Location: Velden am Wörthersee (Vrba na Koroškem) / Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Austria
Concert date: August 19, 2014
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: €37.00 (reservation) / €41.00 (day of show) / €31.00 (students) / €21.00 (under 21)
Walk into Bluesiana, a little club on the edge of Velden, in August, and you’d normally expect to sweat it out, happily swaying along to good music. But in this year’s drastically un-Indian summer (if you can even call it a summer), there was no need to pack swim trunks for a night at this cozy club by Austria’s Lake Wörthersee. The cooler weather is actually welcome at Bluesiana, because on a typical summer day it can get properly suffocating in there. This time, though, the heat came from somewhere else – the stage was lit up again, for the first time this year, by an old friend of Bluesiana, Eric Sardinas, and his sidekicks Big Motor.
It was clear before the show even started that not everything would go to plan: the day before, club owner Gudrun Kofler had asked potential concertgoers for help on Facebook, because American airline United Airlines had lost both of Eric’s guitars. Gudrun asked if anyone in the crowd could bring an instrument to the show. Of course, the good Samaritans showed up right away, and the two of us headed north, curious how the master of resonators would get along with other guitars.
When we got to Bluesiana a little before half past eight in the evening, the club doors were still locked, and the first fans were already bunched up outside, saying a soundcheck was still going on inside. That was odd, since Bluesiana’s doors normally open at eight. But maybe Eric simply needed a bit more time to get ready, or maybe the replacement guitars had arrived at the club pretty late. Anyway, we waited outside for just a few more minutes, and then the staff let the first people in.
Stepping into Bluesiana wrapped us in the warmth you feel when you come home to your own place after a grueling workday. Photos of Eric Sardinas from his 2013 show glowed from the walls, and calm, gentle sounds of music from the past drifted out of the speakers. We definitely wouldn’t recommend Bluesiana to fans of modern beats.
Instead of Sardinas’ classic resonators, the stage this time was decorated with electric Gibsons. The crowd started filling the club, though I don’t think the numbers went much beyond a hundred. And at exactly ten o’clock, the long-awaited trio appeared on stage. Surprisingly good-humored this time. And surprisingly chatty. Their good old friend Jack Daniels probably had something to do with that, since the guys brought glasses of him up on stage too. Right after the opening greeting, Eric told the crowd that his guitars had vanished on the way to Europe (bassist Levell Price chimed in that they were probably somewhere in Africa) and thanked everyone who had helped make sure he could play anyway. While tuning the electric Gibson, he also admitted he had no idea what he was doing or how tonight’s show would turn out. Well, you could hardly say he didn’t know what he was doing, but it’s true that the in-between tuning and various improvised instrumental bits ate up a much bigger chunk of the show than usual. Still, none of that dented Eric’s good mood. He strolled through his old hits with total routine, with staples like Road to ruin, Get down to whiskey and I can’t be satisfied all present, and he spiced up the show with a few covers as a tribute to his musical heroes, making sure to give a special mention to the recently departed Johnny Winter. After about an hour on stage, Eric announced a short break to freshen up, but after he’d already put the guitar down, he grabbed his beloved instrument again and said they’d play one more before the break. His sidemen, bassist Levell Price and drummer Bryan Keeling, insisted on taking the break, so Eric swapped the borrowed Gibson for a borrowed resonator and sang and played solo in his trademark acoustic style – with the microphone aimed at the center of the guitar, himself singing in that signature raspy voice without a mic, and driving the rhythm by stomping his cowboy boots against the wooden stage in the way he’s known for.
A short break followed, and then the musicians, still armed with good spirits, came back on stage. Once again there was long tuning and settling into the guitar. Watching Eric play, you get the feeling that a guitar is a living creature. It seems to get used to its owner, just as the owner gets used to it. Eric Sardinas’ resonators are used to his touch, sometimes womanly gentle, other times animal-rough, whereas at this show the borrowed guitars sometimes seemed to put up a bit of a fight. At times they howled loudly mid-song, until toward the end one of them finally gave up the fight and the thinnest string snapped. Eric laughed and announced he’d be back in a few minutes. Levell and Bryan used his unplanned exit for a bass solo spot. That spot has been a fixture of the last few shows, and maybe Levell could think about something new, at least for the frequent visitors to Sardinas’ shows. Eric came back on stage in the middle of the solo with a freshly restrung guitar, still smiling. Despite all the guitar bad luck on this tour, he showed no real tenderness or consideration for his rough handling of these unaccustomed instruments – he swung them around even more fervently, diligently scraped along the strings and dragged them against the mic stand. It seems the short break was a lesson for the guitar too, which surrendered to fate and played along nicely in Eric’s feats this time.
For the finale, Eric announced one more surprise: he invited Fabio Drusin and Anthony Basso, members of the Italian band W.I.N.D., who played Bluesiana years ago as Eric Sardinas’ opening act, up on stage. Anthony grabbed the Les Paul in the corner, Fabio traded vocals with Eric, and he spiced up the song with some harmonica. Eric enthusiastically introduced the two new guys on stage, stepping aside and steering the attention toward them. Suddenly the ground disappeared from under his feet and he took a nasty fall off the stage. The musicians on stage kept playing with total routine, while the crowd below gathered around Eric lying motionless on the floor and helped him back up. Eric limped back on stage, smiling, waved to the crowd, and said the fall had really hurt, that he’d most likely cracked something in his leg, but that he’d still play one more song with W.I.N.D. for everyone, and then, sadly, he’d have to say goodbye and probably head to the hospital. A roaring, encouraging applause rang out, and then a new cover kicked in. Eric bravely gritted his teeth and even tried to hop around the stage a bit with the guitar, but soon realized it was better to just stand at the mic and sing his part. After the song came more thunderous applause, and the five on stage said their goodbyes, finishing their set without an encore this time because of the circumstances.
A night full of surprises. Some nicer than others. But it was great to see that not a single one of them killed the good mood of the trio, who maybe weren’t quite as tight in tone and rhythm this time, but who showed with heart, commitment and devotion to the music what it means to be big on stage. We wish Eric a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on stage soon – in Bluesiana, of course. With his resonators again.
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