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That was such a great show, for every reason. I'm happy to see anything at the Loew's, just for the atmosphere, and Beck really was excellent. Memorable.

Sorry there is another thread on here but the site is a bit buggy for a sear4ch...


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CELEBRATE THE BLUES IN JERSEY CITY

Debbie Davies doesn't fit stereotype of the genre

Friday, February 19, 2010
By JONATHAN MANDELL
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Acentury ago, when people thought of a blues musician, they surely pictured a man who was African American, blind, broke, and from the Bible Belt.

"For most artists, the broke thing is still going on," says Debbie Davies, who will be performing at the Loew's Theater tonight along with Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, as part of the Loew's-Down Blues concert series. Her favorite blues lyric, from her drummer Don Castagno, is "it costs too much to be poor!"

Beyond broke, though, the portrait of the blues has expanded. Sugar Ray Norcia, for example, a blues singer and a mean man with a blues harp, did not grow up in the Mississippi Delta; he's actually never been there. He was born in Rhode Island, a New England blues man.

And Debbie Davies, a California native who plays an electric blues guitar (in the words of the L.A. Times) "as if it were a magic wand," initially had trouble being taken seriously because of her gender; as Norcia puts it, "she's unusual, being a lady."

The blues took hold early for both musicians, and has kept both of them at it their entire lives for Sugar Ray Norcia, it has been 38 years and some 45 albums since his first blues gig; Debbie Davies has produced a dozen solo albums and spent two dozen years on the road.

Indeed, in some ways, their stories are remarkably similar. Both grew up in a family of musicians. His mother was a jazz singer in a band with her brothers, his father a voice teacher. Her mother was a concert pianist, her father Allan Davies was a singer and arranger who did background vocals on albums by Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra. ("My mom still recalls sitting in the booth at Capitol Records while Frank was recording.")

Both discovered the blues on their own: Davies listened to the blues-based guitar licks of the British invasion and to her father's collection of Ray Charles records; Norcia lived in an area that had attracted hundreds of blues musicians ("I don't know if there was something in the water or what.") and listened endlessly to their collection of "vinyls."

Neither budding blueser got a very welcoming reception about their choice of music from their families. "I begged my parents for an electric guitar, and they wouldn't go for it," Davies has said. "They said girls don't play electric guitar." Norcia's uncles advised him to play pop if he wanted to make a living.

But they had fallen in love.

"I listen to classical music and country, but when it comes to performing and writing, blues is it," Norcia says. "I love the form. It's an expressive kind of music."

Both played in groups with colorful names Norcia's first was Linseed Sam & the Oilers; Davies at one point played with Maggie Mayall and the Cadillacs, an all-female group led by the wife of British blues man John Mayall and with some blues legends Norcia with Big Walter Horton, Davies with Albert Collins - before leading their own bands and playing their own music.

Davies' latest album, "Holdin' Court," entirely instrumental, includes six of her own compositions, and homages to the electric blues players of the 1960s, including Collins, who inspired her. One new composition sums up her approach to the blues and "life in general": "Tryin To Keep It Real."

They both persist, although it is a struggle.

"All the record companies who support the blues are having a really hard time," Davies says. "Many of the blues icons have died. It's a job to keep it alive."

Norcia says "it's hard to find venues," which is why both play plenty of gigs in Europe. Davies sees the irony of this: "Europeans have always appreciated American music more than most Americans. We're about pop crap."

To both of them, the blues is worth it, especially in tough times: "It's an uplifting music," Sugar Ray Norcia says. "When people are down, the blues is a way to lift them."

just want to mention, that the beck, yo la tengo, magnetic fields, and decemberists show were all booked by the owner of maxwell's in hoboken. i'm grateful he has the experience, backing, and trust with the agents that book those acts, that he could bring them to jersey city.

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Besides Beck, a few other artists who have performed there in last few years have included:

- The Magnetic Fields (Featuring Stephin Merritt)
- Bright Eyes
- The Decemberists
- Yo La Tengo
- M. Ward
- Jim James (of My Morning Jacket)

and last, but not least, Patti LaBelle.

It's a shame there aren't more performances there, though I learned that the theater isn't air-conditioned in this thread a couple of years ago.

So I suppose winter, spring and fall shows would make the most sense.

The did have Beck play there a couple years go and it was an amazing show. Even in the middle of his set, he stopped and laughed. He told us that he was amazed at the acoustics of that place 'cause he could hear everything the crowd was shouting at him. I would love more live music at the Loew's. I am going to the show this Friday night too.

would be great if some of that money from the Restoration Corp. went to booking some bands that the 18-45 crowd wanted to see.

