photo from 2/16/17 courtesy of TZ
And in the third set, he rose again...
I saw Glenn perform in early January at The Beachland (big room). It was pretty good for a 2017 performance. He had a young female guitarist and older harmonica player sit in with him for much of the show. Toward the end, he had Crazy Marvin (harmonica) and the fantastic guitarist Al Moses join him. Al was simply amazing and a great compliment to Glenn. While it's good to see Glenn perform anywhere, there is NOTHING like the Schwartz Brothers at Hoopple's.
On Sunday, February 12, I received a text from my friend Pete stating that he just ran into Norm from Hoopple's who gave him the good news that Glenn would be performing on Thursday, February 16. Although there was no media coverage of the upcoming show (even on the Hoopple's site) I immediately got out the word to my circle of Glenn fans and began planning for the evening. I called the bar on show day and they did confirm a 9 p.m. performance. En route, I received a text at 8:51 informing me that the show had begun.
Minutes later I arrived and they were indeed performing Wagon Wheels. Glenn was sitting on a stool and in good voice. Paul and Gene were solid as ever. Already the venue had a decent crowd, perhaps 64% full at 9 a.m. It was good to be back at Hoopple's after God knows how long (a year? 9 months? 13 months??) and to see the Norms, Herb, Annie, Glenn's son Bob, many of my friends and other regulars, as well as a healthy dose of new blood. The band sounded good through their new amplifiers. Glenn now plays through a Dr. Z combo while Gene is using a GK cabinet/head set up that sounds exceptionally rich and well-defined.
The first set was solid. It was heavily laden with 12 bar blues (par for the course), and included "All Night Long" lyrics on three separate occasions (fortunately they were in different keys!). Glenn was in good spirits with plenty of smiles and stories about how he beat his wife once 45 or so years ago. He seems to get some pleasure out of telling this story as he did at the January Beachland show to a mildly horrified crowd. Overall there was good energy with Glenn leading the crowd twice in applause for God and some mild preaching. The only non-blues number was a cursory visit to Water Street.
At setbreak I chatted briefly with Glenn who lamented the fact that he's not able to hold his pick very well so most of the time he's opted to be pick-less. However, I do believe that he DID use the pick for good portions of the show at the Beachland and the energy change was apparent. I also chatted a bit with Gene about the amplifiers and he did confirm that they wanted to downsize so they sold the big amps and opted for smaller, better sounding, amps. The break was about 25 minutes.
The second set began with a noticeable increase in energy and intent. The band was focused and playing with a bit more volume and purpose, almost as if they got over the initial weirdness of being back at their sacred space after such a long absence. They were now BACK. Glenn was obviously feeling good and off his stool doing some Schwartz-shuffling at the crowd. It was 15 minutes or so when he returned to his stool after a song and was quickly surrounded by his people. The word came back to the bar where I was sitting that he was feeling dizzy. By request, Norm jr. produced a bag of potato chips and Glenn was tended to for about 25 minutes or so. In that time, another Cleveland guitar legend, Butch Armstrong entered the bar and made his way to Glenn. The old friends chatted for a bit and Butch left. Minutes later he returned with a small amplifier which he set up in near the cigarette machine on Gene's side. The food, some orange juice, and the break apparently did the trick, and Glenn announced that Butch would join the band and the show would go on.
Set 3 began with Glenn announcing they'd be performing a song that Butch plays called something like "She's Long, She's Tall." I always enjoy hearing the Schwartz Brothers play something "new" and this was no exception. Since Butch was familiar with the song, it was a great way to get everyone on the same page and in the groove. The set continued on with exceptional versions of Fear and Doom, My Poor Generation, Ode to Glenn Schwartz, some rock solid blues tunes, and concluded with Towers. Each song included searing leads by Butch and some excellent dual-guitar explorations by the two masters. Mid-set, Blanco turned to me and came up with the pseudo-biblical statement, "In the third set....he rose again," which he certainly did! My good friend Laz, who accompanied me to my first Glenn show way back in November of 1998 confided that it was the best playing he's heard from Glenn in a long time (and it was!). Butch helped elevate and energize Glenn and it was not lost on a crowd which had now gathered like a reverent congregation around the sacred "stage" of Hoopple's.
As Glenn said that night, he'd rather be stuck in his worst day on earth than spend an instant in hell. For those of us in attendance that evening, we were again reminded of the fragility of life and given another opportunity to bask in the beauty of great musicians sharing their gifts with those who have ears to hear. One never knows how many more opportunities there will be for such happenings, but they must be seized when they're presented. Thank you Glenn, Gene, Paul and Butch!
