Happy belated Thanksgiving!

How are you feeling today? Bloated? Sluggish? Fatigued? All of the above? I’m so sorry. Fortunately I have the prescription for your post-Thanksgiving doldrums – get out there tonight and tomorrow night and catch some live blues! The gigs I’m highlighting this weekend are bound to get you up out of your seat and burning off those extra calories on the dance floor.

For Friday night I’m recommending the Jim Mesi Band at the Cascade Bar & Grill in Vancouver. A guitarist extraordinaire, Jim is a prominent icon of the Portland blues scene. It’s always a thrill to watch Jim play one of his perfectly executed solos – he builds the intensity, soaring higher and higher until you begin to doubt he’ll be able to land it gracefully when the time comes, and then suddenly he’s brought it back down to earth without you even noticing. Hear it for yourself tonight at the Cascade – with any luck Jim will do a few surf guitar tunes to really get you moving. Hear Jim and the rest of his great band on Show #7 and Show #12.

On Saturday night I’m sending you right back to the Cascade Bar & Grill to catch another local luminary: Curtis Salgado. There’s not much for me to say…if you’re already familiar with Curtis’ fiery, soul-drenched vocals and his masterful harmonica playing, then you already know you need to be there; if you’ve never heard Curtis live, here’s your opportunity to remedy that before your friends find out and start openly ridiculing you. Tasty samples of Mr. Salgado’s work can be found in Show #1, Show #4, and Show #19, among others.

That’s it for Pat’s Picks this week – now get out there and keep the blues alive!