Black Coffee Blues Band

Yesterday was the Court Street Street Fair.  A bit redundant sounding, but hey, I didn't come up with the name. I have a few pictures I took along the way as I headed the the far end of it (far end if you started where I did) to see my friend Dimitri and the group he plays with, the Black Coffee Blues Band.  Those pictures will have to wait for another post.

Dimitri has a performance place on Court Street where they host various events to promote local talent and this is where they were performing.

Worth Paying A Visit


I didn't even know about this place until I got an email from Dimitri inviting me to watch the band.  For those of you who follow my blog you know that they are a favorite of mine.  I have posted pictures of them in the past, usually at the Atlantic Antic, my favorite street fair. They also play at the Waterfront Ale House, but while they used to play here in Brooklyn they now play at the Manhattan location so I don't see them all that often. Anyway, I will try to keep apprised of future events and post about them so if any or you are interested and in the neighborhood you can attend them.

Me And Dimitri (Rhymes, Doesn't It)


The Mysterious Chinese Woman had gone to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden earlier with two of her sisters and a niece. She did manage to make it back in time to catch the performance, and a beer.

A Belle, Beer And Blues, A Winning Combination


The beer was not your run of the mill stuff, either.  It was Penn Kaiser Pilsner, brewed by the Pennsylvania Brewing Company.  A nice session beer (4% ABV), quite refreshing.   A nice malty aroma and a slight hoppy flavor with some sweeter malt to it as well.

A Good Beer Served Up By A Good Gail


Now Bar Man does like a good blues band, and these guys are really good.  Better than a lot of bands that I have heard in much pricier venues.  Well, this venue was actually free.  They are all talented and, except for the drummer, very good vocalists as well as gifted guitar players.  And for all I know the drummer can sing too.

The Black Coffee Blues Band


Popa Chubby, who usually fronts the group, wasn't there, but man, they rocked out anyway.  If you want to see a video of the group with Popa Chubby playing at the Atlantic Antic, click the link below (you will also see why Popa Chubby is called Popa Chubby and not Popa Skinny).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADgjtZDchuU

The somewhat diminutive bass player is Galea, Popa Chubby's wife. Popa Chubby and Galea also form the nucleus of The Horowitz Blues Band. Popa Chubby's real name is Ted Horowitz. What, you thought his parents named him Popa Chubby. And here is a bit of irony, Popa Chubby's father owned a candy store.

The guy on the left is Big Ed Sullivan and he can really wail on that guitar.

Big Ed Doing Some Guitar Tricks


Hiding His Hand


I told him he reminded me of Eddie Van Halen who used to play with his back to the audience because he was afraid people would film him and copy his fingering.  Of course Eddie is a mess, and if you don't believe me just read Sammy Hagar's autobiography Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock.

Now Dimitri you already know, he is on the far right in the group picture.  The guy next to Big Ed is Doc French who usually plays with the French Cookin' Band  The drummer is Don Castagno of the Debbie Davies Band.  I had Doc's and Don's names wrong on my original post but Dimitri sent me an email so I could correct them.  Sorry Doc and Don, I guess I just wasn't paying attention during the introductions.

The Black Coffee Blues Band does have at least one CD out and, if you search for it I think you can find at least one site where you can download it for free.  I would post the link but that would be like encouraging you to steal.

After watching them perform I had worked up a bit of an appetite so the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I went out for dinner.  I will post about that in a day or two but if you are in this neck of the woods you really should check out this place. It is an authentic old-time Italian restaurant with decent food and friendly service.

Frankie's 457


Not too surprising, it is at 457 Court Street.

Now I know that Fox News isn't the biggest Obama supporter, but do you think this banner that they ran was just a Freudian slip?

Makes You Kind Of Wonder