Mitchell Plumlee played with Rico Thomas & the Locals at Wha Bahs. Photo by Pennman 7/30/2010.

Rico Thomas of the Pranksters came into town ahead of his band mates a day early for the Grateful Gathering on 7/31 to play and jam out with some of his old Bowling Green buddies on the eve of the festival. Mr. Thomas is a former resident of Bowling Green (quite a few years removed) but had played back in the day with some of BG’s still prominent musicians. His friends include none other than Mr. Kenny Lee (multi-instrumentalist supreme and Mr. KY Blues Society), drummer extraordinaire Mitchell Plumlee (currently of the BBQ Band), Rufus Huff and Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies vocalist Jarrod England (who displayed his ample guitar skills on this night), and guitarist Mike Clark (Cootie Brown). It was a night of classic and blues-based rock and roll. It was hard to tell these guys put the set list together in about a week, and even pulled a few right out of the air as they went. But that was a testament to the experience and professionalism of all these players.

Classics from Hendrix to ZZ Top to the Beatles to JJ Cale were heard. Plumlee was even featured on the way-back classic “Wipe Out” by the Surfaris. This was not your average night of cover band tunes! Some of the other standouts we heard were, “The Weight”, “I Feel Good”, “La Grange”, “If 6 Was 9”, “Old Time Rock and Roll”, “My Girl”, and a Beatle block of “A Day in the Life”, “Hey Jude”, and “Get Back”. Wow!

It was also evident the band was having a blast. The planned 12 midnight ending reportedly (I had left a little earlier) passed by the wayside while the music was still going strong. The free-form set list apparently suited Thomas just fine as I heard he enjoyed the creativity that it allowed. Everything was tight enough to entice dancing at times, and the intimate but spirited audience was enjoying every bit of it. The show was put together just days earlier with the graciousness of Perky at Wha Bahs, who moved his scheduling around a bit to make it happen. It was promoted primarily on Facebook around town. Considering all this it was not a bad turnout at all.

Word has it that the Pranksters will be looking to do a few gigs a year in Bowling Green. Since there were indications from tonight’s crew that they would like to do this again sometime you may get another chance to see Rico and Friends for yourself. Hopefully there will be more lead time next time around and the event will be more widely promoted, so keep an eye out. If the Pranksters are coming Rico and Friends might be getting together as well. If you want to hear the deep cuts a bit off the cuff but still nice and tight I suggest you catch this if you can.

Rico Thomas & the Locals played at Wha Bahs in Bowling Green, KY on 7/30/2010

About the author: Pennman bought his first 45 at age nine and has been hooked on rock ever since. He has spent much of his disposable income on music, especially live performances. He writes reviews of the shows he sees and keeps a keen lookout for upcoming shows in or near Bowling Green. He has a BA in Communications, specializing in journalism, and has dabbled in music himself, both as a player and instructor. Find more of Pennman’s work at www.associatedcontent.com/user/165511/pennman.html or visit him at www.myspace.com/pennman_bg or www.facebook.com/pennman