• PHOTO PROVIDED
• Willie Nile played Big Rib BBQ and Blues Fest last weekend.

All the original Ramones are dead and gabba gabba hey gone and yet Kanye still walks the earth. Who’s in charge here?

So, I Mounted the two-wheeler and dodged the drizzle to hit the outside scene.

The Corn Hill Arts Festival is such a cool event. As folks milled around buying lawn ornaments they didn’t need, there was music, music, music. It’s clear the people that book this thing are music fans (Woody this means you, big daddy) as the line-up was eclectic and genuine.

Under a canopy of trees at the cool and serene Gazebo Stage, I caught Buffalo’s The Love Parade, as they rocked rootsy, Grateful, and Dead. There was even some blues in there as the guitar players traded tasty licks.

Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People brought the big and pretty soul to knock the crowd out. Ponder’s voice isn’t just powerful and explosively sanctified and sexualized, the lady knows how to use it. Have mercy!

Joe Beard’s big red guitar and big, bad voice were bouncing as I rolled up on The Big Rib Fest in Highland Park. I dined on smoky swine as Beard finished his set and made way for NYC’s Willie Nile. Nile and his band were outstanding as they brought the Bowery to the people in the park. It was straight ahead rock 'n' roll chop and bop with the ragged energy and poetry of say, Lou Reed. The band was brash and energetic in its black-clad approach. Excellent set.

Got to see one of my faves Saturday night rock the joint as the Buddhahood rocked the Memorial Art Gallery. I sense a shift in the band from poly-rhythmic drive to funky horn band. Either way I like it, like it, like it.