Uptown At The Nashua Downtown Music Festival

I attended the first of three installments of the Nashua Downtown Music Festival recently.  It is pretty exciting to see this type of thing in Nashua, NH.  They have landed some good bands to perform here in the first Summer of this event.  The Boston-based Love Dogs, opened up for a band born in Rhode Island 45 years ago, the Roomful of Blues!  Nashua closed down a few blocks of  Main St in order to setup the stage and concert area.  The area was pretty much right in front of Martha's Exchange Restaurant, a popular destination on Main St.

I liked the setup for the show.  The sound was good, vision was good, and beer was good.  They had a good turnout and great weather as well.  I think with a few tweaks it can even get better.  People seemed to come and go easily from inside and outside the gated concert area.  It is highly likely that not all of the concert goers had paid for their tickets to get inside.  I, of course, paid for mine as part of being a fine citizen of Nashua.


So, I was preparing for the show with my longtime buddy Erik (pictured with me to the left).  He is the first of a long line of Eriks and Erics that I like to spend time with. Pre-show preparations were going well until we unexpectedly got hungry.  We both ordered delicious pastrami sandwiches and proceeded to enjoy them immensely. 

The downside to the sandwich story is that by the time we finished our sandwiches and walked downtown, the Love Dogs were leaving the stage.  We got a "F" for pre-show prep.  Like a cat dropped from a rooftop, I landed on my feet however.   I went to the merchandise table and bought a live cd by the Love Dogs!   Next best thing to actually seeing the show, right?  I even got to meet lead singer Ed Scheer, who was quite nice.  The cd entitled "Alive and On Fire" is excellent by the way.   I have seen the Dogs many, many times over the years and can safely tell you they put on a great show.  Two standouts in the band are Alizon Lissance on keyboards and Myanna on saxophone.  The Love Dogs play often at The Strange Brew in Manchester, NH in case you missed them in Nashua, you can catch them there or wherever else you might be lucky enough to find them.
              

 I did actually see the Roomful of Blues perform on this night in downtown Nashua!  Like I mentioned earlier, they have been around in various forms for 45 years!   They still sound as good as ever in my book.  I love their current vocalist Phil Pemberton.  This guy can sing any style and his emotion draws you in.  Lead guitarist Chris Vachon has been with the band since 1990 and he can really play.  He follows a long line of Roomful guitarists which includes Duke Robillard and Ronnie Earl.  Saxophonist Rich Lataille is the only member of the band that has been there forever.  He has been part of the band since 1970!  The horn section is still a huge part of what makes the Roomful special.  They played their usual high energy show with lots of opportunities for the audience to dance.  I don't dance much, so it wouldn't be right for me to criticize the people that tried to dance that night.  The only drop in the crowds energy came during back to back instrumentals by the band.  One featuring the guitar and one featuring the horns.  They may want to break those up in the future, but what do I know?

             

I would like to mention one Roomfuller that wasn't at this show.  Trumpet player Bob Enos(pictured below) passed away in 2008.  I remember seeing him and he was a captivating performer.  He grabbed your attention every night with his skill and seemingly love of performing.  I missed him at this show.  Rest in Peace Bob Enos.  You will never be forgotten.

The next installment of the Nashua Downtown Music Festival is August 16 and features Entrain with opening act Hot Like Fire.

The third and final installment of the concert series will feature local legends The Fools paired with the beloved Stompers on September 13th.

Hope to see you there!