The excitement built up and then Ronnie and the band came out. They just started right in with the music. Playing mostly stuff from their fantastic The Torch CD, they were great. Ronnie on lead guitar is one of the best out there. The bass player really caught my eye. He is a mean looking guy and has a very unique style of playing the base. He looks like he is sneaking around and holds his guitar very different. But man, can he play! Ronnie said something about his nickname being 'Bad Attitude' or something like that. Then he had his normal keyboard player and drummer, both are excellent. The microphone for the keyboard player did not work for both bands, but all we missed was them saying hello.
"Born in Chicago" was done quite well. I really liked 'Are you Free for Me". Ronnie showed his skills in that song. Then he said he had a special guest, and it was Jellybean Johnson. I had never heard of him, but now I am big fan. He came out and played guitar that would have made SRV and Jimi stand up and clap. Zac came over and started waving his hands to cool the guitar down! He must have jammed 10 minutes on the 1st song. They played quite a few songs, and at this point, I had felt that JB had stole the show. FYI, JB has was in Janet Jackson's band, played guitar, drums in many bands and is now mostly a composer and producer. He produced The Torch. He is also mentioned in the Are you free song. This guy can play guitar. I felt that I was at his concert and not Ronnies. But that's ok, I was there to be entertained and I was being entertained.
Well, then they went into the last song. Still with Jellybean playing guitar, Ronnie slipped on his wireless guitar and walked off the stage. At first it looked like he was walking off the stage and letting JB take over, but he had other plans. He started jamming and walking around table to table. They had spotlight following him and he went behind the bar and gave his guitar a workout. The bad news is my fantastic front row seat had became a crappy seat. But I was still in front of the speakers and it sounded great! He kept jamming and then eventually made it to the front of the stage and started to battle JB. There was no loser. Just a bunch of winners in the audience that got to see a fantastic concert.
This concert rates up there with some of the best I have ever seen, including Alvin Lee at the House of Blues, Joe Bonamassa at the Hard Rock. If you get a chance to see him do whatever it takes to go, he is awesome! Zac Harmon and Ronnie and JB are now on the famous Blues Cruise and I am sure they are giving one hell of a show there.
Next concert is the 20th of January, at the House of Blues. Robin Trower. I have seen him there twice and he puts on a pretty good show. Anxious to see what he has up his sleeves.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Ronnie Baker Brooks Live! Part One
I had the thrill to go and see Ronnie Baker Brooks at BB Kings in Orlando on the 11th of Janary. What a concert! That place was rocking.
I showed up a few minutes after 7pm and went to the will call where my 20 dollar ticket was waiting. However, there was no ticket and they lead me to the dining room and I picked my seat. Front row, right corner of the stage! Oh yeah! What a seat!
The house band was playing and the guitar player was very good. I saw him playing with a larger band when I saw the BB King concert here. He is a SRV type player and has learned his to bend the strings quite nicely. They played several songs, ending it with Foxy Lady and the bass player really showed his stuff.
The roadies for Zac Harmon showed up about 30 minutes after the scheduled 9pm start and looked quite upset at the stage layout. After some discussion, things were made right and a few guys had picked up guitars and banged on some keyboards and drums to tune and adjust the sound levels. Then they announced the band and out came Harmon. Before they started, they held hands and had a group prayer. They got right into the music and started jamming. The guitar player was really good. I did not know this band very well, just hearing one or two songs, but they were very tight. They had Zac on guitar, another guitar player with a really cool hat, a drummer and a guest piano player. They said their names a couple times, but this old guy cannot remember the names. I am bringing a notepad to future concerts! Research did not help me much to figure out who they were.
They played quite a few songs and they sounded great. The lead guitar player knew how to play and Zac looked like he was having the time of his life up there. They promoted their CD a few times and said they were selling some after the show. After the gig, they walked around the club shaking hands and signing autographs. A very nice touch.
I strongly recommend you check out this guy, he has his act together and makes some fantastic music!
I showed up a few minutes after 7pm and went to the will call where my 20 dollar ticket was waiting. However, there was no ticket and they lead me to the dining room and I picked my seat. Front row, right corner of the stage! Oh yeah! What a seat!
The house band was playing and the guitar player was very good. I saw him playing with a larger band when I saw the BB King concert here. He is a SRV type player and has learned his to bend the strings quite nicely. They played several songs, ending it with Foxy Lady and the bass player really showed his stuff.
