Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Buddy Guy and Susan Tedeschi@ Wolf Trap

We spent Father's Day evening at our favorite summer venue taking the blues in with Buddy Guy and Susan Tedeschi. Plus, the weather was finally dry for those of us who enjoy setting camp on the lawn at Wolf Trap - Filene Center. Ms. Tedeschi opened playing with a full band including local saxophonist Ron Holloway. She played some covers, but stuck to material from her recent CD, Back To The River. Produced by Tony Joe White, this CD includes her husband, Derek Trucks
on some tracks and is worth a look - particularly "700 Houses". Ms. Tedeschi is talented - as a "bluesman", guitarist, and songwriter; and with a full band backing her - she was worth the admission herself.

Buddy Guy followed and immediately started paying tribute to the great masters with a rendition of "Hoochie Coochie Man" - all the while sarcastically encouraging the crowd to sing along - as with "while I was out, somebody snuck in". Guy was fired up and spend a portion of the show strutting through one corridor in the Filene Center. He continued mimicking the masters from Albert King, Tampa Red, to Marvin Gaye and Johnny Lee Hooker. After a long rendition of the title song from Skin Deep, Ms. Tedeschi joined him for an entertaining duet singing "It Feels Like Rain". But all things come to an end, and Mr. Guy appeared to run out of steam - retiring slightly ahead of schedule. Who can blame him, he is in his seventies. But even at this age he's touring regualrly and even heading into the studio to record a new album. His last, Skin Deep, is awesome and features Tedeschi, Trucks, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Eric Clapton, and now-10 year old guitar whiz Quinn Sullivan.

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