bad Blues Band.
Due to problems entirely of my own making, I missed the singer I wanted to see, Sugar Pie DeSanto, but did catch Chicago's Ruby Andrews, a sexy, seductive singer who caressed the crowd with her sultry vocals and smoldering stage presence.
They were all followed on the Friday night main stage by the reigning queen of Chicago blues, Koko Taylor.
She's had some health problems in recent years, but has rebounded, and while she still belts the blues with passion and intensity, it seems obvious that she's pushing her voice a little these days.
Still, she's giving the fans all she has, and that's considerable, and that's all any fan can ask.
And that doesn't mean that the music isn't there. Her band is sharp and tough, and lead guitarist, Japanese axeman Shun Kikuta, is a pleasure to watch and hear as he stings the Chicago blues.
There was more -- much more -- on Friday, and at some point in the next few days, I'll give you a neatly ordered list of impressive artists who need to be mentioned.
Yes, I know the photos are jammed in here a little. But I just wanted to get in as many as I can to try and catch the festival flavor.
Meanwhile, I know that I'm ignoring a couple of fine new CD releases by Janiva Magness and The Homemade Jamz Blues Band, a splendid young blues band that will be at the Pittsburgh Blues Festival. But they're coming soon, to a BlueNotes theater near you.
First Published: June 12, 2008, 4:00 a.m.
