BLUES Festival '93 at Ontario Place
Clint Pulley
What follows are the personal opinions of a long-time blues fan who enjoys
just about any kind of music so long as it is performed live. As always, the
sound quality in the Ontario Place Forum left much to be desired so I won't
comment further on that aspect of the evening. I am deliberately avoiding
mention of what songs each artist performed because (a) I was having too much
fun to take notes and (b) I don't want to spoil the anticipation for those of
you with tickets for future shows.
The festival is made up of four separate performances and ran from 6:30 PM to
11:20 PM. The lack of "cross-pollenation" is probably a good idea (esp. after
seeing B.B. King and Buddy Guy on the Tonight Show last week).
The "Alligator All-Stars" opened the show. Lonnie Brooks, Junior Wells and
Koko Taylor each performed one number then jammed together. All were in good
form (incl. Wells) so this half-hour got things off to a rousing start.
After the set Bruce Iglaur was introduced to the crowd.
Next came an electrifying (pun intended) performance from Buddy Guy and his
band. The person sitting next to me stated that a friend in his group had
seen Buddy on several occasions and had never seen him play with such
intensity. Thanks to a wireless guitar link Buddy was able to take a ten
minute "walkabout" up and down the aisles while soloing so I was able to
see him play close-up thanks to third row seats. I enjoyed the entire set
and was pleased when Buddy let his young guitar player do a number with
Buddy playing rhythm guitar as he does so well. When the set ended the
sell-out crowd gave Buddy & co. a well deserved standing ovation.
Next came Eric Johnson. As a "casual" guitar player I was blown away by Eric's
virtuosity and thoroughly enjoyed the set but aside from an SRV tribute and a
couple of "sorta bluesy" numbers this performance did not fit into the Blues
Festival theme. As an example of a young blues headliner I would have preferred
someone like Robben Ford. Audience reaction was moderately enthusiastic which
made the Eric Johnson fans quite noticeable.
The closer was (of course) B.B. King. Be advised, I've been a major fan of his
for many years. I've seen him in person on several occasions, the first over
20 years ago, the last about 10 years ago so I was interested in how his
live performance had changed since that time. As always, the show was highly
polished and very classy. His band has horns <gasp!> which imho are an
essential part of his sound. Much of the material was recent so the show was
not just a reprise of "B.B. King Live At ...". This provided a freshness which
was greatly appreciated. Even when reminiscing over his 42 year career, B.B.
chose to do his contemporary songs as he might have performed them in the
early days. His guitar playing was better than I've heard on many of his recent
recordings, most of his solos were substantial and his sound was pure B.B.
King. Audience reaction was the most enthusiastic of the evening - we all
stood and clapped through the encore. I rate this as one of the best B.B.
King performances that I have seen.
All in all a great evening. For the first time I bought a T-shirt at a
performance (the one with the cat).
The foregoing are personal opinions, your mileage may vary.
Clint
--
Clint Pulley, Head of Computer Services <u0...@csx.cciw.ca> (416) 336-4930
National Water Research Institute, Environment Canada
Canada Centre for Inland Waters, Burlington, Ontario
Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open. -James Dewar
William E. Forrester
> Last night I went to Ontario Place (Toronto, Canada) for the Blues Festival
> '93. What follows are the personal opinions of a long-time blues fan
I saw this show the night before at the Finger Lakes Performing Arts
Center in Canandaigua, NY. I'll comment on some of Clint's statements.
> The "Alligator All-Stars" opened the show. Lonnie Brooks, Junior Wells and
> Koko Taylor each performed one number then jammed together. All were in good
> form (incl. Wells) so this half-hour got things off to a rousing start.
It was the same at Canandaigua.
> Next came an electrifying (pun intended) performance from Buddy Guy.
He was also sensational in Canandaigua and really appeared to enjoy himself.
> Thanks to a wireless guitar link Buddy was able to take a ten
> minute "walkabout" up and down the aisles while soloing.
That was terrific. He looked like the Pied Piper and the crowd loved it.
> Next came Eric Johnson. (stuff deleted)
> aside from an SRV tribute and a couple of "sorta bluesy" numbers this
> performance did not fit into the Blues Festival theme.
He certainly showed some skill, but I hated the gimmickery (the smoke
and colored light show made it seem more like a rock concert). I took
the opportunity to go to the concession stands, which were just far
enough away so that he sounded pretty good. I don't know why some of
the youngbloods think that the blues means play as loud as possible and
get as many notes in as you can. I saw Stevie Ray at this same
facility and felt the same way even though I love him on records, etc.
> The closer was (of course) B.B. King. As always, the show was highly
> polished and very classy. I rate this as one of the best B.B.
> King performances that I have seen.
My wife agrees with that statement, but I liked BB more at concerts where
he did not share the billing with anyone else. I thought he performed
well but treated the whole thing as just another gig. On previous
occasions, I have seen him have greater rapport with the audience.
Tonight, he didn't have the kind of relationship with the audience that
Buddy Guy did (even without his "walkabout".
> All in all a great evening.
I don't know how many places they have played or are yet to play, and I
don't know what toll the travel, etc. will take on the performers, but I would
certainly recommend that anyone attend one of these performances if they can.
Bill Forrester
Brent S. Stone
Clint Pulley <u0...@csx.cciw.ca> wrote:
>
>Next came an electrifying (pun intended) performance from Buddy Guy and his
>band. The person sitting next to me stated that a friend in his group had
>seen Buddy on several occasions and had never seen him play with such
>intensity. Thanks to a wireless guitar link Buddy was able to take a ten
>minute "walkabout" up and down the aisles while soloing so I was able to
>see him play close-up thanks to third row seats. I enjoyed the entire set
>and was pleased when Buddy let his young guitar player do a number with
>Buddy playing rhythm guitar as he does so well. When the set ended the
>sell-out crowd gave Buddy & co. a well deserved standing ovation.
Side note: The player's name is Chris Holt and he's pretty darned good.
At playing, I mean. Not singing.
bs
Kevin Quinlan
> Clint Pulley <u0...@csx.cciw.ca> wrote:
> >and was pleased when Buddy let his young guitar player do a number with
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >Buddy playing rhythm guitar as he does so well. When the set ended the
> >sell-out crowd gave Buddy & co. a well deserved standing ovation.
>
> Side note: The player's name is Chris Holt and he's pretty darned good.
> At playing, I mean. Not singing.
I believe that's Scott Holt. He *is* excellent, too...
BTW, does anyone know when this tour passes through the Detroit area?
KQ
--
Kevin Quinlan
Research Engineer
Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
INTERNET: qui...@erim.org
Brent S. Stone
Kevin Quinlan <qui...@spsd630a.erim.org> wrote:
>In article <CBBqx...@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> bs...@kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU (Brent S. Stone) writes:
>
>> Clint Pulley <u0...@csx.cciw.ca> wrote:
>> >and was pleased when Buddy let his young guitar player do a number with
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> >Buddy playing rhythm guitar as he does so well. When the set ended the
>> >sell-out crowd gave Buddy & co. a well deserved standing ovation.
>>
>> Side note: The player's name is Chris Holt and he's pretty darned good.
>> At playing, I mean. Not singing.
>
>I believe that's Scott Holt. He *is* excellent, too...
Oops. You're right.