The Crowd Pleasers
The Crowd Pleasers work hard every Friday and Saturday night to uphold their name. These guys are truly one of Philly’s hidden jewels, creating interesting jazz and blues sets in a bar with no cover charge on the world famous South street.
As you walk into Bob and Barbara’s (1509 South Street) a distinctly hip vibe takes over the senses. Making your way past the security, the smell of the City Wide Special (a PBR and shot of Jim Beam: $3) hit’s the nostrils, and more than likely a sea of flannel overwhelms the eyes. An elegant mix of jazz standards, blues classics, and originals is really what makes a night with these guys a memorable experience.
The Crowd Pleasers consists of Bob Hampton on the drums, Howard "Candy Man" Candy on the Hammond B-3 Organ, and Wilbur DuPont on the tenor sax. The Crowd Pleasers were started by Nate Wiley, a tenor sax player. The only member remaining from the original Nate Wiley era is Howard Candy. Being in their late seventies makes it that much more impressive that they play every weekend from about 9:30 until 1:30 in the morning. The Crowd Pleasers will usually play about two to three songs and take a ten minute break, but with this much experience and so many long years under their belt, who can blame them.
The multiple set breaks allow for time to take in the strange ways that Bob and Barbra’s has been decorated. This bar honestly looks like it should hold the title of the “Pabst Blue Ribbon Historical Society. The ornaments on the walls range from old advertisements to bottles and beer taps from different time periods in PBR history. If you are a PBR fanatic, as many here in Pennsylvania are, this is your Mecca.
The large crowds that often occupy Bob and Barbra’s on the weekends seem to imply that people are groovin’ to the Crowd Pleasers and their exceptional talents. It seems that the “hipster” vibe that often overtakes this bar sometimes inhibits dancing, except from the people who are completely wasted. A well covered version of B.B. Kings “How Blue Can you Get” should be able to get anyone‘s bodies shaking, and when it doesn’t something is obviously awry. What this place needs is some new additions to the vibe. I encourage the Headspace reader to check out this Philadelphia main-stay and part of the musical community for approximately 60 years. In an interview that the late Wiley gave with the Philadelphia City paper in 1998 he modestly said “I don’t know how to play jazz” he explains “I play liquor drinking music.” The Crowd Pleasers continue to entertain in this same spirit.