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Anita West’s blues train has checked into a new, happy station at Samuel’s Grande Manor in Clarence.
She hosted Big Martha Saturday for a packed house that seemed like 500 or more. The talented ensemble features Jon Fohl on vocals and guitar, Grace Lougen on guitar, Sean McNamara, Donny Frauenhofer, Ryan Campbell and Cody Bancroft.
The best bands always have two drummers. Bass, keys and dueling lead guitars help as well.
The music makes the space. If you were expecting some sort of altered concert experience at Samuel’s, it is not there. It is still the same banquet space that hosts chamber of commerce awards, weddings and other events with a fire bouncing in the wind just outside the rear window. The same tables, stiff chairs and faux-gaudy chandelier.
Pack it with music lovers, however and it transforms, even on a cold winter night with an icy parking lot and a bitter wind.
West has been a voice in my head for most of my adult life thanks to her long-running gig at 97 Rock. She hosted shows at the Tralf until it closed. She hosted bike rides for the Slow Spokes at Old Man River in Tonawanda until moving to a different spot on Wednesdays in Buffalo. Her shows in Irving and at Millgrove's Hilltop are ongoing.
It’s the blues that makes the difference. After the Tralf, Anita took a chance on The Rapids Theater in Niagara Falls, hosting 6 or 8 shows. Beth and I attended almost every one.
The Rapids was a solid shot, and drew some great crowds but the place on a desolate section of decrepit Main Street left a lot to be desired. Parking was iffy. The theater was cold, and, with few exceptions (Kingfish comes to mind) it seldom felt like a packed house because when you put 500 people in an 1,800-seat theater it still feels empty.
The other thing going on at the Rapids was an overall shadiness. The bar was cash only. Owner John Hutchins was born on third base thinking he hit a triple. His business ethic was that you aren’t winning if you don’t screw the other guy and hopefully, in the process, the government. It's like the old NASCAR addage "if you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin'. "
He awaits trial on multiple felony counts related to ripping off the government through the covid payroll protection program and as well as a superceding indictment over shuttered venue funfs. Hutching is still entitled to the presumption of innocence. He was was most recently sighted on Facebook looking for a $1,000 car he could use to drive back to Florida.
It is a far cry from a million dollar Lewiston mansion and insurance office filled with trophy carcasses to begging for a cheap car and awaiting trial which will likely result in spending the rest of his life incarcerated. Hutchins never made anything great again. Anita deserved better and found it at Samuels.
Niagara Falls recently purchased the Rapids in a short sale from Niagara’s Choice Federal Credit Union which was foreclosing on Hutchins. He lost his house in Lewiston as well.
Meanwhile, back at Samuel’s it was all-about the Allmans, Big Martha and melting the snow on a cold winter night. Anita even wished Beth and me happy birthdays. The brand that is Anita will always fill a room or gather 100 bicyclists.
She has two more shows coming at Samuel’s, Albert Cummings on March 8 and Joe Louis Walker on May 3.
Soulshine will always be better than moonshine and damn sure better than rain.
