Last Month's Setlist: 8/27/16, Oaks Theater, Oakmont, Pa.

'Bayou moonlight, got me wanderin'

Off Dauphine Street again...'

We found some awesome kindred spirits in Greensburg-based rock/funk band Habatat, who joined us for a double-bill at the beautiful Oaks Theater. Unfortunately, the crowd was kinda small, but we still had a great time. 

Click here to download/stream the set, courtesy of Archive.org!

One set:

Big Bad Blues* (Furthur)

Blackjack Molly*

Strange Moon

Casey Jones** (T.L. Seibert)

Ophelia (The Band) >

Dauphine

Gravel Road* (M. Slim)

Cumberland Blues (Dead)

Somebody Changed the Lock*** (C. Weldon/M. Rebennack arr.)

Les Brers in A Minor (D. Betts)

Funky Werewolf >

Drumz > Space >

Stone Soup >

Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad (Dead) >

Don't Let Go (J. Stone)

*Not recorded

**Not that one

***feat. Josh Covert of Habatat, trumpet

Last Month's Setlist: 5/14/16 American Legion Post No. 980, Plum, Pa.

'We gonna let it all hang out...'

There's nothing like a good crowd that's into the music. And just like when I played a couple solo shows at the Legion, this crowd was into it. They gave us energy, we gave it back, and in my opinion played one of our best shows to date.

It also helps that after three years of Playing in the Band, I'm finally starting to develop better solo instincts/chops.

Download/stream the show here, courtesy of Archive.org!

Early set:

Jam > Whiskey River (W. Nelson) >

Big River (J. Cash)

Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning (D. Van Ronk)

Feelin' Blue (CCR)

Meet Me in the Morning (Dylan) >

Mystery Train (J. Parker)

New Mexican Shuffle

The One That Got Away (T. Waits)
Big Bad Blues (Furthur)

Gravel Road (M. Slim)

Dauphine > Jam >

After Midnight (J.J. Cale)

Late set:

Equinox (Coltrane) >

Les Brers in A Minor (D. Betts) >

Feelin' Alright (D. Mason)

Me and My Uncle (J. Philips) >

Eat My Dust (D. Grisman)

Lil' Red Rooster (C. Burnett)

Queen Cobra

Althea (Dead) >
Don't Let Go (J. Stone) >

Drumz > 

China Cat Sunflower (Dead) >

Werewolves of London (W. Zevon) >

Viola Lee Blues (Dead)

E: Rain (Lennon-McCartney)

Last Night's Setlist: 10/30/15 Club Café, Pgh., Pa.

'Now the Eiffel Tower's holdin' up a flower,

I gave it to a Texas cat — can you picture that?'

It was another excellent Halloween as Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem from "The Muppet Show," and this year it was even topical since they brought the show back!

This time we had "Zoot" — our buddy Kyle Lawson — sit in for the entire second set, which saw us expand our horizons with a funky detour through some Bill Withers and J.J. Cale tunes.

Click here to download/stream the set, courtesy of Archive.org.

Early set:

Mystery Train (J. Parker)

Strange Moon

Dauphine

That's It >

Jam >

Queen Cobra

Can You Picture That? (D. Teeth) >

Jam >

Blackjack Molly

Midnight Rambler (Stones)

Late set*:

Werewolves of London (W. Zevon)

After Midnight (J.J. Cale)

Craney Crow (M. Rebennack) >

Stone Soup >

Use Me (B. Withers)

Spooky (Rascals) >

Equinox (Coltrane) >

Les Brers in A Minor (D. Betts) >

All Along the Watchtower (Dylan)

Fire on the Mountain (Dead)

*Full set w. Kyle Lawson, guitar/vocals

Tonight's Setlist: 8/14/15, Penn Hills Library Amphitheater, Penn Hills, Pa.

'Hit the flo', out the do', head on down to New Mexico...'

It was an uptempo night at the library's outdoor amphitheater. We blazed through about 16 songs in under two hours, with a quick set break.

Click here to download/stream the set courtesy of Archive.org:

Early set:

Blackjack Molly* > Half-Steppin' Jam >

Feelin' Alright (S. Winwood)

St. Mary Jail*

Big River (J. Cash)

Friend of the Devil (Dead)

New Mexican Shuffle*

Dauphine* >

Cumberland Blues (Dead)

Late set:

Strange Moon*

Me and My Uncle (J. Philips)

Floating Bridge (J. Estes) >

Les Brers in A Minor (D. Betts) >

Equinox (Coltrane) >

Les Brers Reprise

Ophelia (The Band)

Meet Me in the Morning (Dylan)

That's It* >
Queen Cobra*

*Original

Tonight's Setlist: 1/10/15, Thunderbird Café, Pgh., Pa (w/Kyle Lawson Band)

'The piano has been drinking,

my necktie is asleep...'

