#665 : Cedar County Cobras - Live at CSPS 3-2-24 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

Cedar County Cobras

Live at CSPS

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

March 2, 2024

 

By Phillip Smith; Mar. 3, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I’ve been wanting to see Cedar County Cobras since reviewing their Homesick Blues album in December. The opportunity finally made its way last night at CSPS in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in front of full house. That’s one of the most perfect venues in town to experience live music. The Cedar County Cobras are comprised of Tom Spielbauer (guitar/vocals) and April Dirks (upright bass/mandolin/vocals).   

The Cobras played two amazing sets of music, leaning heavily into delta blues. They kicked the show off with an infectious cover of RL Burnside’s “Poor Black Mattie” followed immediately after with Son House’s “Walkin’ Blues”. The first set also included Burnside’s “Goin’ Down South” which Spielbauer remarked he picked up while playing at Red’s in Clarksdale, Mississippi. With Dirks on mandolin, they gave a wonderful performance of Bill Monroe’s “Under the Bridge” and Mississippi John Hurt’s “Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home”. 

They started their second set with “Utah” from their Homesick Blues album. Spielbauer brought out his 1929 National Steel guitar to play for several songs of which included a fantastic of Muddy Waters’ “Trouble No More”. He then switched to his gold-top Les Paul guitar to finish the show, hitting on originals which included a couple of my favorites “Gimme Lightnin’” and “Homesick Blues”. The show concluded with the mesmerizing spiritual “Get Right Church”.

It was definitely a night of music for the soul, and I enjoyed every note played. I already look forward to seeing them again.

 

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All Photos by Phillip Smith

 

·       * All photos by Phillip Smith      

T Read the PhillyCheeze review of Cedar County Cobras' Homesick Blues album : https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2023/12/651-cedar-county-cobras-homesick-blues.html

#651 : Cedar County Cobras - Homesick Blues (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2023 – Cedar County Cobras

By Phillip Smith; Dec. 22, 2023

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Cedar County Cobras, a blues and roots duo from Iowa has grabbed my full attention with their new album Homesick Blues.  Comprised by Tom Spielbauer and April Dirks, the Cedar County Cobras were formed in 2014 and have logged hundreds of shows across the state and Midwest.  In 2022, Spielbauer won the Iowa Blues Challenge for solo artists, securing a spot at the 2023 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee where he placed as a semi-finalist.  The duo’s songs are soaked with a pre-war blues essence and are wonderfully performed with Spielbauer on guitar and foot-drum and Dirks on mandolin and upright bass.

Dirks’ mandolin beautifully pairs with the Nashville-twang of Spielbauer’s guitar on the infectious “Country Records”.  I love the slide guitar on the rambling drinking song “Gimmie Lightnin’”.   There is a line in the song about seeing Cedell Davis at Gabe’s Oasis in Iowa City, and it hits me with a wave of jealousy with every listen.  I would have loved to be there.  When they take on Muddy Waters’ “Trouble No More”, they positively make it their own.  It is a wonderful re-engineering of the song and has a strong Delta Blues presence.  They also put a lot of love and attention into their cover of Son House’s “Walkin Blues”.  Spielbauer sets a quite ominous mood on his original “Voodoo Doll”.  This song about a witchy retribution is a magically unsettling and I love it.  My favorite track is their cover of Jessie Mae Hemphill’s “Shake it Right”.  This is North Mississippi Hill-Country Blues at its best.  Dirks on stand-up bass gives the song an extra punch to its hypnotic rhythm behind Spielbauer’s resonator guitar.

Cedar County Cobras’ Homesick Blues is a tasty dose of real-deal blues.  It is a fantastic recording through and through.                                   

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For more information about the artist, or to purchase their music, visit their website : https://cedarcountycobras.com/