At Blue, October 28, 2006
By IAN PAIGE | November 1, 2006
Samuel James |
“My name is Samuel James and this is my rained-out CD-release party. I love you all for coming out.”
So said Portland’s very own true bluesman last Saturday at Blue. . . to the seven people who had braved the apocalyptic torrent in time for the 4 pm kickoff to a marathon string of performances and 1930s costume partying. Dressed as vintage hobos, James and his friend Dana Gross traded off songs about trains for at least an hour in front of a backdrop of a soaked Congress Street with debris flying every which way and trees bowing 90 degrees as though Blue was about to take off for the land of Oz.
Inside, however, was as serene as could be with the two performers enjoying each other’s music and smiling through the hours in the electric-blanket warmth of the venue. By six o’clock, the audience count grew from seven to twenty and James broke out his aluminum guitar and slide. He ended the set with an energetic Son House tune, stomping his foot like he wanted to dig to China and banging the living crap out of his instrument.
Samuel James is a gift to Portland because he does what he does for himself, for his friends, and for you if you take him up on his invitation to see him perform. He manages to channel blues giants while creating the same individual personality and approach that made those giants so great in the first place. Plenty of Portlanders already know this from the looks of it; Blue was standing-room-only for the rest of the night.
Related:
Book of Samuel, Vol. 3, Swinging blues, Samuel James, More 
- Book of Samuel, Vol. 3
It's so easy not to think about the music Samuel James makes much at all. Built from the very pillars of American music, it's easy to dismiss it as an homage, a throwback, a curiosity. And it is all those things, with James's ageless voice — he could be 20 or 80 — and variety of stringed instruments that scoff at modern technology.
- Swinging blues
On the eve of Samuel James's second CD release on Northern Blues Music, For Rosa, Maeve and Noreen , we needed to catch up on all of his happenings since the release of 2008's Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy .
- Samuel James
It seems trite to refer to Samuel James’s CD-release show as a coronation, but the evidence supports it.
- Pour some Sugar on me
“I want this company to add substantially to the blues repertoire,” he writes on the label’s site, “and not just come out with the ‘same old, same old.’”
- Samuel James and Moses Atwood
The respect these two have for each other’s talent is evident.
- Soundoff: Benbazi
BENBAZI , the mohawk-wearing percussionist for BOOMBAZI and BOOMSQUAD , as well as a performer with LABSEVEN , weighs in on songs by SAMUEL JAMES and HOUR PAST.
- Both sides of the blues
When the Streets put out Original Pirate Material in 2004, there was much agreement that the crazy cadenced rap coming out of that Brit’s mouth was genuinely as original as music gets nowadays, exploring the very edges of contemporary music.
- Urban bards
“You’ll find us. We’ll sound like Kenny G on acid.”
- One man’s picks for the BiMPys
Pffft. That Phoenix Best Music Poll is just a popularity contest!
- Second summer
Summer's over, the kids are getting back to school and I'm loath to turn the seasonal page. The music's been terrific. New discs by Spencer and the School Spirit Mafia, Grand Hotel, dilly dilly, Samuel James, and Gypsy Tailwind have highlighted the depth and breadth of our local talent and the return of shows on the pier has reminded many of us just what a great summer town this can be.
- Everyone get BiMPy!
1) Who will win Best Act? 2) How will the Asylum suit the show, now that the Pavilion has shut its doors? 3) What will Shannon Moss do with her hair?
- Less
Topics:
New England Music News
, Samuel James, Dana Gross
