BluesMoon

I had been wanting to check out Trace "Chicksinga" Moran's latest band project, Blues Moon, for a while, but the planets didn't align properly to allow me to do so until this night, when I did the roadtrip to State College to see the band in action at Bar Bleu.

This was also my first chance to catch a band performing at Bar Bleu. Housed in the downstairs beneath Beulah's, Bar Bleu lives up to the name, with the bar done up in almost total neon blue! After procuring my first brew, I headed into the neighboring band room, which had an atmosphere that reminded me some of Moondogs in Pittsburgh. It had that look and feel of a place where music should be played. And in a few minutes, music would be played when Blues Moon returned to action.

Blues Moon had a substitute player in the line-up this night, as Ronnie Lang was filling in on bass for Bill Brickley, who had another gig with another band this night. Ronnie, Trace, singer/harmonica man Chris Trasatti, guitarist Scott Bachman and drummer Andrew Jackson, Sr. started into their set, blending blues, blues-rock, classic rock favorites and more. After Chris sang lead on the opening number, it was Trace's turn to unleash the voice, doing so on Susan Tedeschi's "Rock Me Right," and continuing on renditions of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride and Joy," Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee," the Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Runnin'" and Jimi Hendrix's "Redhouse." A guest drummer named Danny replaced Andrew behind the kit for Blues Moon's singalong rendition of "Mustang Sally." The set continued with feisty renditions of "Key to the Highway," a Chili Peppers-flavored take on Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music" and Willie Dixon/Foghat's "I Just Wanna Make Love to You." The group then did renditions of War's "Low Rider" and CCR's "Born on the Bayou," before closing out the night with a strong rendition of "Stormy Monday."

I was very impressed with my first look at Blues Moon. Even with the substitute bass player this night, this band was instrumentally strong, with Andrew's steady drumwork and Ronnie's funk-tinged bass work holding down the fort for Scott's clean and rowdy guitar work and Trace's powerful voice. Trace again displayed her power, range and spunk, taking each song by the horns and giving it a full ride, and putting a chokehold on the soul along the way. She fed off the energy of the audience, having fun with audience members and dancers. Blues Moon offered an electrified, upbeat performance; you could tell these folks were feeling it this night.

It was fun and boisterous blues rock that was well worth my roadtrip to Happy Valley to check out. I won't mind doing the trip to catch this band again, Blues Moon delivers the goods!

- WBXQ -"Professor" Jim Price