Since Peter Veteska returned to playing guitar and singing after a lengthy absence, nearly ten years ago, he has surrounded himself with top-flight musicians, spent as much time in the studio as playing live, and turned out a host of excellent CDs. On a pleasant last Friday evening in March, a room full of blues lovers were treated to some great interpretations of classic songs, and originals, by a band that really knows how to deliver. With Peter on guitar and vocals, Alex D’Agnese, who has been with him from the beginning, on drums, Chuck Hearne on bass, and Mike Scott on sax, they were a force to be reckoned with.
They kicked off the night with Peter’s high energy tune from the Full Tilt collection, “Go Find Another Man.” Next up was a song made famous by Jimmy Vaughan, “Baby Please Come Home,” as done on the So Far So Good CD, but sounding even better live. An imaginative coupling of “Find Me A Little Bluebird,” and “Have You Ever Loved a Woman,” with a little “Drifting Blues” thrown in for good measure, slowed things down, and featured some tasty solos from both Mike and Peter. The band took Bo Didley’s “Before You Accuse Me,” and did it in an up-tempo romp driven by the tight rhythm section of Alex and Chuck, which got everyone moving. Another gem was Ray Charles’s “I’ve Got a Woman,” with an intro which featured Peter’s vocals over Alex cymbals before taking off like a rocket ship. After an excellent version of Big Maceo’s “Worried Life Blues,” Peter invited Gary Neuwirth on harp and Jeff Bavaro on guitar, AKA The Sound Guys, for a swinging version of Eddie Kirkland’s classic “Done Somebody Wrong,” which ended the first set on a high note.
In between tunes, Peter took time out, and we sang to Alex’s ex mother-in-law, Sarah Pellechia, who was celebrating her 94th birthday! The band then took a short break and most of the crowd took advantage of the refreshments on hand till the second set began.
Upon their return, Alex picked up the brushes and Peter crooned an old Sinatra favorite, “Learnin’ the Blues.” From there they went deep into blues lore with Hop Wilson’s “Black Cat Bone,” giving it a funky beat with some fine sax by Mike. “I Did All That I Could,” was another original of Peter’s, which fit in well with the rest of the set. It was followed by Albert King’s funk blues “Wrapped Up in Love Again,” which featured terrific bass solo by Chuck. Another of Peter’s originals, “I’ve Been Missing You,” was replete with the audience clapping along. Gary sat in again for the rocking number, “Blues This Morning,” much to the delight of the audience. Another original tune that followed, “Am I wrong Pretty Lady,” had a great beat and was highlighted by Mike and Peter trading licks with ferocious energy. The next two songs were featured on “Layla” by Derick and the Dominos, an album which was probably responsible for turning a generation of rockers on to the blues. “Key to the Highway,” was done as a slow shuffle, with Gary’s tasty harp solo, and “Got to Get Better in a Little While” featured another fine bass solo from Chuck. The set ended with a spirited version of Albert King’s “I Get Evil,” which was featured on the band’s Full Tilt CD.
The room erupted with applause and Peter invited Gary and Jeff up for an encore featuring B.B. King’s “Every Day I Have the Blues. Where else can you see this quality of music for a twenty-dollar bill or less, and support youth music scholarships.