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

VIDEO: 'Jam > Stone Soup > Jam'

Just a quick few stills from the 12/7 show overtop the jam in and out of "Stone Soup," an original made up on the spot by guitarist/vocalist Kyle Lawson.

Tonight's Setlist: Charlie Hustle & the Grifters, 12/7/12, Club Café, Pittsburgh, Pa.

"Always bet on Charlie Hustle..."

The first Charlie Hustle show was a gas. This one was a BLAST. We were having so much fun that Kyle straight made up a song in the middle of the late-set jam!

Click here to stream/download the set, courtesy of Archive.org — I also recorded the Grifters' opening set, it will be up soon as well!

One set (Grifters opened):

Floating Bridge (J. Estes)

Nobody Knows (the Way I Feel This Morning) (L. Armstrong)

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

New Mexican Shuffle*

Don't Look No Further (B.B. King)

Dock of the Bay (O. Redding)

Gentleman of Leisure (J. Winchester)

Shoot Me Down#

Third Street Woman (J. Reynolds)

Warrior with a Bottle#

Mystery Train (J. Parker)

Magnolia (J.J. Cale) >

All Along the Watchtower (Dylan) >

Jam > Stone Soup# > Jam >

Soul Serenade Jam >

Good Morning Lil' Schoolgirl (J. Williamson)

*P. Varine

#K. Lawson

Charlie Hustle & the Grifters are:

Kyle Lawson, electric guitar, vocals

Peter Flynn, electric guitar, vocals

Trish Imbrogno, bass

Dave Varasse, drums

Patrick Varine, acoustic/slide guitar, vocals

Today's Setlist: 11/10/12, Fall Fest, Upper St. Clair, Pa.

Ah, the crisp scent of rotting leaves... 

just kidding, love this time of year.

I was initially a little concerned about this outdoor gig in mid-November, what with the FRIGID-ASS WEATHER the last week. But today couldn't have been more perfect — 62 degrees and sunny. It was one of the only gigs I can remember where I wasn't sweating like a pig.

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

Early set:

The Captain*

Althea (Dead)

Man Smart Woman Smarter (N. Span)

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

Strange Moon*

New Mexican Shuffle*

Will Ye Go Lassie Go? (Clancy Bros.) >

Peggy-O (Dead) >

Glendale Train (New Riders of the Purple Sage) >

I Know What I Know (P. Simon)

Row Jimmy (Dead) >

Floating Bridge (J. Estes)

Boys in the Barroom (R. Hunter)

New Coat of Paint (T. Waits)

Bertha (Dead)

Fast Train (S. Burke)

Feelin' Alright (S. Winwood) >

Alligator (Dead) >

Rosie (Trad.)

Late set:

It Hurts Me Too (E. James)

Rain Song No. 3*

Dire Wolf (Dead) 

Angel Band (Stanley Bros.)

Jimmy Olsen's Blues (Spin Doctors)

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

In the Pines (Leadbelly)

Dauphine*

Black Peter (Dead) >

Don't Look No Further (B.B. King)

New Speedway Boogie (Dead) >

Push Those Clouds Away (Trad., Varine arr.) >

Jam > Southwest Sky* >

Eyes of the World (Dead)

Factory*

Slow Train (T. Bruno) >

Dark Star (Dead) >

Jam > Smokestack Lightning (C. Burnett) >

Dark Star > Slow Train

Mystery Train (J. Parker)

*Original

Tonight's Setlist: 9/21/12, Thunderbird Café, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Had a blast opening for the Old E Allstars at their record-release show. It's always a good time hanging out with Pittsburgh's premier funk band.

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

Third Street Woman (J. Willie Reynolds)

Dauphine*

Strange Moon*

Rain Song No. 3*

Mystery Train (J. Parker) >

Statesboro Blues (Blind Willie McTell) >

Mystery Train

Don't Look No Further (B.B. King)

I Like It*

*Original

Last Night's Setlist: 9/20/12, Coco Coffeehouse, Leechburg, Pa.

I took the calculated risk of going into last night's gig without any prepared setlist, which is a first for me. Even when I was going to open stages back in the early 2000s, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to play, mostly because of my preference for stringing together suites of songs.

But I wanted to try just flipping through the songbook and sort of following the vibe of the evening. At times, it made for a bit less cohesion, and there was the occasional flub, since as per usual, I was playing songs either for the first time at a gig or the first time in a long time at a gig.

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

Early set:

Anna Begins (Counting Crows)

Big Railroad Blues (Dead)

Drag the Lake, Charlie (Drive-By Truckers)

Lookin' Out My Back Door (CCR)

New Minglewood Blues (Dead)

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (L. Helm/R. Robertson)

Dauphine*

Sugar Mountain (N. Young)

I Like It*

It Hurts Me Too (E. James)

Me and My Uncle (Dead)

Late set:

Don't Look No Further (B.B. King)

On a Foggy Night (T. Waits)

Man Smart, Woman Smarter (N. Span)

It Makes No Difference (R. Danko)

Strange Moon*

Little Wing (J. Hendrix)

Third Street Woman (J. Willie Reynolds)

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

In Color (J. Johnson)

Highway 29 (Springsteen)

Rosie (Trad., Varine arr.)

In the Pines (Leadbelly)

New Mexican Shuffle*

Will Ye Go Lassie Go? (Clancy Bros.)

You Can Keep It*

Slow Train (T. Bruno) >

Dark Star (Dead) >

Jam > Dark Star >

Slow Train

*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