Lester Butler relaxes at Moscow’s Chesterfield Cafe, 1997

About a year after playing at the Paris version of the Chesterfield Cafe, Lester Butler and 13 had a residency at the club’s Moscow outpost.

The band — Butler, drummer Eddie Clark, Mike Hightower (bass) and most likely Curtis Smith on guitar — were the featured entertainment Sept. 17-28, 1997.

It’s an interesting time for the band, and Clark kept papers and video from the tour (which he shared with NoFightin.com).

MORE: Itinerary outlines 13’s 1997 European tour

From the stint in Moscow, a cool bit of nostalgia is the Chesterfield Cafe’s handbill/pocket calendar, with descriptions of upcoming performances — including 13:

Here is the 13 bio, courtesy of the Chesterfield Cafe — though they might have been thinking of a different Lester band:

A lucky number for this blues band who backed up a serious number of big shots. Mick Jagger himself wanted them for his solo blues album. A solid and warm blues band from sunny L.A. led by the charismatic Lester Butler, lead singer and harmonica.

Another piece of memorabilia is a copy of the Sept. 25, 1997, expatriate street newspaper the eXile.

Unfortunately, 13 didn’t get a story or photo in that week’s edition; however, they were included in the entertainment calendar.

Clark also videotaped much of 13’s excursions overseas, and several of those videos have cropped up, in different forms, on YouTube.

Though Clark’s Moscow tapes do not include any performances of 13 at the Chesterfield Cafe, there are many clips of Butler and band hanging out at the club during their residency.

This includes Butler working on his harps, dancing in the club to Bill Haley and the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock” and chilling with patrons and fans.

This is a new NoFightin.com edit of those clips. You’ll see Butler, Clark and Hightower at various points in the video. (Unfortunately, due to copyright issues, “Rock Around the Clock” may be muted in this video, depending on your region.)

Note: This is the second of three posts about Lester Butler performing at the Chesterfield Cafe chain. Read about the Paris gigs here, and watch for an upcoming feature from Madrid.