The Blues Tour of Norway Continues

full moon in Longyearbyen

The Cadillac Kings from the UK rock the Radisson Polar Hotel bar

That’s Mike Thomas on vocals and…

Roy Webber laying down the Cadillac Kings’ backbeat on drums

Paul Cuff and Henri Herbert of the Cadillac Kings

Gary Potts blowing the hell out of the harp with Mal Barclay on his custom Harmony guitar

The Cadillac Kings… these guys are great! More photographs and coverage of their gigs in Lillestrøm and on the Color Line Blues cruise from Oslo to Germany on next week’s articles here at the American Blues News.

After a big show on Thursday night in Longyearbyen on the island of Svalbard, just south of the North Pole, we took the day off on Friday and explored the scenery a bit.  We also had a chance to hear some of the other bands that were playing this incredible festival.

This furry pup awaits his master outside the hotel

The view from my room

Victor Wainwright on the tundra

Josh Roberts, Wayne Russell, Reba Russell, Victor Wainwright, Doug McMinn

This is the World Seed Vault, part of the work by my fraternity brother, Dr. Cary Fowler, head of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, where seeds are held to assure biodiversity on the planet and to plan ahead for doomsday scenarios. The vault goes deep into the mountainside. Evidently, when Jimmy Carter visited here, they would not allow him to enter…guess they already had peanuts.  I left some kudzu and a peach pit Josh left from breakfast.

Doug McMinn, in ushanka and coat, poses by yet another polar bear.

View from our tour of the island on Friday

Coal, a mainstay of Svalbard, now is primarily mined to power the island and for limited export

My old friend and former bandleader, Linda Gail Lewis, performs some hot Rock and Roll

Linda Gail can play that syncopated thumping piano that her brother, Jerry Lee, made famous on SUN records.  Jerry Lee continues to play concerts to this day.  Linda Gail looks great and has not seemed to age a day since I played in her band back in the 1980′s in Memphis.  Back then we also backed up Jimmy busby’s Elvis tribute show as well as that of Bobby Memphis, who was, amusingly enough, from New Jersey.  Linda Gail sounded great, her voice and keyboard work stronger than ever.  I really enjoyed hearing her and her fine band.  It brought back great memories of playing down at the old Days Inn ballroom on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River.  The hotel, which was located next to the Memphis Ornamental Metal Museum and the old Memphis-Arkansas bridge, is now closed, but Phillip Dale Durham and I carpooled it down there every night for weeks to play this fun gig.

Linda Gail Lewis

The following day we prepared for the big show at the largest venue on Svalbard, the Huset or house, where great performances have taken place since the inception of this festival.  Next year, I understand this venue will be replaced with their new Cultural Center but many great memories of this place and the good times therein will always remain.

My friend, Palle Wagnberg, first played a set of some great B-3, Jimmy Smith style, and then accompanied soul singer Noora Noor

Noora Noor was reminiscent of Billy Holiday in some respects

Despite some technical hurdles during the Reba Russell show, the crowd cheered and seemed to have a great time during the show.  The Hammond C-3 had some power connection problems and went down once during the show.  I switched over to the Nord and carried on while Martin the Hammond doctor was summoned from his dinner to assail the beast with a roll of duct tape. It is a great sounding specimen, about a 1965 model I reckon, and I was delighted that he had it running again by the time I needed it to accompany my friend, Victor Wainwright, during his show.  The blues fans were very appreciative of Reba’s vocals and original material and they likewise enjoyed the boogie-woogie piano and gospel finish that Victor brought.  By the last number, which Reba’s band finished up with one of our distinctive “praise breaks” the crowd was in a lather.  It was a very gratifying endeavor here in the Arctic Circle, one which I hope to revisit again soon.

Victor Wainwright entertains at the “Huset” (the house) second floor

After a set with Reba Russell and then another with Victor Wainwright, we retired to catch our breath in the green room. I lent one of my purple guitar cords to Grainne Duffy who realized she forgot her cord right before she was scheduled to go on.  This interesting band from Ireland put on a fascinating show that was roundly enjoyed by the Arctic Circle Blues lovers.

Grainne Duffy from Ireland

hanging out with Bill Sims, Jr. in the green room after our show

Reba Russel, Jt Lauritsen, Doug McMinn on the bus headed back to the hotel

The author prepares for a 1 AM walk for some tasty late night pizza

Not to be deterred by U.S. Fish and Game who stopped my overnight shipment from Quebec of 2 fur hats that I planned to carry to Norway, I found some excellent purveyors of toasty warm ushankas right here in Spitsbergen.  There are some very cool shops within walking distance of the Polar Hotel. This is not a place to visit without some serious warm clothing.

Another stroke of good fortune, the moon was full during our trip, providing some lovely illumination to the permafrost, which extends up to 500 meters into the earth in some places.  Nobody has been buried on this island since 1947 because it’s damn near impossible to make a hole in the earth without dynamite.  Children are rarely born here as women are taken to the mainland for childbirth just in case of possible complications.

Heat to the island is provided by heating water and piping it to each building for radiation.  It is very warm inside, but when the wind blows up here it is as cold as the proverbial well-digger’s behind and then some. Our kind hosts provided us with Polartec neck wraps which you can pull up to your face to keep your flesh safe from frostbite.

Poster at Skedmo’s for our upcoming concert..many thanks to my friend, club owner and Blues protagonist,Gøran Bluesmunken Stensrud

Stay tuned… next week we continue our journey from Oslo to Germany by ship and then more planes, trains, and automobiles.

RCT

copyright, Robert “Nighthawk” Tooms, 2010