After about 30 years of attending the Long Beach Blues Festival, from the second one and beyond until the 1990s when the crowd got too large, we decided to check out the scene one more time.  At about 4:30pm on Saturday, the surprisingly large crowd was in place.  Without those fans who decided to stand at the VIP fence to get a better look with a blind eye to those in lawn chairs whose view they blocked – and the idiots who thought it was a Dodgers game and brought beach balls to throw around the crowd – the crowd was cool and appreciative and the music was mainly great, with Saturday ending on a strong guitar note.

Bettye LaVette (known to those who bought her 60s and 70s records as Betty LaVette) put on a strong show with a sympathetic rhythm section.  She rushed through the song that established her (“My Man, He’s A Lovin’ Man”), paying more attention to one that didn’t sell (“You’ve Changed”).  Then came the song she said kept her on the blues circuit (“Let Me Down Easy”).  An extended “A Change Is Going To Come” and what looked like an exit with the band departing, but LeVette hung in with lyrics that sounded like she was thanking the festival “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” – but it became a fine acappella performance.

What can be said about Johnny Winter that hasn’t?  This time, he played seated and did a good number of shuffles, “Hide Away” “Sugar Coated Love” “Miss Ann” and others, but he also rocked out with “Bony Maronie” then brought out headlinder Kenny Wayne Shepherd on a rollicking “It’s All Over Now” and encored with Dylan’s “Highway 61” as an encore.

Between these two powerful guitar based sets came an enjoyable set by Long Beach’s own Laurie Morvan Band, with Morvan on guitar.  I especially liked her high-pitched semi-doo wop opening number, but didn’t catch the title.  Face it, the lady has a very high voice, which she puts out to good effect.  Not so effective was “Skinny Chicks,” but all-in-all, Morvan and company delivered.

At dusk, dusk being about 8 p.m., Kenny Wayne Shepherd took the stage, not by the KJAZZ host, the Wagman, but by an off-stage announcer.  Shepherd’s vocalist, a highly active Noah Hunt took to lifting the stage mic over his head during portions of the show.  Shepherd tended to open several songs with the classic “Dust My Blues” guitar riff, and finally got around to playing that Elmore James blues classic with great effect.  He credited Earl King’s “Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)” to versions by Freddy King, Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, but Shepherd’s version was no slouch.  He dazzled with guitar effects, axe behind his head and other stage pyrotechnics, but it was his guitar that kept the audience engaged because the sound was great and the sound was loud and after his set, it was time to go… even though the Funky Meters had not yet taken to the stage.  It was clear there was going to be a fairly substantial break before the next set.  It was dark, and many fans who had been on scene since about 2:00pm began leaving.

This was hardly the greatest day in the history of the blues festival – something about the grounds of CSULB always lent itself better to the scene, not so much Rainbow Harbor – but the fun factor was high and to those who love their personal slab of the blues, be it guitar based, vocal or soul-blues, it was well worth the price and the time investment.