Bluesday Tuesday Report: The blues rise in Westport, il blues dagli uomini italiani

This past Saturday, Blayney’s in Westport hosted a benefit show to pay its rent to the Westport Business League. There were 17 bands that each played half-hour slots for 14 hours including Fast Johnny Ricker, Lonnie Ray Blues Band and Tekila.

“Over 200 of my closest friends came out to support Blayney’s and live music in Westport,” says owner Dick Schulte, who owes landlord Brent Lambi around $18,000 in back rent (we mistakenly reported earlier that Schulte owed the Westport Regional Business League). He adds, “March is a good month and after St. Patrick’s Day. Blayney’s will be able to stay around a little bit.”

Another band that came through for Blayney’s was Penelope and the Unusual Suspects. “It’s really a shame that’s it’s come to this,” says Leanna “Penelope” Bohannon. Blayney’s is an institution of KC. I can remember when I was younger and it was one of the places that I strived to go to when I was 21. If the landlord is not careful, he will ruin the essence of Westport, I believe. Westport has it’s own special support group, and if Blayney’s isn’t there, things will go down. They have gone extra lengths to get security so that people feel safe. Blayney’s has gone above and beyond to help others who need it and does a lot to highlight local talent, more than any other bar in town.”

You can check out Penelope and the Unusual Suspects at Blayney’s this Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.

Coming north of the river on March 27 to the Hideout Bar & Grill (6948 North Oak Trafficway, 816-468-0550) and on March 28 at Paci’s Cafe (1825 Buchanan, 816-985-1157) are the Black Smokers, a psych-blues-rock duo from Alessandria, Italy.

The is duo brings its il blues dagli uomini italiani (“blues played by Italian men,” or something like that) on a U.S. tour to promote new album, Used out on Pravda Records. It’s a little dirty, pretty loud and lead singer, Marcello “Blues” Milanese’s voice is kind of rough, kind of like a Jim Henson character, but it’s definitely worth checking out.

**The Bluesday Tuesday Report will return in three weeks.