We currently have threads for reviewing movies and books, so I thought I would start one for people to review live stage shows.

With encouragement from Mike and DaytonRocker, I attended a Buddy Guy concert last night at Billy Bob’s Texas.

Over the years I have seen a number of blues acts Aaron “T-Bone” Walker, Muddy Waters, B. B. King (several times), Bobby Blue Bland, Albert Collins and Ko Ko Taylor. Although I have one Vanguard vinyl LP by Buddy and The Complete Chess recordings on CD, I had never seen him before.

Buddy hit the stage at 10:30, the advertised time and closed the show without encore at nearly 12:30. Despite his age, Buddy moved about the stage freely and even went off stage and played in the crowd for about 15 minutes.

Buddy appears to be an intelligent person. He spent time while belting out blues classics and playing some amazing guitar licks to, as he put it “teach” his partially young audience about the roots of the blues. He spoke of his friendship with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton, but reminded the audience that the blues was around long before these guitar greats helped popularize the genre.

In all this was enjoyable show by a performer who has not lost his vitality with age. I would like to see Buddy again, but in a smaller upscale nightclub setting.

In general I avoid Billy Bob’s like the plague. Occasionally, I breakdown and go there to see a particular act. Buddy Guy’s Friday night concert was one of those occasions. I’m glad I went. I would strongly recommend this true legend to anyone who likes blues.

I completely agree. My brother and I saw him in September at ACL fest (Austin City Limits Festival) and he was excellent. It was only an hour show but and his band rocked my world completely and totally. He's really just an entertainer, he knows how to work the audience, how to keep you interested, and how to play. At one point he shushed the whole crowd of several thousand and everyone shut up, it was classic. I would recommend him to anyone who like blues and a good show.

Additional shows I've seen:

Ozomatli - They're a 8-10 piece salsa/hip-hop band that mix styles perfectly to make very interesting and exciting music. The live shows are excellent with a great horn section and lots of percussion and great rhythms. I highly recommend this band if you like either style or want a fun, high energy show.

G. Love and Special Sauce - Three piece blues band that plays a mixture of blues and pop. I enjoy the blues aspect more and the pop stuff reminds me of Jason Mraz (who is too bubble gum for me). G. Love, the main guy, collaborates with Jack Johnson a lot (they wrote Rodeo Clowns together). I was disappointed with their live performance. It was boring and lacking energy, but to be fair I'm pretty sure he was sick. So go if you really like him, otherwise I'd just download or buy a CD.

Widespread Panic - They're a rock/jam band that does some great songs, but live they like to do a lot of extended jam stuff. I could be wrong, but they remind me of Phish. Anyway, I saw them at ACL as well, both shows actually. I hadn't ever seen them, but they rocked my world. They have a huge band and produce loads of sound. If you like jam bands, or Widespread, you'd like seeing them live.

Robert Earl Keen - Also saw him at ACL. He put on a very standard show with singing his music and some talking to the audience. Unless it was a different show than usual it was just laid back with good solid music. If you like him or rock/countryish stuff then you'd like him. He wasn't exciting, but he wasn't disappointing.

Mofro - This is a three or four piece band from Florida that plays really great laid back music. They mostly do rock, but there's some blues stuff in there too. I really enjoyed their concert. It wasn't an exciting, lights show, crazy rocking time, but more of a sit back and enjoy while we play good songs. If you haven't heard of them I'd check em out, and their concerts should be pretty reasonably priced since they're not a huge band.

Tom Petty - I saw him years ago (my second concert I think), but he was pretty good as I recall. He gave a solid performance and sang his popular songs we all wanted to hear. He didn't do anything crazy or do any weird renditions of his songs. He was decent, but I'm not sure I would see him again, though if you like him I would recommend seeing him (if and when he tours).

Bon Jovi - To be honest, I don't really like them. But my friend wanted to see them and I didn't want to be stuck in West Lafayette, Indiana anymore so I took my chance. He really puts on a fun show and I had fun. In the middle of the show he got his hair done because he was so sweaty, that was amusing. They put on a fun show and if you like their music it's an added bonus. Recommended.

Jack Johnson - I really enjoy his music, and like his music his show was very laid back. Before the show started he made an announcement that he would start late since people were still in the parking lot trying to get in. During his show he had the opening band come out and play with him. He really seems like a great guy who just loves to play. And he played a lot of songs, and for the encore he played solo. The only thing I wanted him to do more was talk to the audience. He basically just played song after song, but I still enjoyed it. I would say you should go if you like his music and don't feel like a really intense show.

Bob Schneider - He's a local Austinite who plays a lot and does some touring. I thought I'd give him a plug because I think he's really underrated as a singer/songwriter. His main style is rock, but he also plays in a salsa band and writes some more folkish and rapish stuff (he's kinda all over the place). His shows are reasonably priced since he's pretty unknown, but his shows are always fun. I have yet to be disappointed with a show and I've seen him at lest 5-8 times.

Rebirth Brass Band - They're a Louisiana jazz band with just a horn section and a base drum. They do original and cover stuff and are absolutely amazing. Some of the guys are older (30's/40's) and one guy is 18. It a really high energy band (7 piece I think) and they play exciting music. I was really really impressed and had a great time, especially for the price. Definitely recommended.

Alright, that's it for now, I've got nine more bands (at least) to review. I really, really, really enjoy music.

I haven't been to a concert in about six months (due to work scheduling, I've missed Sevendust, Dolly Parton, and Cyndi Lauper concerts in the past couple of weeks, each of which I would have attended), but the last one I saw was terrific: Interpol at House of Blues. For a concert venue, HOB is fairly intimate - and the band, performing most of the songs from both of their albums, sounded even better live than recorded. Like another favorite band of mine, Spiritualized, they are not very into the cult of personality. In fact, due to the lighting, it was often difficult to even see the performers (the last Spiritualized concert I attnded, you couldn't see the band at all - except in silhouette - as the smoke-filled stage was entirely backlit): the focus, as it should be, is entirely on the music - and much of it was transporting.

I've been a big fan of Buddy Guy's since the early 1980s, back when Max and I were trying to build a duo blues act along the lines of Junior Wells, a monster Chicago Blues harmonica man, since deceased, and Buddy Guy (check out their old recordings). Max played harmonica and I did the guitar. Our first attempts were along the Brownie McGee and Sonny Terry acoustic riffs.

So along comes Wells and Guy to the Cabooze in Minneapolis, and we took in the kickin' live act. Wells would not talk to Max until Max admitted that Wells was the best darn harp player on Earth. Heh, that was funny. But Guy played his heart out and yanked eye contact with me, throwing licks out like mentioned, little lessons on how this is done. It's an amazing feeling to be drawn in like that, a little like magic, a little like voodoo, a lot like that universal true love.

Yep, I've seen a lot of blues guitarists, especially over the three years spent in Memphis. None of them have the contact ability of Buddy Guy. He gets right into where you live.

Just a little note to the electric guitarists out there: The Zoom G2 stomp box gives you a convincing room full of classic amps and effect pedals for around $100. All you need are headphones or a practice amp. Geez, I wish this was around in the 1980s! It would have saved a lot of money. I could have incorporated other styles. Oh well, better late than never