Ocean Blues in Sarasota, FL

With Kelly's visit, we get to experience things other than what we normally do... Normally, we watch the weather, watch TV, watch nature, take photos, do outdoorsy things, travel around and blog...She's great for coming up with different ideas for things to do...She has some friends in the entertainment industry that are ROCKIN' blues singers. They often play in clubs along the Florida coast and they were in the Sarasota area, close to where we are staying. Did we want to go hear them sing? Does Sparky like taking nature photos?  Heck, yeah!

Off we went to the Ocean Blues Club on Hillview Street in Sarasota, FL,  for some top notch entertainment. The Ocean Blues Club is the kind of place that makes you think "supper club"..It had an intimate atmosphere, tin stamped ceiling, dark wood, cozy booths and tables, romantic lighting, and good bar food...The top notch entertainment was Rebecca Bird, vocalist and Steve Arvey, vocalist and guitar player along with their drummer (sorry, I didn't catch his name) and female bass player, Patty. They put on a tremendous, high energy show at the club this evening.....Steve is one of those guitar players who plays the blues with his heart and soul...he WORKS that guitar...the constantly changing expressions on his face were priceless as he wholeheartedly got into his music. It was fun to watch him....Rebecca is a terrific singer who puts an equal amount of heart into the lyrics, and together, they worked magic on the crowd....Kelly has known the duo for some time and seen them in several different locations around the country. Steve and Rebecca are the kind of entertainers who remember their fans and are genuinely interested in the people who follow them, and they gave Kelly (and family) a nice shout out for being there this evening.

Rebecca, Steve and Kelly

At one point, they brought out a guitar player, a young man from Lithuania, who had only been in the U.S. for three weeks. His name was David Smash. His English was excellent..He played the electric guitar, harmonica and sang, and he was AMAZING!  At one point, he was playing the frets of the guitar with his TEETH! The energy generated from his performance got the crowd onto the dance floor, and Kelly and Mom boogied for a bit! Eldo was a bit under the weather, fighting a chest cold, or he would have been out there, too!

We had such a great time listening to Rebecca and Steve, we stayed up WA-A-Y later than normal...It was a great time and a wonderful experience jammin' to the blues this evening at Ocean Blues in Sarasota....We've got just a couple more days of visiting with Kelly before she goes back home...Tomorrow, we plan to shop till we drop at the St. Armand Circle area in Sarasota...eat a little brunch, window shop and check out the beach at Lido Key....