PS: The Schwartz Brothers are scheduled to return to Hoopple's on Thursday, March 30.
I saw Glenn perform in early January at The Beachland (big room). It was pretty good for a 2017 performance. He had a young female guitarist and older harmonica player sit in with him for much of the show. Toward the end, he had Crazy Marvin (harmonica) and a fantastic more experienced guitarist named Al (I forget his last name now!) join him. Al was simply amazing and a great compliment to Glenn. While it's good to see Glenn perform anywhere, there is NOTHING like the Schwartz Brothers at Hoopple's.
On Sunday, February 12, I received a text from my friend Pete stating that he just ran into Norm from Hoopple's who gave him the good news that Glenn would be performing on Thursday, February 16. Although there was no media coverage of the upcoming show (even on the Hoopple's site) I immediately got out the word to my circle of Glenn fans and began planning for the evening. I called the bar on show day and they did confirm a 9 p.m. performance. En route, I received a text at 8:51 informing me that the show had begun.
Minutes later I arrived and they were indeed performing Wagon Wheels. Glenn was sitting on a stool and in good voice. Paul and Gene were solid as ever. Already the venue had a decent crowd, perhaps 64% full at 9 a.m. It was good to be back at Hoopple's after God knows how long (a year? 9 months? 13 months??) and to see the Norms, Herb, Annie, Glenn's son Bob, many of my friends and other regulars, as well as a healthy dose of new blood. The band sounded good through their new amplifiers. Glenn now plays through a Dr. Z combo while Gene is using a GK cabinet/head set up that sounds exceptionally rich and well-defined.
The first set was solid. It was heavily laden with 12 bar blues (par for the course), and included "All Night Long" lyrics on three separate occasions (fortunately they were in different keys!). Glenn was in good spirits with plenty of smiles and stories about how he beat his wife once 45 or so years ago. He seems to get some pleasure out of telling this story as he did at the January Beachland show to a mildly horrified crowd. Overall there was good energy with Glenn leading the crowd twice in applause for God and some mild preaching. The only non-blues number was a cursory visit to Water Street.
At setbreak I chatted briefly with Glenn who lamented the fact that he's not able to hold his pick very well so most of the time he's opted to be pick-less. However, I do believe that he DID use the pick for good portions of the show at the Beachland and the energy change was apparent. I also chatted a bit with Gene about the amplifiers and he did confirm that they wanted to downsize so they sold the big amps and opted for smaller, better sounding, amps. The break was about 25 minutes.
The second set began with a noticeable increase in energy and intent. The band was focused and playing with a bit more volume and purpose, almost as if they got over the initial weirdness of being back at their sacred space after such a long absence. They were now BACK. Glenn was obviously feeling good and off his stool doing some Schwartz-shuffling at the crowd. It was 15 minutes or so when he returned to his stool after a song and was quickly surrounded by his people. The word came back to the bar where I was sitting that he was feeling dizzy. By request, Norm jr. produced a bag of potato chips and Glenn was tended to for about 25 minutes or so. In that time, another Cleveland guitar legend, Butch Armstrong entered the bar and made his way to Glenn. The old friends chatted for a bit and Butch left. Minutes later he returned with a small amplifier which he set up in near the cigarette machine on Gene's side. The food, some orange juice, and the break apparently did the trick, and Glenn announced that Butch would join the band and the show would go on.
Set 3 began with Glenn announcing they'd be performing a song that Butch plays called something like "She's Long, She's Tall." I always enjoy hearing the Schwartz Brothers play something "new" and this was no exception. Since Butch was familiar with the song, it was a great way to get everyone on the same page and in the groove. The set continued on with exceptional versions of Fear and Doom, My Poor Generation, Ode to Glenn Schwartz, some rock solid blues tunes, and concluded with Towers. Each song included searing leads by Butch and some excellent dual-guitar explorations by the two masters. Mid-set, Blanco turned to me and came up with the pseudo-biblical statement, "In the third set....he rose again," which he certainly did! My good friend Laz, who accompanied me to my first Glenn show way back in November of 1998 confided that it was the best playing he's heard from Glenn in a long time (and it was!). Butch helped elevate and energize Glenn and it was not lost on a crowd which had now gathered like a reverent congregation around the sacred "stage" of Hoopple's.
As Glenn said that night, he'd rather be stuck in his worst day on earth than spend an instant in hell. For those of us in attendance that evening, we were again reminded of the fragility of life and given another opportunity to bask in the beauty of great musicians sharing their gifts with those who have ears to hear. One never knows how many more opportunities there will be for such happenings, but they must be seized when they're presented. Thank you Glenn, Gene, Paul and Butch!
