Damn RIGHT He’s Got the Blues! A review of Buddy Guy’s show at the Masonic on April 13th, 2019.
Seeing
Buddy Guy play
The Masonic in San Francisco this past Saturday night was unforgettable. The thing about
Buddy Guy is that his many shades of blues run all over Chicago, the Delta, and everywhere else, leaving
him impossible to characterize. A true stage man, he registers from a whisper to a guitar blast and back
again. Buddy’s performances are wry, laugh out loud funny, and thoughtful; with pipes like that,
there's no doubt that he could rock us all... and all night long. One gets the impression that this 82 year
old is just getting started.
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| Buddy Guy at the Masonic (Photo: Kate Haley) |
Buddy blended his story-telling, starting from his Louisiana youth, to his first encounter with the radio
when he was 17 years old, with song illustrations sketched from covers of John Lee Hooker, Jonnie
Taylor, Willie Dixon, John Hyatt and more. His cover of Eddie Cooley's "Fever" would have made the most
skeptical of critics know that Buddy Guy now, and forever will be, one of the greatest blues men to walk
this Earth.
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| Buddy Guy at the Masonic (Photo: Kate Haley) |
Guy had plenty to share on history, politics, and considerations for the personal and political. Talking
about how he was raised and our responsibility to each other brings hope. His "Skin Deep" was the other true standout numbers of the night, and reason enough to buy the hand-signed album at his webstore
here. Of course,
The Blues is Alive and Well, his latest album, belongs in everyone's collection,
everywhere, too. Get it
here.
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| Buddy Guy at the Masonic (Photo: Kate Haley) |
Buddy is a pure joy to watch: Kind, hysterically funny, part historian, and the one that you should have
on speed dial if you want to hear "Sunshine of Your Love" played on his very fit tush. The entire band did a
hell of a job on this one, as well as the huge catalog of songs that he played.
Plus, he says fuck a lot. One of the first things he shared was how you don't hear the real blues on the
radio often. He shared "When hip hop came out, I said shit, Buddy, you can sing whatever the fuck you
want. And that’s what I’m going to do tonight."
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| Buddy Guy's tush performing "Sunshine of Your Love" at the Masonic (Photo: Kate Haley) |
The crowd loved it, as well as his walking out into the lobby while playing "Someone Else is Steppin' In
(Slippin' Out, Slippin' In)" and all sung along. Speaking of the crowd, this is the first concert I've ever
been to where no one misses a beat when clapping along or singing back the refrain, even when Buddy
turned the lights up so he could watch and comically threatened to point out who screwed up. This is
huge: It didn't feel like the usual performance audience participation awkwardness that you see in big
arena shows but that we were all perched in the same twelve bar blues song, tidy as the blues could
ever be, laughing and never missing a transition.
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram opened and joined Guy on stage in his set. Seeing Buddy and 20 year old
Kingfish trade licks as part of a genuine musical conversation was pure joy.
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| Christone "Kingfish" Ingram at the Masonic (Photo: Kate Haley) |
Here's to a rare talent, a soothsayer, and one hell of a honest man. Buddy was good to the point where I
mulled a trip to Chicago to catch his annual month-long residency in January at his own renowned
Buddy Guy's Legends blues club. I highly recommend catching him every chance you get. Just a heads-up
that Buddy Guy with Jimmie Vaughan and Charlie Musselwhite are playing the
Fruit Yard in Modesto
8/11. SF bay Area folks: It's going to be worth that trip.
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