Friday music shows at Loew's Jersey Theater are helping revive Journal Square in Jersey City

Tuesday, February 16, 2010
By MELISSA HAYES
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jordan Galatz remembers Journal Square during its prime.

"I've seen Journal Square and Jersey City go through many, many changes over the years," he said. "I remember the good old days of the Loew's Jersey Theatre, the Stanley and the State (theaters)."

Galatz, whose family has owned a business in the Square since 1958, owns Midas Auto Service on Kennedy Boulevard.

Journal Square isn't what it used to be, but groups, including the Journal Square Restoration Corp., which Galatz chairs, and the Friends of the Loew's are working to change that.

The restoration corporation has partnered with Loew's to offer Friday night entertainment, with blues guitarist Debbie Davies and Sugar Ray & The Bluetones set for this week.

"These performances are a great way to connect Jersey City residents and other visitors with the incredible history and the ongoing rebirth of the Square as a great entertainment destination - with the Loew's as a cornerstone and linchpin between the history and future," Galatz said.

The Journal Square Restoration Corp. and its Board of Trustees has partnered with the Provident Bank Foundation and Jersey City Magazine to make a $250,000 investment into nighttime entertainment at the Loew's.

Galatz said the entertainment varies from doo wop and blues to cultural performances like Egypt's National Folkloric Dance Group, which will perform Feb. 28.

The later show, a rare trip to the United States, is co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Egypt in New York.

While the Journal Square Restoration Corp. is providing funding, the Loew's, which is run with the help of volunteers, is providing the location. The historic theater, which opened in 1929, was saved from demolition, is undergoing renovations and has been operating as an arts center.

Volunteers are still working to complete the renovations and open the upstairs seating.

"We've built a reputation as one of the best places in the metropolitan area to enjoy classic films and alternative rock - attracting patrons from throughout the region," said Loew's Director Colin Egan.

"Now, by working with our partners in this series we are broadening that mix, bringing even more patrons to the Loew's, and adding even more to the great things happening in the new Journal Square," Egan said.

While Galatz said the concert series is new and a work in progress, he said it's going well so far.

"It seems to be building," he said. "We're getting bigger turnouts every time."

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Loew's Jersey aims for return as entertainment destination

By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
February 16, 2010, 6:00AM



Debbie Davies will perform at blues show at the Loew's Jersey.

Jordan Galatz remembers Journal Square during its prime.

"I've seen Journal Square and Jersey City go through many, many changes over the years," he said. "I remember the good old days of the Loew's Theater, the Stanley and the State (theaters)."

Galatz, whose family has owned a business in the Square since 1958, owns Midas Auto Service on Kennedy Boulevard.

Journal Square isn't what it used to be, but groups, including the Journal Square Restoration Corp., which Galatz chairs, and the Friends of the Loew's are working to change that.

The restoration corporation has partnered with Loew's to offer Friday night entertainment, with blues guitarist Debbie Davies and Sugar Ray & The Bluetones set for this week.

"These performances are a great way to connect Jersey City residents and other visitors with the incredible history and the ongoing rebirth of the Square as a great entertainment destination -- with the Loew's as a cornerstone and linchpin between the history and future," Galatz said.

The Journal Square Restoration Corp. and its Board of Trustees has partnered with The Provident Bank Foundation and Jersey City Magazine to make a $250,000 investment into nighttime entertainment at the Loew's.

Galatz said the entertainment varies from doo wop and blues to cultural performances like Egypt's National Folkloric Dance Group, which will perform Feb. 28.

The later show, a rare trip to the United States, is co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Egypt in New York.

While the Journal Square Restoration Corp. is providing funding, the Loew's, which is run with the help of volunteers, is providing the location. The historic theater that opened in 1929 was saved from demolition, renovated and reopened as an arts center.

Volunteers are still working to complete the renovations and open the upstairs seating.

"We've built a reputation as one of the best places in the metropolitan area to enjoy classic film and alternative rock -- attracting patrons from throughout the region," Loew's Director Colin Egan said.

"Now, by working with our partners in this series, we are broadening that mix, bringing even more patrons to the Loew's, and adding even more to the great things happening in the new Journal Square," Egan said.

While Galatz said the concert series is new and a work in progress, he said it's going well so far.

"It seems to be building," he said. "We're getting bigger turnouts every time."