I like to think that I have rubbed elbows with some of
the brightest stars in the music industry. Just when I
thought the pinnacle had been reached, along came a
spider. That spider goes by the name of Stacy
Mitchhart. Some supporters of Mitchhart asked me to
emcee the show and I jumped all over the opportunity.
That was clearly my best decision of 2004.
The band opened with Earth Wind and Fire's Africana. I
knew it was going to be a special evening when the
horn section made their statement. They were a mixture
of Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears with a dose of Tower
of Power. The audience was the main course and the
horns cut them into small fractions. The audience
greeted Stacy like an old friend who just returned
from a military mission. He did open heart surgery on
the audience with his version of Lattimore's, "Lets
Straighten It Out." I was blown away with the
Fluglehorn solo on Taxi. Jay Blackfoot would have been
jealous of Stacy if he walked into Billy's Place this
evening. There are many special ways to describe a
Mitchhart show. I particularly noticed that every
piece played seemed as if Mr.Mitchhart wrote it
himself. This fine artist has released six Cd's and
most of the cuts are of his own writing. His vocals
are so smooth that you tend to overlook his
accomplishments on the guitar. He received the Albert
King award for his licks. During his rendition of Hall
and Oates "Sara Smile," the crowd was taken hostage by
Stacy's touch of Ernie Isley in the culmination of
that tune. I can't say enough about the man simply
known to his fans as Stacy. I opened for people like
Bobby Bland and many others. This was a new and
delightful experience for me. The band goes by the
name, "The Blues You Can Use." This broadcaster came
away from that show with a new perspective on blues.
Tonight was all about the good times. I have been in
this business for twenty eight years and received a
new appreciation for the blues. On second thought,
this was a true concert.

Wallace L. Garner III