The photo is from a Dick Wagner performance @ White’s Bar. This was the third and final installment of the rock & roll barbecue format that Dick and I developed. It dates back to around 2003. Dick Wagner is on the left; Donny Hartman is in the middle and Brian Bennett (from the Cherry Slush) is on the far right. I had it recorded and I still have a disc or two of the un-mastered tapes. Jim Schmidtke and East Side Mike Smith recorded the show and it was phenomenal. Wagner focused on his later solo recordings as well as his version of songs he wrote Air Supply and Alice Cooper. He included songs from his Frost and Ursa Major period. The setlist included; Jerusalem, I Might as Well Be on Mars, Just As I Am (for Katie Szabo), If 4th Street Could Talk, Donny’s Blues, Ain’t That A Shame, Don’t Go Messin’ (with another man’s woman) My Darkest Hour and Misery Train. Wagner was on his game that night and his guitar work was simply stunning. He sang well and was relaxed and talking with the crowd like he was sitting in the kitchen, with old friends telling stories and trading off riffs. Dick would never quite sound like this again. Soon after his final barbecue show health problems left him unable to perform. He feared he would never return to the stage; never play his guitar again, that is, until he made a miraculous recovery from a series of strokes and coronary problems. Wagner began the process of re-learning his chops and composing new music. In 2011 Wagner made a courageous return to performing with a brief club tour in Michigan and he continues to perform in select clubs to this day. Hail to the mystery man.
