I Love This Rhumbar
Chris Manson July 15, 2004 Issue

Aside from being a proficient vocalist and guitarist, Blair Colson is something of a mind reader.

On a recent visit to the Harry T’s Rhumbar, Colson played Eric Clapton’s Lay Down Sally. A young boy—he couldn’t have been more than four or five years old was beating on a Frisbee, keeping time to the song. His familiarity with classic rock, I thought, could only have come from good parenting.

As this idea formed in my mind, what do you think Colson played next? Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills & Nash…

Later, after a break consisting of a delicious-looking steak and my endless series of questions, Colson went back to play some more. Did I have any requests, he asked? I drew a blank, but a few songs later, he blindsided me with one of my all-time favorites, Chuck Berry’s Thirteen Question Method. Like me, Colson first heard the song on Ry Cooder’s Get Rhythm album. I couldn’t believe it. Here was the one song I’d always wanted to learn ever since I picked up a guitar, the song I’d been waiting to hear somebody tackle during my last three years on the music scene.

The Rhumbar is a nice place to sit and watch the harbor, to enjoy a drink or three. Some customers from Harry T’s were dining out here, a spillover I attributed to Giggles the Clown and the balloon animals. A child walked by with a pink-colored balloon light saber, apparently unaware that Spider Man 2 was the movie of the moment. Despite the Destin Yacht Club looming overhead and the busy restaurant just on the other side of the glass doors, the Rhumbar is a pretty cozy and laid back location.

Colson appears at the Rhumbar Thursday and Saturday nights. His busy schedule finds him playing music six nights a week, at AJ’s, the Sandestin Hilton, and Spinnaker’s in Panama City Beach. On Wednesday evenings, the Rhumbar plays host to Jim Couch of Roshambo, while “the musician’s musician” Donnie Sundal entertains the crowds on Fridays. Brandon Day, a musician I am not familiar with, is scheduled Sunday through Tuesday.

“He’s from Cincinatti,” restaurant manager John “J.T.” Tighe said of Day. “He’s a fun guy who interacts with the crowd really well. He does anything from folk to rock to ballads—any of your classic rock all the way to jingles. He’ll play The Flintstones and other songs that are hilarious.”

The Rhumbar continues to please its patrons after five years with its lineup of first-rate talent and the specialty rum drinks that inspired the name. The view isn’t bad, either. “I’m into boats, so I really enjoy this,” Colson said. “I can have a good time just watching the boats go by.”

Colson, who came to Destin in 1979, remembers when the only gig in town was Nightown. “There’s about 15 more venues now. When I moved here, Destin didn’t even have a grocery store,” he said. “They had a general store, which was more like a mom and pop convenience store.” Despite the unending growth, Colson says he still loves it here, adding a very distinct “BUT…we need a building moratorium or more east-west traffic lanes. It took an hour to get to work today from Sandestin!”

Colson’s musical influences include David Wilcox, James Taylor, and Joni Mitchell. “John Mayer is a new guy I like a lot and Maroon 5,” he said. He also loves Steely Dan. I observed that all the girls I’ve ever met just didn’t get Donald Fagen and company, but Colson told me his girlfriend likes their music just fine. “She has a great ear for music…I don’t know what she’s doing with me!” he laughed.

Not only does Colson perform acoustic gigs almost every night, he writes songs and has a multi-track studio in his home. “I can make a recording at my house that rivals the studios. On the internet, there used to be a website called songs.net that bypassed the labels altogether. I think they got into a lawsuit and shut down. I thought it was a great idea. The internet can be a great venue.”

Colson possesses one of the most distinctive voices I’ve heard in ages. He can nail a country song without sounding twangy. He has a strong voice for lowdown dirty blues, as his rendition of Robert Johnson’s Crossroads made very clear. At times he’ll throw in an unexpected low growl without any apparent strain. “It’s getting easier to hit the low notes than it is the high,” he told me, although he had no trouble with a Chris Isaak song later in the evening. At times, his vocals display a bit of Gordon Lightfoot and an occasional touch of John Anderson—the Swingin’ guy, not the lead singer of Yes.

His repertoire is varied and full of surprises. Sure, James Taylor songs get performed a lot around here, but when was the last time you heard someone doing Country Road? Or for that matter, the Rolling Stones’ Dead Flowers? Colson also invested The First Cut Is the Deepest with more feeling than Sheryl Crow’s recent cover.

Another highlight was the Eric Clapton ballad Wonderful Tonight, which my guitar instructor insisted I learn some 18 years ago. The instructor guaranteed instant seduction. That type of behavior didn’t take place at the Rhumbar. In spite of the casual atmosphere, the patrons managed to keep their hormones under control, but there was a lot of dancing going on.

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