PS: The Schwartz Brothers are scheduled to return to Hoopple's on Thursday, March 30.
Now I follows her, wherever she goes… Hoopple's, October 16, 2014
I have a good friend who once told me whenever you order a sandwich in a restaurant, you can always tell whether a male or female made the sandwich. Over the years I’ve asked him to articulate his position, but he claims that he can not. I’ve prompted him by asking,:
“ Is it the size of the sandwich?”
“Is it the proportion of ingredients?”
etc.. etc…
He still is unable (literally to this day!) to explain how he can tell the gender difference of the maker by tasting the sandwich.
Tonight I saw Glenn play @ Hoopple’s for the first time since early summer. (I did see him mid-Summer @ the Beachland) His son was on drums. Light crowd. We arrived around 9:15 and they were already performing. The instruments were well balanced. The vocals were muddy and mid-rangy. It was good to see Herb tending bar.
There was a guy who dated a girl in high school. This girl was pure evil. This guy was pure good. It was one of those situations where you THINK that everyone knows what’s going on, but, unfortunately, the guy has no clue. Of course, no matter what friends and family said or did, this guy had to marry this girl. They’re divorced now and today (20 years later) this guy recognizes that this girl has very few redeeming qualities as a human being.
My friend Pete arrived midway through the first set, but unfortunately he missed “When They Ring Them Golden Bells” which is his personal favorite. Pete and I had a good conversation during the set break. We chatted about the Browns’ recent victory, King Crimson, a copper robbery at his home and other pressing matters.
The second set began and Glenn decided to sit on a stool during the performance. The high point of the set was a beautiful version of “Old Man Daniel.”
A few years ago I read “The Playboy Interviews With John Lennon and Yoko Ono.” While not a huge Beatles fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I am fascinated when people disparage Yoko for destroying the Beatles, yet when reading the words of John & Yoko, one can see that they were very happy together. Perhaps the bottom line is that the collective happiness of John & Yoko is far more important than the Beatles continuing on as a musical entity.
Glenn is scheduled to perform at Hoopple’s on Thanksgiving evening (November 27) and New Years’ Day.
TZ 10/17/14
And in the third set, he rose again...
I saw Glenn perform in early January at The Beachland (big room). It was pretty good for a 2017 performance. He had a young female guitarist and older harmonica player sit in with him for much of the show. Toward the end, he had Crazy Marvin (harmonica) and the fantastic guitarist Al Moses join him. Al was simply amazing and a great compliment to Glenn. While it's good to see Glenn perform anywhere, there is NOTHING like the Schwartz Brothers at Hoopple's.
On Sunday, February 12, I received a text from my friend Pete stating that he just ran into Norm from Hoopple's who gave him the good news that Glenn would be performing on Thursday, February 16. Although there was no media coverage of the upcoming show (even on the Hoopple's site) I immediately got out the word to my circle of Glenn fans and began planning for the evening. I called the bar on show day and they did confirm a 9 p.m. performance. En route, I received a text at 8:51 informing me that the show had begun.
Minutes later I arrived and they were indeed performing Wagon Wheels. Glenn was sitting on a stool and in good voice. Paul and Gene were solid as ever. Already the venue had a decent crowd, perhaps 64% full at 9 a.m. It was good to be back at Hoopple's after God knows how long (a year? 9 months? 13 months??) and to see the Norms, Herb, Annie, Glenn's son Bob, many of my friends and other regulars, as well as a healthy dose of new blood. The band sounded good through their new amplifiers. Glenn now plays through a Dr. Z combo while Gene is using a GK cabinet/head set up that sounds exceptionally rich and well-defined.
The first set was solid. It was heavily laden with 12 bar blues (par for the course), and included "All Night Long" lyrics on three separate occasions (fortunately they were in different keys!). Glenn was in good spirits with plenty of smiles and stories about how he beat his wife once 45 or so years ago. He seems to get some pleasure out of telling this story as he did at the January Beachland show to a mildly horrified crowd. Overall there was good energy with Glenn leading the crowd twice in applause for God and some mild preaching. The only non-blues number was a cursory visit to Water Street.
At setbreak I chatted briefly with Glenn who lamented the fact that he's not able to hold his pick very well so most of the time he's opted to be pick-less. However, I do believe that he DID use the pick for good portions of the show at the Beachland and the energy change was apparent. I also chatted a bit with Gene about the amplifiers and he did confirm that they wanted to downsize so they sold the big amps and opted for smaller, better sounding, amps. The break was about 25 minutes.
