Sharie does the D Smith Blues Band....

Sharie loves loud, sleazy bars. She just does. The relentless noise, the greasy food, the beer-stained stools and booths discovered to be such just after one sits, big-gutted guys hitting on underdressed chicks with the confidence only too many beers can create. Sharie revels in that atmosphere. So when Keith heard that I was planning to shoot over to Legends Sports Bar in Bristol to check out the D Smith Blues Band on Saturday night, Sharie wanted in. The Reet was less enthusiastic, but so long as UConn-St. John's is on the big screen, she's in too.

The band is slated to play at 9:30, so we show up to get some food around eight, grabbing a booth, ordering up some beers/burgers/fries/onion rings, the usual health food fare. We look around. It's typical sports bar, lots of TVs blaring, blinking; dart boards placed strategically near the front door where the unsuspecting can walk into a badly aimed missile; generous open spaces for easy maneuvering; a few booths scattered about; a rambling bar to one side, pool tables and his/her heads to the other. Legends has a band stage against the back wall surrounded by a u-shaped counter with an open area in the middle for dancing. D Smith and the boys have already arrived and are busy setting up. I introduce myself to Tom Ethier, with whom I have been dealing for their upcoming appearance at Southington Rotary's Mardi Gras Night at Anthony Jack's on Fat Tuesday, February 20. Tom thanks me for thinking of them and says they are looking forward to it.

The D Smith Blues Band is:
Robert Orsi - lead vocals, harmonica & slide guitar
Don Smith - guitar
T-Bone Piazza - drums
Tom Ethier - bass
Joe Ethier - guitar & slide guitar

The band's 'mission statement' per their website bio: "With a harp and slide guitar dominant sound, The D. Smith Blues Band repertoire is heavily skewed to the Chicago-style sound of the fifties and sixties. They pay homage to the Chicago masters such as Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, and Little Walter by offering interpretations of their music that seeks to preserve it, not change or update it."

The focal point of the band is clearly Robert Orsi, a bespectacled, diminutive, crewcut gent whose expressive vocals and red-hot harp playing kick start each song. He has seemingly limitless energy; I was exhausted just listening. Tall and rangy Don Smith handles most of the lead guitar solos, but Joe Ethier gets his licks in too. Orsi will also strap on his axe on occasion and is pretty impressive with it. The understated, but solid Tom Ethier on bass and T-Bone Piazza on drums form the rhythm section. The dance floor is full and the band is hot; Huskies are up ten and the Saints are in a dogfight with the Eagles. But it's now 11pm as Orsi winds down the band's ninety minute first set. It's a wrap, although I think Sharie was eyeing that hefty guy in the bike-repair shop leather jacket. Next time, Sharie.