Thurs., Nov. 6, 1997, Little Bear Saloon, Evergreen, CO -- After a nice, long sleep in the very nice band house (new carpet, cable, laundry, lots o' space), we moseyed over to the club. The Little Bear is a very rustic space, originally built in the late 1800's as a church and community center. After the turn of the century it advanced to being a saloon, as it remained under various names and managements. For the last several years it's hosted all the blues greats traveling cross country on countless tours, and tonight we were to be the back up band for one of them, the legendary Bo Diddley. Now at 70, Bo is still gettin' around by himself, flying from gig to gig and picking up local bands to do his bidding. His local contact, a harp player, set me straight: "Forget the 'Bo Diddley Beat'...just straight 2 and 4. He'll show you the endings." Fine by me. We did two shows, one at 6:30 and the other at 9:30. The first show was packed at $12 a head, completely filling the sizable room--probably 300, including the upstairs balcony. The sound system was great, and Bo was witty and surprisingly versatile. He even commented to the crowd, pointing in my direction, "One helluva drummer," as he introduced the band. The 9:30 show was a bit short owing to Bo's wincing backache, but the crowd was amenable and comfortably rowdy. I didn't even work up a sweat until the club asked if we would do a half-hour set. So we got to stretch out and git down, although I was feeling the altitude on the Hendrix "Fire" cover. Joanna was brilliant, as usual.
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