Ms Toni In Houston

Waterfront Blues Festival 2011: How to spend your Saturday

Waterfront Blues Festival-goers come in several varieties. Those who hit the festival because they have one or two favorites they want to see. There are those who pick a day and spend it here, planning who they want to see (on the OMN mobile site www.wbf.oregonmusicnews.com and enjoying the music and the day.

And then there are those who wait the whole year to spend all four days immersed.

If you spent Friday at the festival, you’ll show up today with memories you’ll never forget. If you missed yesterday, you can go back and see what we OMN’ers wrote about the music .

Either way, if you come in by the fountain you’ll pass by the Transcendental Brass Band who started at 10:15 today.

Here they are down at the river during the Brewers’ Festival last July:

Say you got there a little later and headed over toward the Miller stage, or found a great spot on the lawn somewhere in between. Maybe you brought some food from home, or bought something from one of the vendors, sat yourself down and you’re ready for Triple Threat on the Miller stage. Could be you’ve never seen them. They look like this.

They are: Pat Axlund on guitar/lead vocals who was a founding member of the local band “Group Therapy”; John Liljedahl on bass/harp/vocals who was a founding member of “Little Curtis and The Blues”; and Tim Dodd on drums/vocals who was a founding member of the local band “Inner City Bluez.”

Try to find them online like I just spent the last fifteen minutes doing? Don’t bother. We are told that they, “play a mix of blues/classic rock covers and original songs. Current set list includes songs from such artists as Joe Walsh, Eric Clapton, Steve Miller, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix.

Guess you’ll have to find out for yourself.

You can always mosey over to the Oregonian stage where the  Zydeco Swamp Romp began at noon. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to dance to it,  Roland and Janine Jemerson will give you a lesson.

Might as well stick around there until 12:45 and catch local Cajun/Zydeco faves Too Loose Cajun Band because sitting in with them will be former New Orleans saxophonist Reggie Houston, Southern Louisiana keyboardist, Steve Kerin and…this is a big surprise…Tony Furtado!