By Steve Sharp

Little Milton visited Milwaukee recently for several days to play three gigs during which he debuted material from his recent Malaco release, "Feel It."

Milton began his late August 2001 stay in Milwaukee with a show at Wes's Place, a neighborhood tavern located on King Drive. Milton's single, 70-minute set was, of course, packed with the older hits that have dotted his 50 years in show business. However, Milton, unlike some blues performers his age, has allowed his music to evolve considerably over the years and several funkier, new songs led off the show. These included "Juke Joint In My House" and "Shot From the Saddle," a tune from "Feel It."

The remainder of the set featured his standbys including "Walking the Backstreets and Crying," "Little Bluebird" and "Annie Mae's Cafe."

After taking a day off, Milton returned for a noon and evening show at Rainbow Summer in downtown Milwaukee.

The sets at Rainbow Summer were virtually identical to his performance at Wes's Place.

Milton, dressed in a purple suit, and purple shoes, with pink handerchief, appeared at his evening show to have put on weight since his appearances in 2000 in Milwaukee, but other than that he seemed to be in good health and spirits. After as lengthy introduction by his boisterous sidekick and Master of Ceremonies Scrap Iron, Milton opened the evening show with "Shot From the Saddle." After presenting his standards, delivered with his almost imcomparable guitar playing and singing, Milton closed the performance with "Shake Rattle and Roll," "My Dog and Me" and what he termed "...the international blues anthem," "The Blues Is Alright."

Pictured above, Little Milton by photographer Steve Sharp.