In the immortal words of Ric Flair: "WOOOOOO!"

It was a great night sharing the stage with the Kyle Lawson Band at Thunderbird Café. We debuted a new original as well as a personal favorite, a cover of Tom Waits' gin-soaked ode to shitty bars, "The Piano Has Been Drinking."

Click here to download/stream the set, courtesy of Archive.org.

One set:

Dauphine*^

Mother's Meth Head Blues*

Quite a Night (in Spain)*

That's It*

Feelin' Alright (S. Winwood) > 

Half-Steppin' Jam > Feelin' Alright >

Les Brers in A Minor (D. Betts/G. Allman) >

'Spooky Jam' > Les Brers Reprise >

Rain (Lennon/McCartney) >

The Piano Has Been Drinking (T. Waits) >

China Cat Sunflower (Dead) >

Werewolves of London (W. Zevon)

Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning (D. Van Ronk) >
Don't Let Go (J. Stone)

*Original

^First time played

Tonight's Setlist: 10/25/14, KC's Birthday, All Saints Brewing Co., Greensburg, Pa.

'Friend of the devil is a friend of mine...'

In a kind of public rehearsal for our Oct. 31 show (Club Café, 56 S. 12th St., Pittsburgh, Pa., 10 p.m., $7 in advance, $10 at the door or $7 at the door with a costume, don't miss it!), we had a chance to celebrate with our friend KC at her 30th birthday/Halloween party. 

While they have some fine beers, All Saints is basically a giant concrete box with a metal roof and literally nothing to absorb the sound of the band. It sounded like an echo chamber while we were playing, and the tape has our drummer sounding John-Bonham levels of epic. We should've added "When the Levee Breaks" to the setlist.

Click here to download the full-band first set, courtesy of Archive.org:

Early set#:

Soul Serenade (C. Ousley)

Quite a Night*

Dock of the Bay (O. Redding)

Garbage Man (M. McKinley) >

Black Peter (Dead)

New Mexican Shuffle*

Good Lovin' (A. Resnick/R. Clark)

Les Brers in A Minor (Allman/Betts) >

Equinox (Coltrane) >

'Spooky' Jam > Les Brers Reprise >

Floating Bridge (J. Estes) >

Midnight Moonlight (P. Rowan)

Come On In My Kitchen (R. Johnson)

Can You Picture That? (D. Teeth/F. Pepper)

Don't Let Go (J. Stone) >

Back on the Train (Phish) >

Don't Let Go

Late set:

China Cat Sunflower (Dead) >

Feelin' Blue (CCR)

Good Morning Lil' Schoolgirl (J. Lee Williamson) >

Jam >

Smokestack Lightning (C. Burnett)

It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (Dylan)

Friend of the Devil (Dead) > Jam >

Sympathy for the Devil (Stones)

Werewolves of London (W. Zevon) >

Viola Lee Blues (G. Cannon)

*Original

#"Soul Serenade" through "Good Lovin" without lead guitar

Charlie Hustle Live! 11/8/13 Club Café, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Come check us out Nov. 8 at a 21+ show at Club Cafe, 56 S. 12th St. in Pittsburgh's South Side neighborhood. Good food, great beer and better tunes! Tickets are $7 at the door or online at Club Cafe's website. Grab yer dancin' shoes and come get your Hustle on!

Tonight's Setlist: 1/5/13, The Twisted Thistle, Leechburg, Pa.

'She don't fix my breakfast, 

she won't even wash my clothes...'

Got a surprise call from The Twisted Thistle for a Saturday-night set — why not? It's been a minute since I played solo. I've mostly been concentrating on rhythm guitar, slide and the occasional solo for Charlie Hustle & the Grifters gigs (SHAMELESS PIMPING: We're playing Jan. 12, St. James Place, 153 S. 18th St., Pittsburgh, only $5!). 

But true to form — and despite being a little rusty on a few numbers — I tried out a few new tunes, a few that we're gonna play next Saturday in the band and another song I learned from Crawford County bluesman Rodger Montgomery, my main man Magic Slim (the photo above) and the Teardrops' "Gravel Road."

