Buddy Guy
Hamer Hall, Melbourne 31/03/2010
AWESOME!
Last night I experienced one of the best shows I’ve been to in a long, long time. Buddy Guy and his band took the stage and immediately took the crowd.
Mr Buddy Guy
Dressed in a light blue track suit and a hat that Donny Osmond would be proud of, the diminutive figure let rip with some fine string bending examples of how the blues should be played. The repertoire borrowed heavily from his peers including Muddy Waters “Hoochie Coochie Man”, John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom”, Cream’s “Strange Brew” and Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile”; all of which were indelibly stamped with the Buddy Guy sound. The only major departure from the blues set was the soulful title track from his 2008 album, “Skin Deep”.
Rick Hall on second guitar proved to be no slouch either. Very early in the set, Buddy stood aside to let him demonstrate his licks and boy was he good. Throw in a ZZTop 360 guitar twirl and a great guitar duel with Buddy and we have another great showman worth keeping an eye out for in the future.
We saw all the tricks with Buddy playing his guitar over his head, upside down, with his teeth, one handed, beaten with a drumstick and even flogged with a towel. Wireless technology also allowed a quick tour up and down the aisles of the stalls playing and singing directly to the crowd. It’s hard to imagine any other 74 year olds capable of keeping up with him. In between songs are brief tales and references to the history of the blues as well as a wicked sense of humour that the audience lapped up.
It’s quite evident that so many people have been influenced by Buddy Guy including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn and even Huggy Bear from the old ‘Starsky and Hutch’ seems to have borrowed a few fashion ideas.
The James Brown of the guitar? The Ricky May of the blues? No! None of these. It’s just Mr Buddy Guy. He’s earnt it and deserves full respect as a true blues prodigy of our time.
Another legend ticked off on my list.
“Buddy Guy was to me what Elvis was for others.” Eric Clapton
“Without Buddy Guy, there would be no Stevie Ray Vaughan.” Stevie Ray Vaughn
“Guitar Legends do not come any better than Buddy Guy” Bill Wyman
“Buddy Guy is a master. He’s the bravest guitar player I’ve ever seen on a bandstand. He’ll pull you into his trap and kill you. He owns that bandstand and everyone knows it when Buddy’s up there.” Lonnie Brooks