A Case of the Willy's at Willowbrook Ale House, August 31, 2002
by Rolf Olmstead
I got to the Willowbrook Ale House early. I'd never been there before. The Willowbrook just started having bands on Friday nights this summer. Like anybody in the North Bay I'd passed by it many times on North Petaluma Blvd. Just north of Skillman Lane and Corona. One of the pieces of old North Bay left, it's an old wood frame building covered with wood shingles and old-time window walls of small mullioned windows. Plenty of parking in back and on the side. The inside was fixed at sometime in the past with heavy glu-lam beams shoring up the building and finished with sprayed sheetrock. The old windows make the place look good.

Walking in the first thing you notice is the four pro leveled properly lit pool tables. This is a serious pool hall honky tonk bar and grill. They proudly advertise Burgers and Beer. And the grill area is stocked with all kinds of condiments and spices. They have about ten kinds of beer on draft (including Sierra Nevada, my favorite). Behind the bar is an experienced female bartender. There are two long tables, several standard tables with chairs, plus wall shelves and stools for a variety of seating. Lots of people can get squeezed in as needed. There is a modern wood stove for the winter.

The juke box is a right mix of styles from Hits of the 80s to B.B. King's Greatest Hits (the good one) to early Grateful Dead to late Nashville to Heavy Metal. Looks like a lot of different people use this bar. There are sports TVs.

The dance floor is a properly laid parquet rectangle twelve foot by sixteen foot rectangle surrounded by carpet. It's right in front of the band alcove.

If you're getting the idea that I approve of the Willowbrook you're right. It's good at being what it is and there ain't no ferns.

A Case of the Willy's set up set in the alcove in the rear wall. It was interesting watching the economy of motion of the band and the rapid set up and balancing of the PA and microphones. The bar turned off the lights over the dance floor and turned on the Disco flashing colored light. There were about fifteen regulars in the house.

The band began with one of their standards, Muddy Water's "I'm Ready". And right from the first they they sounded together, smooth and easy but tough, gathering steam slowly without wearing themselves out.

"I'm ready, ready as anybody can be
I'm ready, ready as anybody can be
Now I'm ready for you, I hope you're ready for me

I got an axe handle pistol on a graveyard frame
That shoot tombstone bullets, wearin' balls and chain
I'm drinkin' TNT, I'm smokin' dynamite
I hope some screwball start a fight
'Cause I'm ready, ready as anybody can be
I'm ready for you, I hope you're ready for me

All you pretty little chicks with your pretty little hair
I know you feels like I ain't nowhere
But stop what your doin' baby come overhere
I'll prove to you baby, that I ain't no square
Because I'm ready, ready as anybody can be
Now I'm ready for you, I hope you're ready for me

I been drinkin' gin like never before
I feel so good, I want you to know
One more drink, I wish you would
I takes a whole lotta lovin' to make me feel good
'Cause I'm ready, ready as anybody can be
Now I'm ready for you, I hope you're ready for me"

From that they went right into their medium slow arrangement with the looping horn parts, "Falling In And Out Of Love": "…I think you're jiving me baby"

Then "Tighten Up" (by Volker?), with a really hot solo by a warm and ready Volker Strifler; and then the New Orleans 'second line' strut of "Iko-Iko" with its Mardi Gras Indian language.

Having done long versions of a bunch of great tunes the band took the first break. By this time several people had wandered in and stayed, and then several blues crowd regulars showed up. The number of people in the bar began to build and build, and the dance floor began to fill. The quality of what the band had played was very high and they had done some of their most arranged tunes.

The second set began with the instrumental tune "Taking It To The Streets (?)". And with this tune they began a whole set of funk dance numbers. The number of people was building in the bar and more blues crowd regulars showed up as well as locals who looked in and stayed. "Prisoner of Love" sung by Volker and with a great solo by Glenn Sullivan. Now the dance floor was packed and those not dancing were watching the band very hard. The bar manager said "This is a very good band!" Uh, huh.

Willy announced "Funky Nassau" saying, "I just got this record back after fourteen years!" And they did it with really big snap, with David and Glenn giving the horn parts a full bolero/calypso sound.

And then began the greatest version I've ever heard of James Brown's "Sex Machine". Even the bartender was chanting "Get on up!" It was awesome. If I hadn't reminded myself 'you have a bad back, you have a bad back," I would have been out on the floor for a long time. The dance floor was packed and the bar was full. All the parts of the band were full on and all the guys were working together with a power that defies description. And they weren't playing loud, just perfectly, handing off the parts to each other, supporting each other's solos, making a whole greater than the parts. "Get On Up!"

After the second break the band started the set with the insistent repeating drone figure of "Twine Time": "Bump-ba-dida-dida-Bump-BAAH" over and over. The dancers went nuts. David Schrader did a great solo with wild quavers. Powering on for the dancers they did "Walking the Dog". Rufus Thomas would be proud. And then slowing the roll to medium the band did a fabulous "The Thrill Is Gone" with every body getting a solo. Willy's voice was getting scratchy like Louis Armstrong's which gave it a new sad power. Schrader's solo was the deepest kind of blues, followed by Volker doing restrained hard figures evolving into a long dark and doomy screaming solo. Willy played very simply behind the solos and Carl carried the blues in the finest kind of deep blues bass work. The audience stood and screamed for all of them at the end.

T-Bone Walker's "Street Walking Woman" was done at a place beyond 'swing', the best I've ever heard them do it. Five guys work together perfectly to put a song over! The dancers ran for the dance floor from the sound of the first measures while doing snakey moves with their shoulders and hips. Their moves on the floor were ones of total abandon. Simply the best I've ever seen them play this tune.

"The Bump" followed driving the crowd even wilder. Even if they were sitting down people were watching the band. It was that kind of night and nobody was leaving. Then they changed the roll again and did "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" and the dancers, given the chance at another type of rhythm figure, did the band proud. Willy's vocal was truly funky with a rasp that he probably doesn't want to have too often. He'd been performing for hours.

Then in an excellent move, Brock of Bone Dry joined the band on vocals and they did a driving version of Sonny Boy's "One Way Out."
"Cause there's a man down there, might be your man I don't know."

The last tune of the evening was the soul classic, Donny Hathway's "The Ghetto". This was a long tour through the world of soul jazz with medium sauce. Love the cymbal work and Schrader's sax.

And at the end of the song they were spent. Almost without energy to move. Loud calls from the dancers and audience were met with "We haven't got anything left." And they didn't. All of them had worked several gigs over the last day and a half. There was no more. They could hardly move to sit down. It was the finest night of A Case Of The Willy's I've ever seen, and in a new place with a set-up they'd never used before. The audience stood and applauded them for a long time, me among them.