The THE BAND Band at One Longfellow Square

Friday, June 24, 2011   8:00 PM

The mission of The THE BAND Band is to present the music of The Band in a manner true to its original style and form, evoking the sound and the spirit of their live performances!  ($20 adv/$23 door)

The mission of The THE BAND Band is to present the music of The Band in a manner true to its original style and form, evoking the sound and the spirit of t

What makes for a great bluesman? What is that special formula; the blend of factors that elevates the average blues player to above average greatness? Is it talent? Is it soul? What about life experience, hunger and determination? The fact of the matter is that a combination of any of these qualities has the ability to result in some fine blues music, but what about those rare occasions when all of these qualities come together in one artist? Well, if you’re looking for a contemporary example, you need not look any further than Johnny Childs.

Childs spent almost a decade making a fascinating documentary that chronicled his life and his struggle to obtain a record deal. It is called THE JUNKMAN'S SON and The American Blues News had the great fortune of reviewing an early cut of it last year, when it was titled BLUES BEFORE SUNRISE.

For movie lovers, here’s a charming little palate cleanser between the main courses of summer blockbusters.  No alien invaders, no explosions, no gunplay -- just a romantic trip to the Paris of today and yesterday, courtesy of writer/director Woody Allen.

I have to tell you that I had pretty much given up on the Woodman in recent years.  His later movies seemed too whiny, too obsessed with toffee-nosed Brits (“Match Point” looked like it was shot through the window of a Ralph Lauren boutique), too misanthropic.  And let’s face it, Woody’s private life was nothing to write home about.