Ohlschmidt, Panosh, & Cohen’s Cruise Through the Blues

At the crack of noon on Friday, Jim Ohlschmidt, Craig Panosh and Steve Cohen began playing to an audience of two, plus a soundman at the Johnsonville Summerville stage. It may be the littlest stage at the Big Gig. By the time they finished, the comfortable tucked-away picnic area was bustling with retired folks taking it easy, two-fisted power lunchers wielding the stage sponsor's vittles, families taking advantage of Children’s Fest, pre-hipster tweens nervously awaiting School Of Rock performances and a toddler marveling at the sight of a giant racing sausage.

Local musical veterans of note, the trio didn’t rush a damn thing in a set that was a history lesson as well a primer in how to keep the music fresh. Recalling ‘80s-era Summerfest performances of the great Carl Perkins, Ohlschmidt reinvented “Blue Suede Shoes” as a slow-burn swampy blues. They relocated “That’s All Right Mama” somewhere between a gentle samba and the theme from Midnight Cowboy with Cohen’s atmospheric harmonica on full display. 

Maybe the key to the set was Ohlschmidt’s right thumb. His Merle Travis-influenced picking was the heartbeat of many of the tunes, even employing a looping pedal to lock a riff with Panosh’s attentive drumming.

Fittingly, as the trio wound down their low-key set the nearby stages had begun another day of pumping up the volume. In hindsight it seems that early start time worked in their favor.