Top of the blues to ya!

This drummer seems to be having the time of his life as he performs with his band in the 2012 Blues Music Awards in the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee, May 10, 2012. I had to squeeze my ungainly frame between a couple of shipping containers to get the shot but cannot argue with the results.

Being a blues fan and a photographer — and hovering around the stage — and shooting the 2012 Blues Music Awards at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee is a highly desirable combination of circumstances I recently enjoyed. You can get in on the start of this story on the Photo of the Week Page at Corndancer dot-com. We’ll wait here until you come back.

Click on the harp player for more pictures

The room was packed with performers and blues fans from around the planet, in fact, you’ll see a picture of international blues standout Ian Seigal below as he performed in the program.  The format of the program alternated between conferring awards with performances by bands and individuals, many of whom received awards that night and previously. It was hold on to your hats, let the good times roll. Before the night was over the audience was dancing in the aisles. Upward to 2,000 attended the event. Attendees dictated the dress code which went from black tie to blue jeans — and it was all smiles.

Eric Bibb, 2012 Blues Music Award Acoustic Artist of the Year turned in an energetic performance. As you watched and listened you knew that every fiber in his being was going into his tunes.

As an art form, the Blues is purely American and purely southern in it roots. Past that, you’ll find blues fans in every corner of the earth. Though the uninformed might consider the blues to be a somber expression, nothing is further from the truth. In most performances, even the most jaded cynics can be seen tapping their fingers or moving their feet. The true believers are playing air guitars and grinning from ear-to-ear. It was that kind of night. The music was infectious in a good sort of way.

Wayne Russell, normally found playing bass in the Reba Russell band (she’s his wife), was providing his stellar services to another band in the program. Russell is not only a talented musician but is a gifted visual artist as well.

Ian Siegal performs in the 2012 Blues Music Awards. The misty appearance adds some oomph to to the back room blues ambiance of this picture.

Grady Champion who bills himself as “The Mississippi Bluesman” was the closing act. As the program wound down, he wound up and had the audience on its feet, clapping, tapping their feet and dancing in the aisles. Everyone left with a smile on their faces. Mind you, the program runs from 7:oo p.m. until 1:00 a.m. At 1:00 a.m., there was still a respectable and happy crowd left.

As he whipped the audience into a happy frenzy as the closing act, Grady Champion turned to me and smiled. I took the hint.

I shot just over 2,700 exposures and filled four 8-gig cards and part of another. I selected 107 images to include in the galleries linked below. You should get an idea of the great celebration by taking a tad of time to peruse the pictures.

2012 Blues Music Awards Gallery 1
2012 Blues Music Awards Gallery 2
2012 Blues Music Awards Gallery 3
2012 Blues Music Awards Gallery 4

Thanks for dropping by,

Joe Dempsey,
Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind
http://www.joedempseycommunications.com/
http://www.joedempseyphoto.com/
http://www.corndancer.com/joephoto/photohome.html

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The Blues smorgasbord

Blues Guitarist John Hammond performs at the 2011 Blues Music Awards in Memphis TN. Not normally seen by the audience is the sound engineer in the pit below the stage. He coordinates with the board engineer on the hall floor. They make the music sound cool. Hammond was the winner of the Blues Music Awards "Acoustic Artist of the Year" award. As one listened to him play, it was no mystery why he won the prize.

Once a year, Blues aficionados  from around the globe gather in Memphis TN to bestow awards on those whom they believe have eclipsed everyone else in certain categories for the past twelve months. The event is the Blues Music Awards, a function of the Blues Foundation. This  year, due to some really good friends, we were a part of that crowd May 5, 2011.  The night rocked!

See Blues pictures at Corndancer dot-com

Before venturing further, may I suggest that you go to the Photo of the Week page at Corndancer dot-com where this story started and get in on the beginning. You will see pictures of performers Steve Miller and Buddy Guy, along with Smokin’ Joe Kubeck, whose thumbnail picture you see to the left. We will wait here for your eventual return.

As would be expected, you saw everything from designer togs to thready jeans, but it being a blues event, that’s exactly what one would expect. The crowd was milling around imbibing and chatting while perusing silent auction items, a staple at non-profit organization events. Attendees were seated 10 to round tables. We were fortunate to be seated with friends who are members of the Memphis Blues Society.

Janiva Magness, a former Best Female Contemporary Artist and BB King Entertainer of the year, wowed the crowd with her energetic vocals. She tours with her band and makes around 200 appearances a year. In her spare time she is a foster children advocate.

The Steve Miller Band was the opening act. He was followed by the likes of Buddy Guy, the Mannish Band, Janiva Magness, Karen Lovely, Willie  “Big Eyes Smith” and a host of other performers. Their acts punctuated the awards and kept the place rocking.

The Nighthawks Acoustic Blues Band,winners of the Acoustic Album of the Year for their "Last Train to Bluesville." They clearly demonstrated why they won.

See more Blues pictures

Check out the our three galleries of pictures from the 2011 Blues Music Awards. You’ll see Steve Miller, Buddy Guy and a host of other famous blues performers.

Blues Music Awards Gallery-1, 37 pictures

Blues Music Awards Gallery-2, 20 pictures

Blues Music Awards Gallery-3, 29 pictures

 Speaking of punctuation, my enjoyment of the performance was temporarily punctuated by a waiter dropping a charger full of plated dinners on my person. I heard this strange noise and saw cheese and macroni, fish, green beens and rib meat, plates and lids tumbling into my lap. The wait staff was about to panic, but I assured them that all was well as I wiped cheese and macaroni from the back of a Nikon D300. Nothing was hurt but my feelings, so I laughed and told them to be cool.

Flooded residence on Arkansas Highway 1, north of DeWitt, Arkansas. We were on this road because the White River was over a bridge on I-40.

Due to the recent rains that have turned the Delta into a large pond dotted with islands of dry land, we took a detour route to Memphis which added about 45 minutes to the trip. Not too bad. Mostly a pleasant drive through the Delta. The pictures here are on the trip back.

Your own personal levee

Just a bit further down the road, we saw a residence where the owners took matters into their own hands. They built a levee around their house and barn which appears to be in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 feet AGL (above ground level).

Ready for high water. Enterprising homeowners built their own levee.

Closeup of your own personal levee.

Since this is primarily an agricultural area, people are no strangers to working with dirt and have the equipment to do the job. Driving on, just outside DeWitt, we saw a tall plume of black smoke. If there was a fire, I wanted to see and shoot it.

A burning house in DeWitt, Arkansas. I visited with neighbors who told me the fire was set deliberately to destroy the house.

We found the fire. After the neighbors told me it was deliberately set, I wondered why. Taking a second look at the flaming structure, I noticed that is was covered with old late 40s asbestos siding. Not a bad idea, but asbestos is not terribly flammable. Good luck folks.

Just east of Humphrey, Arkansas on Highway 152, we ran up on a pickup towing a land leveler which was as wide as the highway.

 Just 25 miles or so from home, we came up behind a land leveler being towed by a pickup. The driver did not notice us at first, but we eschewed honking the horn anyway. He finally saw us and carefully pulled to the right to let us by. I say carefully because that sucker would mow down mailboxes in a heartbeat.

A few minutes later, on the final run for home, we were not so fortunate. We came up behind a wide load personified as the dump body of one of those huge strip mine dump trucks which will hold approximately a small town. We followed him for about 15 miles when we reached an alternate route. Finally made it home in one piece. The dogs were glad.

Thanks for dropping by,
Joe Dempsey,
Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind

http://www.joedempseyphoto.com/
http://www.joedempseycommunications.com/
http://www.corndancer.com/joephoto/photohome.html