Roomful of Blues

The fact that Roomful of Blues is playing somewhere other than the Grand Emporium is the final click of the door at the end of a Kansas City era. Then again, let's not forget that Roomful has been around since 1967, surviving the departure of members Duke Robillard and Ronnie Earl (and roughly 17 lead-vocalist changes). The group has boomed through at least two swing revivals and has kept on keepin' on after god-only-knows how many classic venues nationwide called it a night. Realistically, there aren't many clubs in the world up to code for the pummeling provided nightly by baritone-sax man Mark Earley and the eight other earnest bluesmen sharing the stage. In a perfect world, this eight-piece blues orchestra would be playing in the kind of club Dashiell Hammett wrote about. Till then, another door opens, and Roomful is still very much around.