Buddy Guy: Large and In Charge at the Tulalip Amphitheater
It's not too often any more that BowlingJoe gets blown away by something completely unexpected when it comes to live music. But it happened last year at about this time. Just for the fun of it, in the summer of 2007, I got tickets for my son and myself to go see a blues musician by the name of Buddy Guy. I'd heard some of his stuff that he recorded on the Chess Records label and knew that he was out of Chicago and had been a student of the great Muddy Waters.
What we weren't prepared for was a man in his seventies to hit the stage with vigor and intensity that would put most 20-somethings to shame. He played loud. He played piercing rapid fire machine gun notes. He played inspiring blues music. And he was genuinely happy to be there doing it.
Last Thursday Bowlingwidow, Muffinheadedboy (along with one of his friends) and I paid a return visit to Buddy Guy at The Tulalip Amphitheater. He and his band were the first part of a twin bill with George Thorogood and The Destroyers.
Again, Buddy Guy didn't disappoint. Clad in white overalls and a white hat, he had command of the stage and at one point during the 75 minute set wandered around in the crowd chatting, singing and playing solos for a good 15 minutes. I got the feeling that most of the crowd was there to see Thorogood because of a lot of empty seats at the beginning, but Buddy Guy got their attention in short order. And rightfully so. He played stuff from 1969 as well as from his new CD, "Skin Deep". He played the guitar with his teeth, a cloth and a stick he swiped from his drummer. And never hit a bad note or missed a beat.
Click here to watch and listen to Buddy Guy play a blistering version of "Damn Right I've Got the Blues" from around ten years ago.
As for George Thorogood and the Destroyers.....well......I'll give them credit for being a competent and tight bar band with a lot of familiar songs such as "Bad to the Bone" and "Move It On Over". But as far as their live act is concerned, Thorogood's constant posing and grandstanding wore out its welcome in a hurry. Is his core audience stupid enough to buy into this crap? The sad answer is, yeah, probably. I used to own some of his stuff on vinyl and that will be the way I'll choose to remember him and the Destroyers as opposed to the pretentious and uninspiring set that they delivered. Back in the 70's and 80's he was the underdog, recording straight ahead, no b.s. rock for Rounder Records. Too bad he morphed into George Thorogood the character.
Thorogood and a Destroyer
I'm not alone in my thinking either. My brother (we'll call him SteelheadScot) and his girlfriend saw the same show at a casino in Shelton the following night. And he left the Thorogood set even earlier than we did (but loved Buddy Guy's performance).
Here's the bottom line. If you ever have a chance to see and hear Buddy Guy live, and are even remotely a fan of the blues, run (don't walk) to the ticket window and buy. I'm thinking and hoping that he'll be able to keep this up for another 20 years but ya just never know.
It's nice that you and muffinheadedboy have something like music to share together. It sounds like you two will have lots of great memories to recall when you are in the old folks home. :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, and thanks for the tip... you got the inside track to rbg cool.
rbg cool? How can bowlingjoe be rbg cool if he doesn't even know what that is?
ReplyDeleteThanks, I was beginning to wonder whether or not I'd get a comment on this one.
How was Port Angeles? Inquiring minds would like a summary of your weekend.
Is August 8th still the day for bowling?
carp... i should have done my research....you are actually rbe cool... i thought i was remembering correctly....know what it means now? okay so i made it up. but still.
ReplyDeletePA was a blast...lemme say, it's a good thing the weekend is only two nights. I don't think i am allowed to divulge too many details, strict regulations about that.... but the deck was nice, margaritas were flowing and the ocean breeze was blowing. I still can't skip rocks, and i wish we had more of those beaches were the waves actually crash onto shore without the help of a passing boat. It was some sandcastle building thing (i am sure it had an actual name- i'm being lazy so that's what you are getting). Amazing the level of detail... I don't recall every seeing one in person before. It was very impressive. One poor soul made a huge lightbulb held up by three people.... when she was on break and only had 2 hours left it broke in half... she had to move onto an impromptu plan b... I took some pics, so i hope to pull together a post when i get motivated.
yup, august 8th... invite going out soon.... i'll keep you posted....
tell bowlingwidow that 298 rows of red boxes are waiting for her :)
looks like we have 6 for sure bowlers, and a couple of maybes/i'll just watch.... (that's counting you and bowlingwidow)
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