James Hunter at Iron Horse on Tuesday night....

I'm such an ass, procrastinating about getting a ticket to James Hunter at the Iron Horse Music Hall on Tuesday night and now it says online that it's sold out! Fuck it, I'm going. Once in Northampton, I cruise past the venue on Center Street - no one around. Next stop is Turn It Up, where I ask if they knew the procedure for sold outs. They didn't, but directed me to the ticket venue around the corner where a young lady pleasantly told me she had no idea, but that the doors opened at 5:30. Okay, fine. With some time to kill, I scooted back to TIU to grab a few discs - Velvet Underground (Banana), Mamas & Pappas (California Dreamin') and Eric Clapton (Slowhand) - a retro cache.

Anyone got an extra ticket? Yep, someone always cancels when you grab tickets for a big group, so I'm in luck. "Does this mean he has to sit with us?" Fuck you, lady, just give me the ticket. No, actually she was kidding - or not, for I ended up at a 'table for uno.' Oh yeah, now how to look thoughtful for the next hour and a half until showtime. Sam's Winter Lager and a chicken/black bean burrito help.

Opening for James hunter is Milton, a three-guitar band from NYC. Actually, their website says the band also has drums and backing vocals, but I guess they didn't make the travel squad. They appear regularly at The Living Room in NYC. Only played about four or five songs, but I liked them. Perhaps I can catch them for a longer show in NYC.

The crowd is buzzing, everyone relating just how he/she discovered James Hunter, who, as if on cue, makes his way down the aisle and then downstairs to the dressing room. A few minutes later the band files past us, instruments in hand, toward the stage .....and we're off! Hey, that's Derek Huston, sax player for The Iguanas, playing baritone sax in Hunter's Band! The drummer, looking something like Jim McKay circa 1970's, is from Dublin (if I heard correctly), while the keyboard player is from Brooklyn. Didn't catch the names/locations of the upright bass player or the other sax player. The show meets our high expectations - Hunter and the band are tight and energetic, stretching out on his People Gonna Talk songs and throwing in a couple new ones, notably Jackie Wilson's Lonely Teardrops. Great show! The boys are playing at the Paradise in Boston on Wednesday night.



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Pollstar article 11/26/06 on James Hunter - here