Mojo Workin'

As I write this, I'm waiting to watch "Saturday Night Live," because Wilco is the scheduled musical guest. Since I heard the band this week in Washington, D.C., I can't resist seeing them play live on TV -- It'll provide a nice chance to compare and contrast. Earlier tonight, I headed over to the Attucks Theatre to hear the legendary Pinetop Perkins play the blues. Pinetop is 94 years old, so naturally he wasn't bouncing off the historic walls of the Attucks, but he performed well, giving a pretty sizable crowd at the Attucks a taste of vintage boogie-woogie and piano blues. Guitarist Bob Margolin and his band backed Pinetop, and those guys sounded great -- nice, tasteful electric blues thankfully free from the Stevie Ray Vaughan overkill so common among modern bluesmen.
Pinetop's show ended a good live music week for me. I saw Regina Spektor play a fine, good-natured set at The NorVa on Monday. Her voice was strong and her stage demeanor was charming. I'd go see her again in a heartbeat.
It was up to the 930 Club in D.C. for Wilco on Wednesday, then tonight's blues celebration at the Attucks.
It's not often I get to see three good shows in one week, so I'm thankful.
The only downside is that I read in the Virginian-Pilot this morning that the folk singer Odetta was playing Portsmouth tonight in a concert honoring the late, great Ruth Brown. I wish I would have known about this earlier. I certainly would have given it a plug.