deep down in florida
A couple of days ago we told you about Josh Smith’s upcoming aftershow gig. Well, it came and went Saturday night. “Galaxieman” caught the show and gave us permission to post his recap and pictures. Here’s his thoughts:
I thought I would give you a small recap of Taylor’s stop in South Florida on August 25th. It was very memorable for us!
We had not seen Taylor since the third concert of his Spring Tour, in Coral Springs, Florida. Things sure have changed since those early concerts. The show was much looser and Taylor was very relaxed. At Coral Springs Taylor only did one very short harp piece with the amplifier during ‘The Runaround’. At Pompano he wore out the harp. Fabulous work. It is really hard to describe the show but you who have been lucky enough to see Taylor recently know how wonderful the show can be. The concert was over way too soon, but all good things end too soon, I guess.
Prior to the concert I had a very quick ‘meet and greet’ with Taylor. From other postings, here, you might have seen that his lead guitar player, Josh Smith, was doing a show after Taylor’s concert at a place called ‘The Poorhouse’. Josh is a South Florida native and played at The Poorhouse with his band (John Yarling: Drums and Jason Rosner: Bass Guitar) in prior years. At the ‘meet and greet’ I asked Taylor if he was attending Josh’s gig after the show. He replied: ‘Sure!’.
While singing one of his songs in the concert, Taylor got real close to Josh Smith and sang: ‘Your going to The Poorhouse, to The Poorhouse, to The Poorhouse….were all going to The Poorhouse!’. I doubt that many at the concert knew the meaning of that exchange. The Soul Patrollers on my aisle knew what it meant!
Well, that cinched it, we were all going to The Poorhouse!
The Poorhouse is located in deep downtown Ft Lauderdale on a street that has plenty of late night action. The Poorhouse is very aptly named. We had quite a time finding it because there is no sign! Just a number. It is jammed in between two other musical joints. The one on the left had a $45 cover charge. We had to ask at The Poorhouse’s front door to see if we were at the ‘right place’. They said it was and to come in. No cover charge! Now this place is small. Very small. The entire establishment is about 50 feet square including two bars, restrooms and a tiny stage. No ‘backstage’. The ’stage’ itself was elevated about 12 inches and had barely enough room for Josh Smith, a drummer, a bass guitar player, a sax player and one microphone. That’s all!
Josh and his band started playing at about 11:15 PM. Josh is just an unbelievable guitar player and a very good singer. You only get a slight taste of his talent at Taylor’s shows. What he does on his own is just out of this world. If you don’t already have one I highly recommend that you procure a copy of Josh’s CD: ‘Deep Roots’.
Brian Gallagher also was there and played the sax with Josh throughout the night. Felix Pollard and Al Carty from Taylor’s band also were wondering around the bar.
Soon after that in walked ‘The Man’ himself. Baseball cap pulled low Taylor sat at the bar just like any other patron and took in the show for probably about an hour. There were probably about 20 or so ‘Soul Patrollers’ there but nobody else seemed to know the guy in the baseball cap. So, Taylor had plenty of ‘private’ time to himself to enjoy the show.
During the second set Felix, Al and Brian took over from the regular band members and did a couple of outstanding pieces with Josh. Those guys rocked the house!
Later on Josh was playing an especially difficult and evocative piece. Taylor sauntered up in front of the stage and stood with the Soul Patrol and others taking in Josh’s craftsmanship. Taylor’s head was tilted to the side the way he does when he is really into the music. After that song Josh dragged Taylor, who did not need much coaxing, up onto the tiny stage. He did a great long blues number with the band and the place pretty much went nuts.
About 15 minutes later Taylor slipped out as quietly as he had arrived. ‘Elvis’ had left the building!
What a night!
- “Galaxieman”
Me again: check back here for more info on Josh and some samples from his CD, Deep Roots. If you’re still not convinced, read the review from BluesWax
categories: live, music
tags: blues, Deep Roots, Josh Smith, Pompano
posted by what at 01:00 am
I had heard that the “great long blues number” was “It’s a Man’s World”. Any confirmation on that? I heard him tag that in Orlando back in February in a way I had never heard the song done before (or since). Never was able to find audio of it, though.
This sounds like a magical night. The only thing close to that which I have been able to catch was Taylor’s visit to Buddy Guy’s with Keb Mo and Josh after the Chicago HOB spring tour show. There were about 20 of us fans and we ignored Taylor (except to cheer him when he stepped onstage, like we did the rest of the performers) until he made it clear after awhile that he did not mind chatting with us briefly. I had a meet and greet with Taylor not long after that, and I told him that I’d been there, and that he did not have to worry about his hard-core fans bothering him in those situations, that we would always give him his personal space. He said “I appreciate that”. So it’s great to hear of another such happening where Taylor was allowed to be part of the audience and enjoy the music unhindered. Kudos to you and the other folks who were there that night. It’s fans like yourself that will encourage Taylor to continue to go out and hear/make music spontaneously, like he was born to do.
appears to have been one rockin’ evening with genuine musicians doing what they love doing.
Nice recap - kudos Galaxieman!
Wonder what songs they played?
Now, I would have loved to see this! Thanks for the recap, Galaxieman.
I was supposed to see Taylor in two shows in NY, but my mom passed away on the day I was to fly to NY City. I flew to Paris instead. A sad, sad time, but I was grateful to be able to be with my family so we could comfort each other. My mom did not have much money, and did not own many things, except for books and music. I knew her love of opera and classical music, and some of the singers she liked, but as I went through her stuff, I was amazed at the range of other music she listened to, from Frank Sinatra, to The Rolling Stones, to Queens, Al Green, Chick Corea, Bob Dylan… I wish we had talked more about that! She was quite a woman!
Thanks for the recap! I have enjoyed seeing Taylor several times during his Spring and Summer tours and I liked the summer shows better because they are simpler and looser and Taylor and the band seemed to be enjoying themselves more. I especially liked the Charleston show. Hate to see the tour ending but I know Taylor needs a break. Looking forward to more great music from him and to future tours.
mamaforpeace - sorry to hear about the loss of your Mom. Isn’t that cool to get that additional peek into her musical world? I often think we never really know who our parents are - there’s always more to learn. But now you have all that music to listen to, and to filter through your memory of her. I can understand your wish to talk with her, but cool that you have the chance for this musical dialogue in your memory.
It is wonderful to have this legacy. She had made literally hundreds of cassete tapes. I was there too short a time, and there was too much for me to do, to have the time to really go through them. I am looking forward to doing that when I go back to Paris, probably not before next summer, and see what kind of “mix” she made. I’ll keep room in my suitcase to bring some back!