DAMN RIGHT FAREWELL TOUR
BUDDY GUY, ALLY VENABLE,
CHRISTONE "KINGFISH" INGRAM
ROSE MUSIC CENTER
HUBER HEIGHTS, OHIO
JUNE 25, 2023
By Neil Shumate, OOTB Publications
Blues legend Buddy Guy lifted everyone up with a sharp performance last night at The Rose—and he’s been doing just that for more than five decades.
Guy has had a significant impact on the music industry making for a remarkable legacy; the 86-year-old has influenced many solo guitar greats including Clapton, Vaughan, and Hendrix. With this being his farewell tour, each show is quite momentous… Damn Right.
You never know what to expect at a Buddy Guy live concert. Noted as having a dominantly Chicago blues’ playing style, Guy is notorious for switching it up with spontaneous low to high and soft to heavy impromptu sections that are not only expressed auditorly through his guitar and vocals, but visually through his facial expressions.
Guy, sporting his trademark polka-dotted shirt, grinningly stepped forward (away from his polka-dotted center stage mat) frequently to tease the audience with a few notes before tearing into an abrupt solo. He playfully interacted and connected with fans throughout the night.
The icon and his band performed originals as well as some extended-version covers of some blues classics, including: Muddy Waters’ “Hoochie Coochie Man” and “She’s Nineteen Years Old” as well as Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want To Make Love To You” and “Someone Else Is Steppin’ In” by Denise LaSalle.
Guy’s humorous youthful spirit and cheerful attitude was contagious and downright inspiring as the onstage energy and charm channeled through the audience, making everyone smile, sing, and nod along, with occasional well-deserved pat-Buddy-on-the-back verbal bursts from the crowd.
Overall, an incredibly fun set that left the audience standing and wanting more; but alas, the eight-time Grammy winning legend exited the stage, one final time.
Earlier in the evening Christone “Kingfish” Ingram brought the house down for an hour with straight forward blues, jazzy grooves, and intoxicating solos that dilated pupils. Before that, Ally Venable opened the show with robust vocals and a full band mix of blues, modern rock, and hypnotizing proggy Floydian solo breakdowns.
A warm summer night to remember.
Buddy Guy recently released The Blues Don’t Lie, his follow up album to 2018’s The Blues Is Alive And Well and his extensive “Damn Right Farewell Tour” recently added more dates through late November.
BUDDY GUY (click photos to enlarge)
CHRISTONE "KINGFISH" INGRAM
ALLY VENABLE BAND
Comments
Post a Comment