Toatlee Bluz & Alter Ego

Went out to the Elbow Room Saturday to tend to some bizness and ended up hanging out for a little while, talking to a friend I haven’t seen in about 15 years, which was nice, and listening to the blues/jazz/funk of Toatlee Bluz. I only caught a few songs, but I was very impressed, especially with the trumpet player and the keyboardist. The guitarist was pretty impressive, too. I don’t recall hearing any vocals, so I guess their stuff is mostly instrumental. My main thought that kept going thru my head was that I felt like I should be in New Orleans. I mentioned this and someone said, “only if you can swim,” which saddened me a little, picturing the New Orleans I went to several years ago and the state that it’s probably in now. Anyway, these guys were good. They play at the Elbow Room and at Rolling Oaks Sports Bar quite often, so check ’em out if you dig that blues/jazz/funk fusion kinda stuff. Very cool.



They’ll be at Rolling Oaks Sports Bar April 1st and at The Elbow Room April 29th.

Being out alone, I decided to stay close to home, so I headed next over to my fave local bar - Boozehounds, where Alter Ego was playing. These guys always play a great mix of songs and Saturday was no exception. I walked into some STP with “Sex Type Thing,” then was treated to Bush “Come Down” and Godsmack “Awake.”



Then break time and I got to chat with Steve about music, the local scene, writing, upcoming acts, Alter Egos’s packed schedule this month and more - a very cool guy - I don’t care what they say about you, Steve! (Just kidding!)

I also got to meet Steve Freeman and Toni from The Edge Magazine - both very nice and very into local music. They were out hopping from bar to bar, planning to end up at The Mix to catch fin del mar. They invited me to join them, but I was already up 5 beers and a shot and decided that driving home from St Mary’s at this point was probably a bad idea!!

So I stayed. My set list notes get a little sketchy from here on out, cuz I spent a lot of my time talking to THIS guy about local music and music in general. I do know they played Bush “Machinehead,” Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire” (very cool), Weezer’s “Hashpipe,” 3 Doors Down “Kryptonite,” Lit "My Own Worst Enemy,” Sublime “Santeria,” Audioslave “Like a Stone”, The Cult “Wildflower,” STP “Wicked Garden,” Cracker’s “Low” their Judas Priest -Billy Idol medley of “You Got Another Thing Coming” and “Mony Mony ,” which my “friend” managed to screw up - very funny. Also 7 Mary Three’s “Cumbersome,” Radiohead’s “Creep,” and The Toadies’ “Possum Kingdom.”.

I got three videos, not too great on visuals cuz there was no front lighting, so they’re mostly silhouettes. Also, quite often Steve is missing cuz he likes to get off stage and run around the bar, which people love!



I got Tool “Sober,” Alice in Chains “Would” and Blink-182 “All the Small Things” over on the Video Page.

As I mentioned, Alter Ego has a full schedule this month...you can check them out this Friday at Legends Sports Bar, this Saturday at Pat O’Brien’s, or check their website for future dates.