When two important events take place on one evening, we try not to freak out. On March 7 a Shim Sham Shimmy was scheduled to take place at the Salt Box—as it does on the first Saturday of each month. However, also scheduled to take place on that evening was our pal Nels Cline’s appearance at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. No way are we going to miss that!

For the few of the readers who may be uninitiated… Nels Cline is quite simply one of the finest guitar players you’ll ever hear—certainly one of our favorites. We’ve known him since the early eighties and we’ve seen him in several settings: modern jazz with Charlie Haden; duets with his twin brother Alex, an excellent percussionist; a rock band called Bloc; noise duets with Thurston Moore; as well as with his current day job, Wilco.

We received permission from Shim Sham Shimmy host Pete Pop to show up late and we were able to make the scene at the Bear. An excellent visit with our long-time friend ensued. Miss Nancy and I were able to witness the sound check with Nels and his wife Yuka Honda (本田ゆか). Miss Honda is a Japanese-born multi-instrumentalist who was a member of Cibo Matto and has worked in The Plastic Ono Band, among other endeavors. We all had dinner at the Bear Cantina where we caught up on each others’ activities, then walked over to the Theater where Nels and Yuka were set up to perform in the lounge area.

Nels did a set of solo guitar work. Man, we love his playing. After he played, Miss Honda did a set. She’s an electronics music wiz—much like Eno. We saw about twenty minutes or so of her show, before we had to get to the Salt Box for the Shim Sham Shimmy—we couldn’t let Pete Pop have all the fun playing groovy records all night!

When we got to the Box, DJ Pete Pop had the upstairs rumpus room jumping with his hot records. He was playing boss blues, R&B, rock ’n’ roll and all sorts of rockin’ sounds. Soon, Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus joined him in trading five-record sets.

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the March Shim Sham Shimmy:

• The Centars–Weird Turtle (Rocket)
• The Go-Carts–Rockin Liza (Hope)
• Mike Patterson & the Fugitives–Cookin’ Beans (Imperial)
• Bobby Gregg–Walk On (Epic)
• Big Jimmy G and his Orch.–Big Boy – Part Two (Tampa)
• Harvey–Ooh Ouch Stop! (Chess)
• Joy Hamilton with the Gene Mason Sextet–You Got My Nose Open Baby (Bridges)
• Jimmy Brand–Fly in the Buttermilk (Prestige)
• S. Sweetsinger–Good Lord Made the Monkey (Monkey)
• Johnny Eager–The Howl (Design)
• The “5” Royales–Talk About My Woman (Vee Jay)
• Jackie Wilson–I Just Can’t Help It (Brunswick)
• Joe Tex–C.C. Rider (Dial)
• Aretha Franklin–Are You Sure (Columbia)
• Clyde McPhatter–Lover Please (Mercury)
• Freddy King–King-A-Ling (Federal)
• Muddy Waters–I Won’t Go On (Chess)
• Lightnin’ Slim–Hello Mary Lee (Excello)
• Lue Cazz–Daddy Long Leg (Art-Tone)
• Howlin’ Wolf–Ooh Baby (Chess)
• Dutton Percussion Trio–Tequila (Dutton Percussion Trio)
• Freddie and the Freeloaders–Shindig Dance (Baylor)
• The Twisters–Come Go With Me (Apt)
• The Marvells–Dizzy Jones Birdland (Reo)
• The Daychords–One More Time (Don-El)
• Tony Smith and his Aristocrats–Big Nellie’s (Mad)
• Billy Ward and His Dominoes–Cave Man (Federal)
• Vernon Garrett–Cave Man – 1 (Open.G)
• The Glitters–Lighten-Up Slim (Rubeaiyàt)
• Screamin’ Jay Hawkins–Frenzy (OKeh)
• Bobby Hebb–Bread (Philips)
• The Rats–Parchman Farm (Oriole; UK)
• Los Hooligans–Agujetas Color de Rosa (CBS; Mexico)
• Pico Pete–Hot Dog (Jet)
• Saladin–Touch n Rough (Caricature)
• Herbie Mann–Comin’ Home Baby (Atlantic)
• King Pleasure–Red Top (Prestige)
• Lambert Hendricks & Ross–Gimme That Wine (Columbia)
• Ada Lee–Moanin’ (Atco)
• Bob Crosby and the Bob Cats–El Bingo Rock (Dot)
• Lord Kitchener–Dr. Kitch (Jump Up; UK)
• Kingsley Swan and the Calypso Islanders–Out de Fire (Bermuda)
• The Charmer with Johnny McCleverty Calypso Boys–Back to Back Belly to Belly (Monogram)
• The Fabulous McClevertys–Tickle Tickle (Verve)
• Owen Grey–Cutest Little Woman (Blue Beat; UK)
• Conjunto: Paquito Palaviccini; canta: Victor Manuel Porras–La Gallinita Twist (Discos Kismet; El Salvador)
• Gene Summers & His Rebels–Nervous (Jan)
• Bennie Green and His Band–Hi Yo Silver (Prestige)
• Bill Doggett–The Worm (Columbia)
• Lou Donaldson–Alligator Boogaloo (Blue Note)
• Little Walter–Back Track (Checker)
• Marty Wilson and the Strat-O-Lites–I’m All Woke Up (Decca)
• Themes Inc.–Paula’s Percussion (Vee Jay)
• Joe Maphis–Moonshot (Columbia)
• Johnny Horton–Honky-Tonk Man (Columbia)
• Dayton Selby – Willene Barton–Barton’s Blues [from EP Teenagers Dance the Tonky Honk] (RCA Victor)
• The Echoes–Scratch My Back (Swan)
• The Persuaders–Tijuana Surf (Original Sound)
• The Moonbeems–Teen Age Baby (Checker)
• Alf Newman–It’s A Gas (Golden 12; Germany)

None of these records are for sale.