PhillyCheeze's Rock & Blues Reviews: Billy Satterfield

Sunday, October 10, 2021

#522 : Joanna Connor, Avey Grouws Band and James Tutson - Live at the Olympic

The Olympic Southside Theater
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
All Photos by Phillip Smith; Oct. 09, 2021

The Olympic Southside Theater in Cedar Rapids, Iowa was definitely the place to be the evening of Friday, October 8, 2021. This music venue, previously known as Spotlights, Big Dogs, and 3rd Street Live since I've lived in town, has hosted countless musical acts over the years. In 1992, I set foot in this place for my first time and saw Kevin Burt with his band The Blues Instigators. Over the years, I was fortunate to catch acts like John Mayall, Warren Zevon, Buddy Guy, Little Feat, Black Oak Arkansas, George Clinton, and Days of the New. After several years of non-occupation, this sacred space for music has been restored and revitalized to give it a new life as a place for people to congregate and enjoy live music.

The evening started off with a captivating solo performance from Iowa City artist James Tutson (James Tutson and the Rollback) who appeared on NBC's The Voice, earlier this year. I really hope to hear more from him in the future.

Avey Grouws Band took the stage next, engaging the audience to the max. Their setlist included favorites such as "Two Days Off (and a Little Bit of Liquor)", "Come and Get This Love", and "Dirty Little Secret" off their 2020 album The Devil May Care and tracks from their brand new album Tell Tale Heart such as "Love Raining Down", and the intoxicating instrumental "Mariana". I loved every bit of it.

Immediately following was Chicago's Queen of Blues Rock guitar Joanna Connor. Watching and hearing her play is an absolute treat. Her fearless approach to her music, ranks her among the top of the list.

The jam session at the end was extraordinary, as guitarist Billy Satterfield joined Joanna, Chris Avey, Jeni Grouws, and James Tutson for the grand finale. After going so long without seeing a show of this caliber in Cedar Rapids, this was exactly what I needed.

· All photos by Phillip Smith

James Tutson

Avey Grouws Band

Joanna Connor

All-Star Jam

* all photos by Phillip Smith

Saturday, October 13, 2018

#356 : Savoy Brown w/ The Satterfield – Erickson Project - Oct. 7, 2018

Veterans Memorial Building

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

By Phillip Smith; Oct 13, 2018

Sunday, October 7^th, The Artisan’s Sanctuary in Marion, Iowa presented Savoy Brown live at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids. I’ve been a big fan of the legendary Kim Simmonds and Savoy Brown for quite a while, and was absolutely thrilled to have finally caught one of his live shows. Playing as a trio, Simmonds was accompanied onstage by his bassist Pat DeSalvo and drummer Garnet Grimm, both of whom have been playing with the band for the past several albums and worked with Simmonds on prior solo albums as well.

Opening for Savoy Brown was The Satterfield – Erickson Project, composed of master guitarists Billy Satterfield from Chicago, and Craig Erickson from Cedar Rapids, bassist John Hall, and drummer Tim Crumley. I loved their fabulous tribute to the great Otis Rush (April 29, 1935 – September 29, 2018) with “I Can’t Quit You”. It was indeed a real treat to hear. Their performance of the classic Allman Brothers song, “Whipping Post” had me totally captivated too. The dual guitar jam was magnificent.

Kim Simmonds and Savoy Brown grabbed my attention quickly, opening their set with a pair of wonderfully swampy blues-rockers: “Hoodoo Me” and “Living on the Bayou”, both tracks from the recent 2017 Witchy Feelin’ album. That is such a terrific album, and those were definitely excellent songs to lead off with. Digging a little deeper, Simmonds delivered the goods with “Poor Girl” off the 1970 album Lookin’ In. This was followed by the deliciously heavy electric blues of Willie Dixon’s “I Ain’t Superstitious” and Bukka White’s “Shake ‘em on Down” from the 1967 Shakedown album with Simmonds breaking out the harmonica. It was a pleasure to hear the title track of the 1972 album Hellbound Train too. The groove was intense and hypnotic. Simmonds wound things to a close with “Memphis Blues”, and the cool slide boogie-induced riffs of “Tell Mama”.

The music was superb and I walked away from the venue wearing a smile. I would love to see more shows like this in the future for Cedar Rapids.

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* all Photos by Phillip Smith