Curtis Salgado Update

When a city commissioner such as Randy Leonard writes in and asks for information, I get on the case. One of the highlights of the Paul deLay sendoff was Curtis Salgado's appearance. It was actually a little eerie seeing him there as if nothing happened. Not that I wrote him off or anything but he doesn't look, sound, or talk like someone who just dodged death. I guess his comments reflected an added appreciation for being alive, but he was the same guy as before. He hasn't lost his edge, that's for sure.

Musically, one highlight was when he sang a harmony with Lloyd Jones on "Early in the Morning." The Blues makes much less use of vocal harmonies than other styles of music, so it sounded cool to hear them nail this. Apparently, it was an early Paul deLay record that Curtis took home and studied as a definitive example of great harmonica playing. Incidentally, where you hear harmonies in the Blues is usually in the horn section, and that added a lot of great sound last night. Plus all these old Blues players just look cool.

I also took a schedule for the Museum After Hours concerts - which I admit I never went to before - and it says Curtis will be back performing there on April 18th at 5:30 p.m.(Members 8 bucks, Non-Members 10.) He's still got it all as far as I could tell, and if you don't believe me, go check it out yourself.

One thing that Paul deLay's passing reminds us of, is the truly amazing place music has in our lives. It really was quite a tribute to a man that so many people would come out on a Sunday night to mark his passing. And it wasn't an obligation as much as a great time - despite the sadness of the occasion.