Bruce Van Spyker - an outsider's view of Grand Rapids & the blues
Fatt Lapp Blues Band
10/6/2001 - Billy's Lounge in Eastown
I stopped into Billy's Lounge this past Saturday night (10/6), partially to see what the new place looked like and partially to see what kind of blues act the "new" Billy's was going to book.
I'm not a long-time Grand Rapids resident like many of the other Blues Society members are. I don't have a lot of memories of Billy's in its hey-day. I have been there maybe a half-dozen times. Enough to remember what the place looked like last year or so.
The old "Billy's" was a typical neighborhood bar - ceilings painted flat black to hide decades of modifications - decor that was inherited, and inherited again.
The new "Billy's" reminds me of some of the classier bars I have been in in Boston, New York, and elsewhere (I haven't been back to Maxwell Street in 30 years, unfortunately, so I can't make any comparisons there). The renovations, the colors, and the "new" Art Deco back bar (were did that come from?) make for a very inviting venue -- sort of like Harlem when it was "uptown".
I walked into the place about 10:30 - in the middle of a set. There wasn't much room - I finally found a stool up by the waitress's station (fortunately, when I ran out of paper to write on).
There was one thing that I noticed almost immediately - my eardrums were still working. We've sort of gotten used to the "heavy metal" blues acts that LAV has been sponsoring. And I have to admit that I do enjoy a good guitar riff. But it is nice to be able to go to a club and still be able to talk to the person next to you without screaming.
Fatt Lapp is a far more traditional blues band, the words take center stage, while the instruments sit back and support the singers. The musicians were "sweet", they filled the place with music without drowning us (much credit must go to their sound man Steve Boda - father of lead guitarist Eli Boda - and a mean slide guitarist in his own right).
Their music ranges all over the blues scene from original songs to covering favorites of many of the "greats" of the Blues world. But what makes them a great club band is that they can even slow things down. They did a fine version of Rainy Night In Georgia that had the dance floor packed with slow dancers. That's something you don't often see at a blues concert! This is one Rockin' Blues band with a whole lotta' soul!
Their web site is at www.FattLapp.com