The second set began with a noticeable increase in energy and intent. The band was focused and playing with a bit more volume and purpose, almost as if they got over the initial weirdness of being back at their sacred space after such a long absence. They were now BACK. Glenn was obviously feeling good and off his stool doing some Schwartz-shuffling at the crowd. It was 15 minutes or so when he returned to his stool after a song and was quickly surrounded by his people. The word came back to the bar where I was sitting that he was feeling dizzy. By request, Norm jr. produced a bag of potato chips and Glenn was tended to for about 25 minutes or so. In that time, another Cleveland guitar legend, Butch Armstrong entered the bar and made his way to Glenn. The old friends chatted for a bit and Butch left. Minutes later he returned with a small amplifier which he set up in near the cigarette machine on Gene's side. The food, some orange juice, and the break apparently did the trick, and Glenn announced that Butch would join the band and the show would go on.
Set 3 began with Glenn announcing they'd be performing a song that Butch plays called something like "She's Long, She's Tall." I always enjoy hearing the Schwartz Brothers play something "new" and this was no exception. Since Butch was familiar with the song, it was a great way to get everyone on the same page and in the groove. The set continued on with exceptional versions of Fear and Doom, My Poor Generation, Ode to Glenn Schwartz, some rock solid blues tunes, and concluded with Towers. Each song included searing leads by Butch and some excellent dual-guitar explorations by the two masters. Mid-set, Blanco turned to me and came up with the pseudo-biblical statement, "In the third set....he rose again," which he certainly did! My good friend Laz, who accompanied me to my first Glenn show way back in November of 1998 confided that it was the best playing he's heard from Glenn in a long time (and it was!). Butch helped elevate and energize Glenn and it was not lost on a crowd which had now gathered like a reverent congregation around the sacred "stage" of Hoopple's.
As Glenn said that night, he'd rather be stuck in his worst day on earth than spend an instant in hell. For those of us in attendance that evening, we were again reminded of the fragility of life and given another opportunity to bask in the beauty of great musicians sharing their gifts with those who have ears to hear. One never knows how many more opportunities there will be for such happenings, but they must be seized when they're presented. Thank you Glenn, Gene, Paul and Butch!
PS: The Schwartz Brothers are scheduled to return to Hoopple's on Thursday, March 30.
I saw Glenn perform in early January at The Beachland (big room). It was pretty good for a 2017 performance. He had a young female guitarist and older harmonica player sit in with him for much of the show. Toward the end, he had Crazy Marvin (harmonica) and a fantastic more experienced guitarist named Al (I forget his last name now!) join him. Al was simply amazing and a great compliment to Glenn. While it's good to see Glenn perform anywhere, there is NOTHING like the Schwartz Brothers at Hoopple's.
On Sunday, February 12, I received a text from my friend Pete stating that he just ran into Norm from Hoopple's who gave him the good news that Glenn would be performing on Thursday, February 16. Although there was no media coverage of the upcoming show (even on the Hoopple's site) I immediately got out the word to my circle of Glenn fans and began planning for the evening. I called the bar on show day and they did confirm a 9 p.m. performance. En route, I received a text at 8:51 informing me that the show had begun.
Minutes later I arrived and they were indeed performing Wagon Wheels. Glenn was sitting on a stool and in good voice. Paul and Gene were solid as ever. Already the venue had a decent crowd, perhaps 64% full at 9 a.m. It was good to be back at Hoopple's after God knows how long (a year? 9 months? 13 months??) and to see the Norms, Herb, Annie, Glenn's son Bob, many of my friends and other regulars, as well as a healthy dose of new blood. The band sounded good through their new amplifiers. Glenn now plays through a Dr. Z combo while Gene is using a GK cabinet/head set up that sounds exceptionally rich and well-defined.
The first set was solid. It was heavily laden with 12 bar blues (par for the course), and included "All Night Long" lyrics on three separate occasions (fortunately they were in different keys!). Glenn was in good spirits with plenty of smiles and stories about how he beat his wife once 45 or so years ago. He seems to get some pleasure out of telling this story as he did at the January Beachland show to a mildly horrified crowd. Overall there was good energy with Glenn leading the crowd twice in applause for God and some mild preaching. The only non-blues number was a cursory visit to Water Street.
