It’s not often we get local music royalty at JSJBF member venue, The Chubby Pickle, but on this wet summer Friday night lifetime member, Billy Hector and his band, rolled into town and treated a packed house to some classic and rocking blues as only he can do.
The host band, The Incinerators, opened this Blue Collar Blues show with another solid set of well-chosen covers, sprinkled with some original tunes, which should be included on their forthcoming offering; leader John Fernandez tells me they are hard at work on these in the studio. John, with Rich Coccoli complement each other on guitar while Steve Smith and Chris Martell are a solid rhythm section, and Gary Neuwirth embellishes many of their tunes with his fine harp stylings. Their secret weapon, Miss Kimmie, is always ready to jump up on stage and belt out some great lyrics, whether it’s on the classic “Let the Good Times Roll” or their original tune “Discarded”. The versatility of the band is that, besides John, who handles the majority of the vocals, Steve can be heard on the Elvis Presley signature tune “Little Sister,” while Rich took over the mike for Jimmy Rogers’s “Rock This House”. For me, the highlight of the set was a song ridden to fame by Grand Funk Railroad, “Some Kind of Wonderful,” which included four- part harmonies and sounded wonderful! Keep up the good work guys.
After a short break, Billy Hector took the stage accompanied by bassist Tim Tindall and Don Contagno on drums. They tore right into “Crazy ‘Bout You,” and you could tell they were ready to lay some great blues on us this night. From there, they moved to the Son House tune “Walkin’ Blues,” with Billy’s slide leading the way. An original tune, “Justice is a Slow Train,” from the Now and Then collection, was an excellent choice to keep the audience grooving. An outstanding version of the fountainhead of the blues, Robert Johnson’s, “Love in Vain,” was right up there with the Stones’ version. No one, and I mean no one, can play the slide with more feeling than Billy. “Fake ID and a Bag of Weed,” another great original, is built on that gritty slide lick that he does so well. With the spoken intro to James Cotton’s “Boogie Thing,” it could have been that other Billy (Gibbons), as the song took off from there, and by this time the joint was jumping. The original “Creeper,” again showed that Billy’s songwriting is one of the reasons he has been so successful. Another reason is surrounding himself with top shelf musicians, and while they were his rhythm section tonight, Tim and Don were like a fine Swiss watch, keeping perfect time, in a muscular way, that helped bring these songs to life. Two more originals followed, “Deal With the Devil,” and “I Know How to Party,” which he certainly does! Another great choice, the Jagger/Richards tune released in 1965, and seldom covered, “I’m Free,” brought back some great memories. “On Your Bond,” a traditional tune Billy recorded on Some Day Baby, and “Memphis Train,” led up to his signature song which ended the set, “Old School Thang”. This extended jam has such an infectious beat, he almost dares the crowd not to get on their feet!
On that note, the evening came to an end with everyone having enjoyed another great night of music. Thanks to Joseph Vincent Riggio for booking these shows and really dialing in the sound on this special night. Check out www.billyhector.com to find out more about the band, upcoming gigs, and order some of Billly’s great back catalogue.