Racky Thomas Stirs the Strange Brew Tavern

       

   
     I have seen Racky Thomas numerous times over the years, as he is a regular on the Strange Brew rotation.  One thing is for certain, there could be 5 people or 105 people in the place, and Racky is going to give it his all and entertain you.  Although he may be small in stature, he has a huge stage presence.  His vocals and harmonica playing are top notch.  He always has a tight band with him as well.
They do a great job getting crowd participation as well, through either dancing or clapping along to their infectious beats.
Racky mixes original tunes and cover songs in his show and though the songs sound old, they seem brand new at the same time.  You should go see him for no other reason than to hear his version of "Not Fade Away" by Buddy Holly.  Man, he delivers this song straight to your bread basket and knocks the wind out of you!  My musical life hasn't been the same since I heard him do this song. Sadly, I could not find a video of it. I did find a couple of other good tunes however.
                       

            I am going into a sidebar here to talk about an audience member from this night.  So this guy comes in with what looked like a fishing tackle box and what may or may not have been an easel (turns out it was a mini-easel).  He proceeded to setup shop near my table.  Inside his tackle box were a bunch of tubes of paint.  He began to paint using only his fingers, no brushes.  I believe in the Art world that is called "finger-painting."  His subject was the band, but I really couldn't tell that until about 45 minutes into the painting.  Long story short, the painting turned out to be a masterpiece and is pictured somewhere in this blog.  My friend Bowler Aimee, who you heard about in the Barnful Of Blues entry, bought the painting from him.  I don't want to talk money, but it was double figures.



          During one of the band's breaks I got into a conversation with this genius of the paint tubes.  He told me a great story about visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY as a youth. He came over to me because he noticed the super cool Reggie Jackson shirt that I was wearing. Now I can't type that whole story here, or I might as well make this a blog about mysterious finger painters of New Hampshire.  He already got as much ink as Racky.

          Anyhow, go see Racky at the Strange Brew or wherever else he pops up. He will make it well worth your while.