Had a great (but rather exhausting) weekend in Kansas and Arkansas with the BOH. Friday we played a blues festival in Paola, KS which is about 40 minutes from Kansas City. Our set was well received, however the generator powering the stage was having some issues which led to some ‘Tales from the Crypt’-like sounds from my Hammond organ. Right after us was 20-year old blues guitar prodigy, Tyler Bryant. While some of his material was a little too ‘poppy’ for my taste, there is no denying that he can really play. It was mind-blowing! His band was made up of three other young men about the same age, all were serious players, very gracious and humble. Tyler has been opening for Jeff Beck frequently this year. Definitely check him out. Long, tall, Marcia Ball closed out the evening in her sweet, soulful, joyous fashion. She is a fantastic player and singer and just a wonderful person to be around. Altogether it was a really great evening of music.
Saturday we were at Sticky Fingerz in Little Rock. Wish we had a recording of the show. Some really heavy, soulful playing from Gordy.
This week’s picks:
Allen Toussaint, From A Whisper To A Scream. One of my favorite albums of all time. Beautiful songs, Funky Meters for a rhythm section. Many other, well known artists have covered songs from this record. They don’t call him the “High Priest of New Orleans” for nothing–this music is healing.
Otis Rush, Mourning In The Morning. Really cool mix of a Chicago Blues master and Muscle Shoals funk/soul. Duane Allman plays rhythm guitar on every track. Killer!
TN