Click here to download/stream the set, courtesy of Archive.org:

Early set:

Cumberland Blues (Dead)

Rubber Bullets (10cc)

Garbage Man (M. McKinley)

I Like It*

Dirty Business (New Riders of the Purple Sage)

Rain Song No. 3*

It Hurts Me Too (E. James)

Two Angels*

New Minglewood Blues (Trad., Weir arr.)

Scarlet Begonias (Dead) >

Who Do You Love tease > Scarlet Begonias

Dark as a Dungeon (M. Travis)

Late set:

Cold Rain and Snow (Dead)

Meet Me in the Morning (Dylan)

New Mexican Shuffle*

Third Street Woman (J. Reynolds)

Might as Well (Dead)

Quite a Night*

I Know What I Know (P. Simon)

Strange Moon*

Loser (Dead)

Lawyers, Guns & Money (W. Zevon)

Breathe (Pink Floyd) >

The Other One (Dead) > Breathe Reprise

Box of Rain (Dead)

Gravel Road (Magic Slim)

Junco Partner (Professor Longhair)

*Original

Tonight's Setlist: 9/7/12, The Twisted Thistle, Leechburg, Pa.

I was definitely in a country-blues mood last night...

Perhaps inspired by the blues stylings of Roger Montgomery at last weekend's Pears Garlic Fest, I was feelin' some country blues at the Twisted Thistle last night. Good crowd, saw a few old friends from back in the day. Good time. The setlist was a little bit all over the map — more than usual for me — and I think it's a little disjointed. I tried out a bunch of new tunes: "God Rest His Soul," an old Gregg Allman song from the Allmans' pre-fame days, "Third Street Woman," a down-and-dirty blues from the '20s by Blind Joe Reynolds... I even tried out an old field holler, "Rosie," that's got kind of a creepy edge to it.

Click here to stream/download the set courtesy of Archive.org.

Early set:

Smokestack Lightning (C. Burnett) >

The Captain* >

Spanish Ladies tease > The Captain*

Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight (Oak Ridge Boys) >

Glendale Train (New Riders of the Purple Sage)

Strange Moon*

God Rest His Soul (G. Allman)

Rain Song No. 3* >

Darkness on the Edge of Town (Springsteen)

I Like It*

It Hurts Me Too (E. James)

Friend of the Devil (Dead)

Midnight Moonlight (P. Rowan) >

Love Please Come Home (B. Monroe) >

Cat Man Blues (Blind Boy Fuller)

Late set:

Mystery Train (J. Parker)

Cocaine Blues (G. Davis) >

Dire Wolf (Dead)

New Coat of Paint (T. Waits)

New Mexican Shuffle*

Dauphine*

Southwest Sky*

Have Someone Play Dixie For Me (Dry Branch Fire Squad)

Third Street Woman (J. Willie Reynolds)

Factory*# >

Jam >

All Along the Watchtower (Dylan) >

Harbor Lights (S. Miller) >

Jam >

The Other One (Dead) >

Rosie (Trad., Varine arr.) >

Dark Star (Dead) >

The Other One >

Good Morning Lil' Schoolgirl (J. Lee Williamson)

*Original

#First time played

Tonight's Setlist: 8/2/12, Club Café, Pittsburgh, Pa. with The Grifters

Great time.

Co-headlined a great evening at Club Café with The Grifters. Thanks to everyone who came out. The recording link will be up shortly, including a couple Grifters tunes I caught before running out of memory!

Tonight was only the second time I've covered a Hendrix song — obviously, you have to choose those carefully. "Belly-Button Window" is a good one, mostly because it's not all that Hendrix-y. It's just a straight blues shuffle. A fitting precursor to my son, who will be "coming down into this world, daddy" in October.

Click here to download/stream the set, courtesy of Archive.org.

Setlist:

You Can Keep It*

Dauphine*

Down in the Flood (Dylan)

Rain Song No. 3*

Quite a Night*

Bird Song (Dead) >

5:55 AM* >

Southwest Sky* >

Brown-Eyed Women (Dead)

Strange Moon*

Magnolia (J.J. Cale) >

Statesboro Blues (Blind Willie McTell) >

The Other One (Dead) >

Blackbird (McCartney) > The Other One >

Belly-Button Window (Hendrix) >

Jack Straw (Dead)

--

It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry^ (Dylan)

Pig in a Pen^ (R. Skaggs)

Floating Bridge^ (J. Estes)

Deep Elem Blues^ (Dead) >

Malted Milk^

Angel Band^ (Stanley Bros.)

*Original

^with The Grifters