THE hottest corner in town is at Mason and Geary - the spot where
Biscuits and Blues nightclub is located, and owners STEVEN SUEN and his
lovely wife TINA keep THE BLUES ALIVE! B&B was voted America's
No. 1 Blues Nightclub by the Blues Foundation (formerly known as the
W.C. Handy Awards).
Last Sunday night the San Francisco club celebrated its 17th Anniversary
with a JAM SESSION starting at 4:30 p.m. lasting until 10 pm. FREE
food, drinks, no door charge, an anniversary cake; the club was packed!
Steve and Tina, a good looking couple, fabulous in formal attire! A
fixture at B&B, radio station KPOO's Wednesday morning blues jock,
NOEL, emceed the house party happening! Noel's KPOO cohorts, midnight
announcer, dancin' J. JOHNSON, with his fancy lady, and JOHNNY
BROOKLYN on the scene meeting fans.
Among the artist who brought their AX, backed by KID
ANDERSON and Band (the house band for the evening), featured SID MORRIS
on keyboard who performed most of the evening, included harmonica
player/vocals RICK ESTRIN of the Nightcats band; SISTA MONICA did her
thang' - upped the tempo, in husky singing voice, bellowing, James
Brown - get up, get on up - the band rocked, folks got on their feet and
danced. I felt her soul when hollering a painful blues song, entitled
"Tears," a selection on her new album.
BIG BONES, thinner these days, fashionably dressed to impress,
struttin' in big hat, suit, blowin' his harmonica , vocalized on, of all
songs, "Summer Time," in slow drippin' blues flavor - TOO COLD!!! I
tell you, if he was a BLACK CAT I would be worried for he crossed my
path three weekends straight!
Guitarist/vocal TEBO (performs with John Lee Hooker, Jr. band) gave us
some corn bread and greens, and hot funky moves! ; STEVE GANNON on
guitar and vocals - cool in black hat - loved his white hair! Waiting
in the wings to perform were AL VON, LLOYD GREGORY, sassy vocalist PAULA
HARRIS, who gave me her current CD to review, entitled, "Damn your
Eyes" showed a picture of her on the cover - those eyes definitely
warned DANGER AHEAD!
Hanging with Blues folks - One of my favorite ladies, MS. SERENE, sexy
in yellow, out on the dance floor with architectural designer J.D. MOORE
- check the club's new entrance design - his creation! ... Members of
the Golden Gate Blues Society (TGGBS), President DOROTHY HILL and
Publicist DEB LUBIN - they have a great Blues inspired newsletter - both
were busy snapping their cameras! Always happy to meet nice folks,
joined member CINDY MORRIS (keyboardist Sid's wife), at her table.
Prior to making the blues set, dinned with relatives at GUSSIE'S Soul
Food restaurant on Eddy near Fillmore. AMAZED over the crowd, packed,
a wait of 30 minutes. Ms. PETA, delightful manager, shared Gussie's ad
on Facebook has boosted their business. Good news to hear!
BLACK CUISINE 2012, celebrated 32 years featuring SOUL FOOD at its best
In day long festivities, Saturday, March 3, in the Bayview District of
San Francisco, on Yosemite at Third Street, and Armstrong Street,
closed to traffic. A fundraiser, Black Cuisine, remains an heralded
annual event, sponsored by Bayview Hunters Point Multipurpose Senior
Service, located on Yosemite. One can experience the best Soul Food in
the Bay area featuring entries from Bay Area restaurants, caterers and
chefs, local churches and senior citizens who represent the
craftsmanship of the Black elderly, many who have passed BUT their
recipes live on in the Black Cuisine cook book.
It was a great day in the hot sunshine, folks enjoyed LIVE
entertainment - two stages, that included Jaye and Friends; RICARDO
SCALES, Jerome Clay, CC's Classic Steppers. Fun for children on
Armstrong street.
Enjoyed a lively conversation with former San Francisco Supervisor
WILLIE B. KENNEDY, Chair, Senior Center Board, and SULULAGI PALEGA ,
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The three of us enjoyed
some soulful vittles seated together in the senior center dining hall -
Sululagi knows how to CLEAN the meat off OXTAILS! Kennedy and I
enjoyed some CHITLINS', and I must give a shout out to DEACON JOHNNY
CHERRY - the barbecue ribs were SCREEEAMIN'!
SENATOR MARK LENO, avid supporter of the Center, walked among the crowd
with CATHY DAVIS, Executive Director, Senior Center and Adult Day
Healthcare ... HEARD San Francisco Sheriff ROSS MIRKARIMI was on the
street with his young son ( hate to say this, BUT in my opinion, his
sheriff days are SHORT!). The afternoon acquainted me with CAROLYN GAGE,
a woman who has been in the news protesting to SAVE her Bayview home
(UNDER WATER) and eviction!. The Monte Carlo Restaurant and Bar was
doing a brisk business from those wanting to chill out, enjoy a lil'
libation, listen to the juke box! That's where I ran into my friend,
radio station KPOO News Director, and BEYONDCHRON writer, HARRISON
CHASTANG, checking the action!
HEY, IT'S NICE TO BE NICE AND TO ALL OF YOU OUT THERE ... LOOK FOR ME ... I'LL BE THERE ...
E-mail Rochelle at iheard@earthlink.net