Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Paul Rishell and Annie Raines at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA (outside Boston). All I can say is WOW!! I believe Annie might be the best harmonica player I've ever seen. She was like Little Walter and Big Walter and Sonny Terry and Sonny Boy Williamsons I and II all rolled into one. Her control, her versatility, everything was just perfect. I've seen many of the greats -- e.g., James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, Rod Piazza, Jerry Portnoy, Carey Bell -- but I believe last night Annie was better than any of them.
About 15 years ago I went to see James Cotton at Harper's Ferry in Allston (also outside Boston). James, of course, was Muddy Waters's harmonica player for many many years, and is a music legend. I clearly remember a young woman standing right up front, intently watching every move James made. I thought it was a bit unusual, since most of the audience was male. At one point, though, he called her up on stage, seemingly out of the blue, and she got up there, took his harp, and just started wailing. That of course was Annie Raines. Back then she was just getting started, but now she's in the same league as James Cotton. And that's saying a lot!
Paul Rishell is also incredible. He does some amazingly difficult guitar work and makes it all look oh so easy.
Go see these two if you can!
Comments (1)
Man, a female harp player who can play like that! Definitely on my list.
You didn't mention one of our great local talents, Magic Dick. If you ask me, he's right up there with the best.
When he and J. Giles were on the road doing Bluestime, he could really let loose on the classic 50s and 60s Chicago electric blues tunes he loves so much. You can hear a good bit of it on their two CDs, but (as with many blues CDs, unfortunately) it doesn't really capture the live experience.
I saw them five or six times, pretty much every chance I could get. I remember seeing them at the middle school auditorium in Groton, where J. still lives. I had second row seats. The best part was when J. and Magic started jamming. Nothing like good blues harp.
And by the way, if you guys ever get a chance to see Stevie Ray Vinoski play the harp, don't miss it. He's not bad for a software engineer...
Posted by Eric Newcomer | July 23, 2004 7:39 PM
Posted on July 23, 2004 19:39