The roadies for Zac Harmon showed up about 30 minutes after the scheduled 9pm start and looked quite upset at the stage layout. After some discussion, things were made right and a few guys had picked up guitars and banged on some keyboards and drums to tune and adjust the sound levels. Then they announced the band and out came Harmon. Before they started, they held hands and had a group prayer. They got right into the music and started jamming. The guitar player was really good. I did not know this band very well, just hearing one or two songs, but they were very tight. They had Zac on guitar, another guitar player with a really cool hat, a drummer and a guest piano player. They said their names a couple times, but this old guy cannot remember the names. I am bringing a notepad to future concerts! Research did not help me much to figure out who they were.
They played quite a few songs and they sounded great. The lead guitar player knew how to play and Zac looked like he was having the time of his life up there. They promoted their CD a few times and said they were selling some after the show. After the gig, they walked around the club shaking hands and signing autographs. A very nice touch.
I strongly recommend you check out this guy, he has his act together and makes some fantastic music!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Buck69
I discovered this band while searching the Internet. It has become my favorite band of the moment. They are a blues/rock/biker band. It is a father/son team, with the rest of the band being very solid. One of the vocalists is a former American Idol candidate that made the top 15 list for California. She is very talented and beautiful.A couple items about the band makes it a standout for me, anyhow. One is the voice of the lead singer, Tom Clawson. Tom has quite a history, including being a former Outlaw biker. His voice is very pleasing, you really feel he is singing from his heart and soul.
His son, Alex Clawson, one of THREE guitar players in the band, is very good. 30 years old with 19 years of experience playing the guitar.
The rest of the band just fills out the music so well. It just sounds to me that they are really into their music. Excellent use of vocals, backup vocals, piano, drums and guitar riffs, Combine that with songs that tell stories and I am hooked.
Misery is one of my favorites, really showing their 'stuff'. Very bluesy. Cold Wind is another great blues song. Starting out with some great guitar riffs and then Tom's voice coming in singing about the empty spot where his heart use to be. Classic Blues stuff here.
Sometimes, this song is one that I like more and more, each time I listen to it. Sometimes nobody is right. A story about a biker (Tom?) that broke up with someone because they could not decide who is right and who is wrong. I love the words, 'I am what I am, and I ain't gonna change for nobody'. Then the great guitar riff afterwards.
Visit their website at http://www.buck69.net/ and listen to their songs. I think you will be hooked.
Blues According to me
I am 50 years old and when I was a young teenager, I listenend to rock and roll music, like my peers. Ted Nugent, Alvin Lee, Led Zeppelin. If someone asked me about the blues back then, I would reply that I do not listen to depressing music. Little did I know that the blues was mostly what I loved about rock and roll. ZZ Top, Johnny Winter and just about anything I listened to was either blues or blues based. Later on, when I became older and wiser, I found that I loved the blues. Some of the greatest guitar players ever are blues guys. People like B.B. King, Albert Collings, Coco Montoya, Guitar Shorty, just to name a few.
My eyes were open at last and I started to investigate the blues. That is about the time that I met Tommy Thompson. He ran a show called Smokestack Lightnin'. This was a show that was broadcast on the radio, every Saturday night. The website, www.smokestacklightnin.com was a portal to the streaming. One thing lead to another and eventually, I started to host the music on my server and started working on redesigning the website.
The site is still being worked on, as I am adding content, which includes old interviews, a Hall of Fame and Blues Profiles. With over 250 profiles done now, each with a 1 to 2 minute sound sample, it is a lot of fun to browse the site. The site will continue to grow, as I add more artists and further educate my blues knowledge.
My eyes were open at last and I started to investigate the blues. That is about the time that I met Tommy Thompson. He ran a show called Smokestack Lightnin'. This was a show that was broadcast on the radio, every Saturday night. The website, www.smokestacklightnin.com was a portal to the streaming. One thing lead to another and eventually, I started to host the music on my server and started working on redesigning the website.
The site is still being worked on, as I am adding content, which includes old interviews, a Hall of Fame and Blues Profiles. With over 250 profiles done now, each with a 1 to 2 minute sound sample, it is a lot of fun to browse the site. The site will continue to grow, as I add more artists and further educate my blues knowledge.
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