Friday was one of the hottest days of year and even with several air conditioning units humming, Reckless Steamy Nights certainly lived up to its billing! Our guests, Steve Guyger and the Excellos treated a rapt audience to some mid twentieth century blues that would have made Little Walter proud. Steve, who hails from Philadelphia and his band of local musicians, included guitarist/vocalist Bill Hunt, who recently returned from a six-year stay in Florida, newlywed Dan Mulvey on bass, and the always effervescent David Sang on drums.
The evening began as the band played the familiar sounds of Albert King’s “Natural Ball,’ and with Steve’s lower register vocals plus Bill’s outstanding accompaniment on the Gibson ES 335, it made for a great opener. They followed it up with the slow blues number, ”My Baby’s Gone,” then Steve moved into Little Walter territory with a nice instrumental workout on one of his signature tunes, “Off the Wall.” Next up was a Sonny Boy Williamson ll tune, “Goin’ In Your Direction,” with the band really hitting their stride. Steve spun a tale about living in Maine, then launched into another Little Walter favorite, “My Babe,” and listening to his harp mastery, one can see what a big influence Walter had on his style. The first set ended with a fine take on Jimmy Reed’s “Honest I Do,” a ballad that allowed Steve to blow some beautiful licks on this ode to loving your woman.
After a short break, the band kicked off with an excellent version of Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago,” which had everyone in the room moving to the beat. Next, they tore into a song made famous by Elvis Presley, and one of my favorites, “Mystery Train,” and the crowd loved it. Steve then told the story of his sister-in-law giving him his first harmonica, and how he hung around the local train station to perfect the sound of the train whistle. They followed that up with a fine original song, “No, No, No.” The Slim Harpo classic, “Scratch My Back,” featured some fine guitar from Bill and a solid backing by the rhythm section. They did a great job of dialing the sound in with David using a jazz style drum kit and Dan placing some foam under the strings of his electric bass to mute it, and make it sound more like an upright. Bill took over the vocals on a faithful rendition of Eddie Taylor’s “Bad Boy,” and also sang the following number, “Big Mamu.” Steve spoke to the audience about recording on the Excello record label back in the day, and thought it would be a good name for the band when he started back in the eighties. He demonstrated his virtuosity on the blues standard, “Every Day I Have the Blues,” using three harmonicas during the course of the song. They ended the evening with an extended jam that show cased the musical talents of these four fine musicians, and sent everyone home on a happy note.
Now that Bill’s back in town, look for them to be playing on a more regular basis in the south Jersey and Philly areas.