At setbreak I chatted briefly with Glenn who lamented the fact that he's not able to hold his pick very well so most of the time he's opted to be pick-less. However, I do believe that he DID use the pick for good portions of the show at the Beachland and the energy change was apparent. I also chatted a bit with Gene about the amplifiers and he did confirm that they wanted to downsize so they sold the big amps and opted for smaller, better sounding, amps. The break was about 25 minutes.
The second set began with a noticeable increase in energy and intent. The band was focused and playing with a bit more volume and purpose, almost as if they got over the initial weirdness of being back at their sacred space after such a long absence. They were now BACK. Glenn was obviously feeling good and off his stool doing some Schwartz-shuffling at the crowd. It was 15 minutes or so when he returned to his stool after a song and was quickly surrounded by his people. The word came back to the bar where I was sitting that he was feeling dizzy. By request, Norm jr. produced a bag of potato chips and Glenn was tended to for about 25 minutes or so. In that time, another Cleveland guitar legend, Butch Armstrong entered the bar and made his way to Glenn. The old friends chatted for a bit and Butch left. Minutes later he returned with a small amplifier which he set up in near the cigarette machine on Gene's side. The food, some orange juice, and the break apparently did the trick, and Glenn announced that Butch would join the band and the show would go on.
Set 3 began with Glenn announcing they'd be performing a song that Butch plays called something like "She's Long, She's Tall." I always enjoy hearing the Schwartz Brothers play something "new" and this was no exception. Since Butch was familiar with the song, it was a great way to get everyone on the same page and in the groove. The set continued on with exceptional versions of Fear and Doom, My Poor Generation, Ode to Glenn Schwartz, some rock solid blues tunes, and concluded with Towers. Each song included searing leads by Butch and some excellent dual-guitar explorations by the two masters. Mid-set, Blanco turned to me and came up with the pseudo-biblical statement, "In the third set....he rose again," which he certainly did! My good friend Laz, who accompanied me to my first Glenn show way back in November of 1998 confided that it was the best playing he's heard from Glenn in a long time (and it was!). Butch helped elevate and energize Glenn and it was not lost on a crowd which had now gathered like a reverent congregation around the sacred "stage" of Hoopple's.
As Glenn said that night, he'd rather be stuck in his worst day on earth than spend an instant in hell. For those of us in attendance that evening, we were again reminded of the fragility of life and given another opportunity to bask in the beauty of great musicians sharing their gifts with those who have ears to hear. One never knows how many more opportunities there will be for such happenings, but they must be seized when they're presented. Thank you Glenn, Gene, Paul and Butch!
PS: The Schwartz Brothers are scheduled to return to Hoopple's on Thursday, March 30.
Now I follows her, wherever she goes… Hoopple's, October 16, 2014
I have a good friend who once told me whenever you order a sandwich in a restaurant, you can always tell whether a male or female made the sandwich. Over the years I’ve asked him to articulate his position, but he claims that he can not. I’ve prompted him by asking,:
“ Is it the size of the sandwich?”
“Is it the proportion of ingredients?”
etc.. etc…
He still is unable (literally to this day!) to explain how he can tell the gender difference of the maker by tasting the sandwich.
Tonight I saw Glenn play @ Hoopple’s for the first time since early summer. (I did see him mid-Summer @ the Beachland) His son was on drums. Light crowd. We arrived around 9:15 and they were already performing. The instruments were well balanced. The vocals were muddy and mid-rangy. It was good to see Herb tending bar.
There was a guy who dated a girl in high school. This girl was pure evil. This guy was pure good. It was one of those situations where you THINK that everyone knows what’s going on, but, unfortunately, the guy has no clue. Of course, no matter what friends and family said or did, this guy had to marry this girl. They’re divorced now and today (20 years later) this guy recognizes that this girl has very few redeeming qualities as a human being.
My friend Pete arrived midway through the first set, but unfortunately he missed “When They Ring Them Golden Bells” which is his personal favorite. Pete and I had a good conversation during the set break. We chatted about the Browns’ recent victory, King Crimson, a copper robbery at his home and other pressing matters.
The second set began and Glenn decided to sit on a stool during the performance. The high point of the set was a beautiful version of “Old Man Daniel.”
A few years ago I read “The Playboy Interviews With John Lennon and Yoko Ono.” While not a huge Beatles fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I am fascinated when people disparage Yoko for destroying the Beatles, yet when reading the words of John & Yoko, one can see that they were very happy together. Perhaps the bottom line is that the collective happiness of John & Yoko is far more important than the Beatles continuing on as a musical entity.
Glenn is scheduled to perform at Hoopple’s on Thanksgiving evening (November 27) and New Years’ Day.
TZ 10/17/14
