Buddy Guy plays the blues with sure hands
BUDDY GUY With Quinn Sullivan and J.W-Jones Where: Centrepointe theatre Reviewed Monday night Want to heckle a blues legend? Holler your desire, loudly and repeatedly, to hear Sweet Home Chicago. Trust me, it’s every bit as rude as shouting for Freebird at a rock show.
Kudos to Buddy Guy for refusing to accommodate a loudmouth fan’s demand at Centrepointe Theatre on Monday. In response, the legendary guitarist grumbled that a blues cat don’t need to stick with Sweet Home Chicago, and then proceeded to prove it by unfurling every other riff in the blues handbook, including those in the R& B and rock n’ roll chapters.
Despite the fact that Monday’s concert, the first of two nights in the suburban soft-seater, was basically a reprise of the performance Guy mounted in the same venue a year ago, it was terrific, arguably even better than last time. The 78-year-old multi-Grammy winner was in top form, whether he was stickhandling comments from the crowd, reminiscing about his early days, demonstrating his amazingly versatile singing voice or simply letting his fingers do the talking along the neck of his guitar.
After a generous opening set by Guy’s 16-year-old protege Quinn Sullivan, the master joined his crew on stage, dressed to entertain in his signature polka dot shirt, set off by comfy-looking khakis, cap and sneakers. In contrast with the impeccable playing of his band, he was in full wild-man mode, playful and gregarious as he toyed with the music, egged on the other players and teased the fans, dropping a few F-bombs along the way.
First up was the meandering slow burn of Damn Right, I Got The Blues, which wove in and around Guy’s banter, including an account of his recent meeting with B.B. King and an amusing bit about the lyrics in hip hop, which apparently have inspired Guy to cuss more on stage. No wonder: the grandfatherly showman gets a laugh every time he says the F-word.
As usual, Guy took a rather disjointed approach to the set list, touching on tunes like Five Long Years, 74 Years Young (an original written by his producer, Tom Hambridge), and The Things I Used To Do. Instead of moving from song to song in a straightforward fashion, he interjected spoken-word bits, conspired with his bandmates and contorted his face into wonderfully expressive grimaces.
At one point, Guy took a stroll into the audience: up the stairs, out the door and into the lobby, all the while playing and singing the classic Slippin’ In Slippin’ Out. Just when we were starting to wonder what had happened to him, he slipped back into the room and made his way to the stage, where he switched to acoustic guitar.
Seated on a stool, Guy related some of his adventures in music during an acoustic “jukebox” segment, telling the tale of his move from Louisiana to Chicago in a medley that ranged from John Lee Hooker to Marvin Gaye. Once again, Guy made it look effortless, mustering a genuine swagger on acoustic guitar and never failing to hit the high notes with his sweet, soulful voice.
For the lead-up to the finale, Guy brought out two young guns to strut their stuff on Cream and Hendrix. Massachusettsborn Sullivan has been travelling with Guy for years, but for Ottawa’s JW-Jones, it was a rare opportunity. The thirtysomething guitarist had an impromptu jam with Guy earlier this month during a tour stop at the bluesman’s Chicago club, and earned an invitation to sit in on the Centrepointe gig. Jones held his own, although it was Sullivan who handled most of the soloing. The teen prodigy has grown a lot in the last year, evolving into a formidable force on electric guitar, with a fluid style that draws its cues from the likes of Clapton, Allman and Trucks.
Compared to their musical hero, the two were a little dull to watch but there was nothing lacklustre about their playing. As Guy likes to say, the blues was so funky you could smell it.