show review: Joe's 2 in Indianapolis

For the first time since the fall, 2004, Rusty played in Indianapolis, rocking the Joe's Grille 2 crowd with three sets of originals and party songs, exhibiting little of the effects of tour bus accident that kept him off the road for nearly three months.

On a chilly night, a good crowd showed up despite winter weather advisories calling for sleet and snow. Bladen played "Real Gone Gal", Ride That River", "Mow Your Grass", "dooyamissme", "Wannabe" and "The Choice" early in the night.

"Not Gonna Be Me" into "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Fishin' in the Dark" was a highlight, as was a rocking "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me"

His talk from the stage was not quite as loose as before the accident, but chalk it up to being a little out of the groove due to the layoff. While a month of so away from being at full strength, Rusty still strummed with enthusiasm and sang strongly.

Rusty played until about 1:30am and then joined the crowd while the crew tore down, and loaded up to head south through the night in the Big White Tour Bus, beating the bad weather to get ready for a Saturday show in Batesville at the Time Out Pub.

rusty bladen update 1.19.04

Good doubleheader coming this weekend, as Rusty and the crew hit Indianapolis' northside for a show at Joe's Grille 2 in Fishers (96th St., just off I-69) on Friday and back south for gig at Batesville's Time Out Sports Pub (downtown, in Village Square).

Friday will be Rusty's first appearance north of I-70 since his accident in October.

See the new songs, the Bladen favorites and a little Brown-Eyed Girl. And if you haven't seen

Vernay Reindollar on bass with Rusty, this weekend will be a great chance to hear the harmonies Vernay adds to the mix. Very nice.

The big white tour bus rolls into Indy for soundcheck late in the afternoon Friday, and showtime is scheduled for 10pm both Friday and Saturday.

See you there. And don't forget to download the FREE 3-song online album at rustybladen.com, recorded live with the Rusty Bladen and Designated Drivers in September, 2004. The offer goes away at the end of January.

But the shows rock this weekend.

rock news: toby, ted to tour; grammy's to honor "the zep"

The itinerary for a winter tour pairing country singer Toby Keith and rocker Ted Nugent continues to shape up, with a handful of new shows now confirmed. Keith and Nugent--who got to know each other during a recent USO-sponsored trip to Iraq, where they performed for U.S. troops--are so far scheduled to play 10 shows, including two in Green Bay, WI. Tickets for most shows are on sale now; details are in the itinerary below.

Billboard.com recently reported that about 20 Keith/Nugent dates are in the works for the first quarter of 2005; no other shows were confirmed at press time.

Also on Keith's schedule is a Feb. 13 show in Tallahassee, FL, to make good on a show he postponed in October, as well as summer festival appearances in Cheyenne, WY, and Detroit Lakes, MN.
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Led Zeppelin, Jerry Lee Lewis and the late Janis Joplin are among those slated to be honored with the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys on February 13th at Los Angeles' Staples Center.

The other recipients are jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton, country pioneers the Carter Family, soul hitmakers the Staples Singers, country star Eddy Arnold, jazz drummer Art Blakey, composer Morton Gould and blues pianist Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins.

Songwriter extraordinaire Hoagy Carmichael, Soul Train creator Don Cornelius, Blue Note Records founder Alfred Lion and recording artist and radio personality Dr. Billy Taylor will receive the Trustees Award, presented to important figures in music who contribute in a non-performing capacity. Producer Phil Ramone (Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel) will be honored with a technical Grammy.