Crossroads Fest II Here In Chicago?

In June of 2004 Eric Clapton launched the first ever Crossroads Guitar Festival in order to raise money for The Crossroads Centre, his drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility located in Antigua. The three day festival was held in Dallas, Texas and featured performances by B.B. King, Buddy Guy, J.J. Cale, ZZ Top, Robert Cray, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Santana and many others, including of course, Clapton himself. Every single guitarist who performed at the festival was hand picked by Clapton. In addition to performing his own set on closing day, Clapton sat in and jammed with many of the other peformers over the course of the three day fest including B.B. King, Buddy Guy, J.J. Cale, Santana and Jeff Beck. A two DVD set was eventually released containing some of the weekend's finest performances. Fast forward almost three years later and the rumor mill is heating up with reports of Clapton planning another Crossroads Fest to be held this summer in my hometown of Chicago during the weekend of July 27th-29th! Nothing is official yet, but things are looking good! If I had to hazard to guess I would imagine the Fest will be held in Grant Park, home to the annual Blues Fest, Taste Of Chicago and Lollapalooza. Either that or Soldier Field. Perhaps even both (the first Crossroads Fest was held in Dallas' Fair Park and the Cotton Bowl). I'll be sure to keep you updated with the latest news regarding the fest as it comes in. And of course, if this does happen, I will most definitely be there!

Buddy Guy Live at Legends

Every January the one and only Mr. Buddy Guy performs to sell out crowds during his annual residency at his Chicago blues club Legends. This year's residency comes hot on the heels of the release of a four disc career spanning boxed set entitled "Can't Quit The Blues". I've gone to see Buddy perform at Legends for the last three years in a row. Last night was my fifth time seeing him play there, my sixth time seeing him overall. It's recently been reported that Buddy has to find a new location for Legends come June, so this will most likely be the last time I see him play there.

He hit the stage at 10:30 wielding a cream colored Strat and launched right into his infamous version of "Mary Had A Little Lamb", a song he's been performing since the sixties. Much to my delight, he embarked on an intense, extended solo before singing the first verse. At the song's end he remarked that he had a sore throat and would be "hiding behind his guitar" for much of the set. He had made a similar remark during the beginning of his 2005 set at the Chicago Blues Fest. On that day it was quite clear that he was struggling with his vocals and he did in fact spend much of the set "hiding behind his guitar", but last night his full voiced singing betrayed no sign of the sore throat he referenced. The second song of the evening was a long, drawn out slow blues. Buddy said it was something by Albert King, but the title escapes me at the moment. What I do know is the innuendo packed lyrics delighted the crowd and if I remember correctly it was during this second number when Buddy first stepped into the crowd. As anybody who's seen Buddy in concert can tell you, he always enters the crowd at some point, often during an extended solo, but I was surprised to see him leave the stage so early in the concert. He ended up walking through the audience a couple different times. Every time he did he was mobbed by people wielding camera phones. I myself was able to capture the two above pics during one of his walk throughs.

Once back on stage Buddy pulled out all his usual tricks, playing the guitar with a drumstick at one point and with his teeth at another. Always the master showman, Buddy will often bring things down to a near whisper before releasing an absolute avalanche of sound from his guitar! One of the highlights of the evening was a killer rendition of "Nobody Understands Me But My Guitar" from his new boxed set. Prior to starting the song Buddy asked the audience how many people had the boxed set and I was surprised to see how few did, as was Buddy. He made a remark to the effect of "why are you coming out to see me if you don't know much about me?" and then quickly added that he was just kiddin' around, but I think there's some truth to that statement. More on that later.

