Saw Bo Diddley Last Night
Dave K
I'm not a whole lot into blues anymore, and I was never into Bo, but
he's got that whole Legendary Status thing going on. So I usually
figure a chance to see a legend before they're not here anymore is
worth it.
I went with my Dad. It was a lot of fun. Bo's having fun at his age,
and with his "I'm so old and so legendary I can do whatever the hell I
damn well feel like" attitude. Not a pompous attitude, but one that is
kind of a parody of itself. He spent about 4 minutes fiddling with
some knobs on his amp, and some equipment, and tuning, without saying
anything... Dead air.. Then:
"you know, I'm the only person alive that can get away with doing what
I just did."
Which got him lots of applause as if to say "Yes, we know, Bo..." And
he laughed himself silly.
Banter with the audience was great. People were yelling out song
titles....
"it's comin..." He said in response to one.
"but don't go re-arrangin' my show." He reprimanded.
"Don't make me move into your neighborhood and make your property value
go down..."
He told some jokes, and had one of those rants along the lines of "Kids
are rotten today because their parents don't beat them like mine did."
He's an old man and he can say that if he wants. You're not gonna
argue with Bo.
The music was great but really for me it was just part of the
entertainment which had to do with just "Seeing Bo." His guitar
playing was incidental. He has some strange things hooked up to that
strange square guitar of his. He had another guitar player, a
fantastic blues player that still stayed about 3 to 4 feet behind Bo
"the man."
So it was good to see him. His legendary status includes influencing a
number of musicians, many that aren't even alive anymore.
-DaveK
misterwilliamc
> He has some strange things hooked up to that
> strange square guitar of his.
Bo groundbreaker in sounds.
It would take access to all the old albums, and/or that 12 cd box set of
chess recordings, to catch all the wonderful quirk instrumentals, as
well as some vocal things, he has done, the things he came up with...
Things off the beaten path of what many associate to be/as, "Bo Diddley."
> He had another guitar player, a
> fantastic blues player that still stayed about 3 to 4 feet behind Bo
> "the man."
He has always had great players with him, off and on through it all.
Some of them innovative.
Jody Williams did the lead work on just stepped off the flying saucer
bizarro for the time, "Who Do You Love."
Lady Bo (Peggy Jones) did, "Aztec," Bo's not on it, a beautiful mood
piece for the time, coming out on the, "Bo Diddley Is A Lover," lp as
well as on 45.
One day in early 70s at original Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach Bo sat down
on that small stage and stretched out with the obscure, beautifully
bizarre, that he didn't/doesn't do in the larger venues.
I have to claim responsibility as instigator.
A sound alchemist explorer of the highest order. It's in that box set...
misterwilliamc
> that strange square guitar of his.
That not the strangest.
A futuristic son of a gun... the thing on the, "Bo Diddley Is A
Gunslinger," album, he designed, what a Blast at that time. That one was
stolen.
Again, with regard to futuristic, some of those today obscure
instrumentals so much so.
Then came the stretch variants, the Cadillacs; Gretsch has put out a
BillyBo Jupiter Thunderbird in homage.
Tom K
"misterwilliamc" <misterw...@yahoo.com> skrev i en meddelelse
news:8d376$43e5184a$4e6e484$32...@DIALUPUSA.NET...
> Dave K wrote:
>
>> He has some strange things hooked up to that
>> strange square guitar of his.
>
> Bo groundbreaker in sounds.
> It would take access to all the old albums, and/or that 12 cd box set of
> chess recordings, to catch all the wonderful quirk instrumentals, as well
> as some vocal things, he has done, the things he came up with... Things
> off the beaten path of what many associate to be/as, "Bo Diddley."
>
>> He had another guitar player, a
>> fantastic blues player that still stayed about 3 to 4 feet behind Bo
>> "the man."
>
> He has always had great players with him, off and on through it all.
> Some of them innovative.
> Jody Williams did the lead work on just stepped off the flying saucer
> bizarro for the time, "Who Do You Love."
> Lady Bo (Peggy Jones) did, "Aztec," Bo's not on it, a beautiful mood piece
> for the time, coming out on the, "Bo Diddley Is A Lover," lp as well as on
> 45.
>
I saw him years ago (15 to 20) with Lady Bo, she was something else. She
started out the show just her + bass and drums, and her version of "Chain of
Fools" is properbly the most hardcore R&B/soul I've ever heard.