[Slowhand] RE: Speaking of Mike Bloomfield ...

[Noah Seidenberg]

Thank you DN. Great story. You did an excellent job of explaining what you
liked about his sound. It did justice to a legend.

Happy New Year!

 

Noah

 

 

"My college friends and I bought tickets to see Super Session -- Mike
Bloomfield and Al Kooper -- at the Fillmore East early show (began 8 PM) on
Friday 27 December 1968. We had previously seen Mike at the Fillmore East
when he was with the Electric Flag, and Al Kooper with Blood, Sweat & Tears.


Mike was ... well, he was Mike, with an exuberant stage presence, and what I
can only term an over exuberant guitar presence. When Mike played, he made
love to the guitar, and his facial expression showed it. Often, he moved his
mouth in such a way that it looked like the guitar_s notes came from it. 

Mike was a beautiful guitarist.

 

Anyway, it had snowed that week, a blizzard, if I remember correctly. As
Super Session took the stage, it was dark and the spotlight was shined on Al
Kooper, who introduced the band. But Al had to apologize: Mike Bloomfield,
it seems, was snowed in, in Chicago! Adding to his apology, Kooper
continued, "We hope you like our substitute tonight, B.B. King." As a
spotlight was shined on B.B., the crowd responded with thunderous applause. 

My friends and I had also previously seen B.B., and we figured that though
Mike wasn't there, we'd settle back and have a wonderful blues night anyway.

 

Now, I don't know if what happened next was planned or for real. However,
the stage remained largely dark for the first, instrumental, slow blues
number, with pretty much just a few spotlights shining on the four Super
Session musicians (I cannot remember who the bass player and drummer were,
probably bassist Jerry Jemmott and drummer Johnny Cresci, the same guys who
played on the recently-released "Fillmore East: The Lost Concert Tapes
12/13/68," recorded just two weeks earlier). However, we were soon subjected
to a curious turn of events that changed everything in a moment or two.

 

We sat pretty close to the stage, about 3rd or 4th row, and on the right
side. And then we noticed a figure appear in the dark, wearing a leather
jacket, jeans, and carrying a guitar in its case. The figure took off his
jacket, plugged in his guitar, and began playing along with the rest of the
Super Session band. We turned to each other, _Who was it?_

 

Within a couple of seconds, we all realized. It was Mike. And before a
spotlight was directed at him, the house knew that it was Bloomfield too,
since he had such a signature style of playing, such a unique style of
phrasing, that it was unmistakable. Mike was able to fly in from Chicago
after all, and got to the theater during the first number. What a great
surprise!

 

This is pretty much where I'll leave off, but I must admit that it was
simply blues heaven for the remainder of the evening, as Mike and B.B. 

traded licks and serenaded us with some of the most beautiful blues guitar
we_d ever heard. They were both "on" that night, and I just wish that THIS
night had been recorded as well."

 

 

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