2006 West Coast Guitar Killers Showcase

Highway 99 Blues Club - November 24th

It looked to me like Tim Sherman's annual blues guitar showcase that occured at the Highway 99 last month was a big hit again this year. The joint was full of Blues guitar fans and the dance floor was pretty much full all night.

The featured guitarists this year were Tim "Stoop Down" Sherman, Tom "T-Boy" Boyle, David Brewer, and Chris Stevens. The backup band that Tim hired for this gig included some of the finest blues cats in Seattle, including Ron "Deacon" Weinstein on the Hammond B-3, Kirk "Spiderman" Tuttle on drums, and Mark "Tall Cool One" Dalton on electric bass. These guys did a fine job of effortlessly backing up all of the guitarists, all of whom have pretty different styles - Tim with his swinging BB King-style chops and tone, Tom with his stinging Stratocaster riffs, David roaring in a more blues/rock vein, and Chris mixing it up with jazzy swing and reverb-soaked surf tunes.

One unusual thing happened to me during David Brewer's set. During the first portion of this set, he played a couple of tunes solo on his electric guitar while sitting down, something I've never seen him do before. I was chatting with a friend near a full table at this time and we were asked to keep it down, because the the people at the table couldn't hear David's music. My friend an I agreed that that had to be a first at any David Brewer gig!

Tom brought up singer Becki Sue to do a couple tunes during his set, and the crowd dug her, as usual. You go, girl!

Mark Dalton and Tim Sherman

Ron Weinstein

Kirk Tuttle and Mark Dalton

Tom Boyle

Tom Boyle and Becki Sue

David Brewer

Chris Stevens

It was really nice to see a Seattle club packed with so many Blues fans for a change. And hey, Tim - thanks for letting me sit in on "Alimony Blues" during your set!