blue goob

I closed the MLX6 weekend with a ‘blues’ set in the cafe. We had about 30 people in the room, the mood was mellow and people weren’t quite ready to go home. Our last DJ had left, and if we wanted music, either Keith or I would have to play it. So I decided to play a ‘blues’ set that I really wanted to hear.
I favour ‘dirty nanna’ blues – heavy on the innuendo and also heavy on the puns and humour. Saucy, but light hearted. I also chose to keep the energy in the room higher, and didn’t want it to descend into the super-slow, super-sexy blues stuff that can lead to a really saucy room and a really low-energy vibe.
I noticed that the crowd responded to the higher-energy stuff.
There were also quite a few non-blues dancers in the room who really wanted to talk and hang out rather than dance seriously, so I leant on the vocals and funner songs rather than deeply emotive stuff.
I also started out with a bit of Aretha so as to segue from the previous DJs’ unswing emphasis. He and I actually traded songs for the first 4 or 6 songs – so imagine you can hear a few other tracks in there, after JB and before Aretha.
In retrospect, maybe I should have held off on the incredibly dirty lyrics (not explicit – just 100% double entendre). Especially with the Cow Cow Davenport, Alberta Hunter, Dinah Washington (Long John Blues) and Blu Lou Barker. But it wasn’t an official set, and I wasn’t getting paid. So I figured, I could do as I liked. Almost. I did make an effort to keep people dancing and keep the energy positive.
But here’s the set list (title artist bpm year album):
Son Of A Preacher Man – Aretha Franklin – 77 Greatest Hits (Disc 1)
Please Please Please – James Brown – 74 – 1991 – Sex Machine
Amtrak Blues – Alberta Hunter – 95 – 1978 – Amtrak Blues
Back Water Blues – Dinah Washington with Belford Hendricks’ Orchestra – 71 – 1957 – Ultimate Dinah Washington
Reckless Blues – Velma Middleton with Louis Armstrong and the All Stars – 88 – The Complete Decca Studio Recordings of Louis Armstrong and the All Stars (disc 06)
I Ain No Iceman – Cow Cow Davenport – 89 – History of the Blues (disc 2)
Long John Blues – Dinah Washington – 97 – 1948 – Dinah Washington:the Queen Sings – Disc 2 – Stairway to the Stars
I Feel Like Layin In Another Woman’s Husband’s Arms – Blu Lu Barker – 89 – 1946 – Don’t You Feel My Leg: Apollo’s Lady Blues Singers
Jail House Blues – Ella Fitzgerald – 63 – 1963 – These Are The Blues
Willow Weep For Me – Louis Armstrong – 90 – 1957 – Ella And Louis Again [MFSL]
Rocks In My Bed – Ella Fitzgerald – 68 – 1956 – Ella Fitzgerald Day Dream: Best Of The Duke Ellington Songbook
Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good to You – Billie Holiday – 64 – 2005 – The Complete Verve Studio Master Takes (disc 6)
Hamp’s Salty Blues – Lionel Hampton and His Quartet – 86 – 1946 – Lionel Hampton Story 3: Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop
Slow Down Baby – Walter Brown with Jay McShann’s Kay-Cee Stompers – 73 – 1949 – Big Ben – Disc 4 – Stardust
West Side Baby – Dinah Washington – 89 – 22 Original Classics
My Handy Man Ain’t Handy No More – Alberta Hunter – 76 – 1978 – Amtrak Blues
Resolution Blues – Cootie Williams and His Orchestra with Dinah Washington – 68 – 1947 – Dinah Washington:the Queen Sings – Disc 2 – Stairway to the Stars
Chittlin’ Switch Blues – Slim and Slam – 103 – The Groove Juice Special (columbia)