1/31 Mon: Early weather models were predicting a mammoth Winter storm for Tuesday and Wednesday. With very strong chances of heavy snowfall and the real possibility of a Blizzard, wisely the band departed Central Illinois on Monday to assure they'd get to Memphis!
2/1 Tues: The band made it safe & sound to Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, 'The Home of the Blues'.
Frist day in Memphis and where else would you find a Blues guitarist ... The Gibson Beale Street Retail Center. They acually had more than one left handed guitar. Matthew said the Les Paul he's playing in the pic was the best sounding of several models he test drove.
This was also the official first day of the International Blues Challenge, The Blues Foundation had plenty of activities on the days agenda including registration, workshops, seminars, and live entertainment.
2/2 Wed: Another full day of agenda planned for Wednesday with more workshops, seminars, and of course live entertainment. Wednesday was the 1st Night of the IBC Quarterfinals so the evenings live entertainment was provided by the contestants. Matthew Curry and the Blues Fury was one of the first bands to compete.
Venue: Flying Saucer Time: 5:30 pm
Find 'em @ 130 Peabody Place (MAP)
Matthew Curry & The Blues Fury wowed the crowd and hopefully the panel of judges as well. The sets can be no longer than twenty minutes without penalty. The band played five Matthew Curry originals bringing an auditory Blues Blizzard to Beale Street in Memphis.
2/3 Thurs: Yet another day of activity planned by the Blues Foundation. While Beale Street may only be a couple of miles in length, it's packed with shops of all kinds, numerous restaurants serving most all cuisines, and ample music venues serving up your favorite beverages and tasty vittles.
With so many great bands in the IBC competition, Matthew searches out for a little extra inspiration. I think he found it. W.C. Handy "The Father of the Blues" first started playing Blues on the guitar. Maybe not quite as gifted on that instrument as Matthew or the fact his preacher father wouldn't let him play it, he soon found the cornet. He also played the piano and the trumpet as he is holding in the statue commemorating him on Beale Street. W.C. Handy was a teacher, band member, band leader, composer, and publisher. He was one of the first if not the first to collect and transcribe the old Southern music now know as the Blues into sheet music that captured the 12-bar Blues. Louis Armstrong's best recording was that of W.C. Handy covers. His song “Memphis Blues" is still a very popular cover. (photo by Matthew Curry)
Second round of the IBC Quarterfinals started around five on Thursday evening. One always wonders whether it's better to start first, last, or somewhere in between. With no choice in starting time Matthew Curry and the Blues Fury had to wait until 8:30. It was a wait filled with high anxieties and some serious toe tapping. Twenty minutes is all you get and when show time rolled around for Matthew Curry and the Blues Fury they used every second of it to their advantage and performed flawlessly. The crowd responded with whistling, cheers, and seemingly unending applause. Unfortunately encores are not allowed in the competition.
Thus another waiting period more difficult to endure than the last began. Waiting to find out if the judges’ scores reflected the same excitement as the crowd wouldn't be easy.
When the ballots were tallied the results were posted in several of the venue locations. Advancing to the Semi-Finals wasn't in the cards for Matthew Curry and the Blues Fury. While I'm sure a huge disappointment, Matthew and the band took the news like the true Champions they are. Matthew smiled and said, "We did our best but there were a lot of awesome bands. I had a great time, learned a lot, met tons of new people and musicians, and made a bunch of new friends and contacts. Best of all I got to play my Blues in the Home of the Blues."
(Photo by Karyl Carlson)