The last portion of the set was typically chaotic. Buddy never uses a set list and often will play just a snippet of one song before moving onto something else. This approach annoys some people, but I always thought that spontaniety was part of the charm of a Buddy Guy concert. A cover of Muddy Waters' "Hoochie Coochie Man" was followed by a snippet of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" and a good chunk of Cream's "Strange Brew" which was introduced with the words "this is how Eric Clapton used to do it with THE Cream" and during which Buddy once again entered the crowd. As is usually the case, "Strange Brew" was followed by Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile". The last Buddy Guy concert I witnessed ended with a ferocious take on "Voodoo Chile", but this time he only performed a verse or so before moving on to something else. I believe it was Otis Redding's "I've Got Dreams To Remember", a track from his most recent CD "Bring 'Em In". The last time I saw him do this song it was drawn out over ten minutes long, but this time Buddy stuck closely to the script, so to speak. It was followed by the crowd pleasing "Mustang Sally", a staple of Buddy's live shows ever since he recorded it in 1991 for "Damn Right I've Got The Blues". Buddy's four piece band was tight as could be throughout the set, with second guitarist Ric Hall and keyboardist Marty Sammon delivering some jaw droppingly awesome solos of their own.

After the show Buddy went over by the front door to graciously sign autographs and pose for pictures as per usual. I brought my copy of the new boxed set with me and was able to get it signed. I read an interview with Buddy last month where he mentioned that he doesn't currently own a copy of the boxed set. I asked him if that was still the case and much to my amusement he replied "Naw, I don't own it." LOL! All in all, it was a fun night, but I must admit last year's concert was probably better overall. That show featured some of the best guitar playing I've ever witnessed from Buddy. It's always a pleasure to see him play though.

One thing that most definitely is NOT a pleasure is dealing with some of the more obnoxious members of the Legends' crowd. As some of you may recall, I mentioned this in my review last year and this year it was just as bad, if not worse. You get a lot of people coming to these shows who've never seen Buddy perform before. You would think that these people would be among the most attentive audience members but that's not always the case. It seems a lot of these people just come to see a "living legend". Often they will proceed to talk, very loudly, over the entire show. During the quieter moments of the set you can barely hear a god damned thing! I realize that it's not uncommon for people to talk over the music at a small club and I realize a lot of these folks don't really know that much about Buddy Guy beyond his name, but you would think they would be a little more respectful of one of the greatest guitar players who's ever lived. Especially after having payed thirty dollars to see him do what he does best, but I guess not. They come to have a "good time" and they really could care less what affect their behavior has on the concert experience of those around them. It's a shame to 'cause I know I was far from alone in my frustration with them last night....

Kissology Volume 1

I've been watching the new "Kissology Vol. 1" DVD set the last couple days and what can I say, other than I've been thoroughly, and I do mean thoroughly, enjoying it! This first volume focuses on the early years of the group spanning from 1974-1977. In addition to featuring four concerts in their entirety, it contains all their early televison appearances including ABC's In Concert, The Mike Douglas Show, The Midnight Special, The Paul Lynde Halloween Special and Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. The four concerts featured are Winterland San Francisco, CA 1/31/75, Cobo Hall Detroit, MI 1/26/76, Budokan Hall Tokyo, Japan 4/2/77 and The Summit Houston, TX 9/2/77.

The visual quality as well as the sound quality of much of the first disc isn't the greatest, but the quality of the second disc is actually very good! Many editions of the boxed set contain a third bonus disc. The edition I have contains an appearance at Madison Square Garden from 2/18/77. Highlights of the boxed set include ferocious takes on early Kiss classics such as "Firehouse", "Deuce", "Strutter", "Black Diamond", "C'mon and Love Me", "She", "Detroit Rock City", "I Want You", "God Of Thunder", "Shout It Out Loud", "I Stole Your Love", "Love Gun", "Shock Me", "Calling Dr. Love" and of course "Rock and Roll All Nite". There's no fewer than six different renditons of "Firehouse" and "Black Diamond" included in the set! Each different rendition of "Black Diamond" in particular seems to be even more over the top than the last!

So much of the focus on Kiss has always related to their stage show, and this set goes a long way in showing that Kiss were by no means just smoke and mirrors, so to speak. If the music wasn't there to begin with none of that would have mattered in the first place. This ain't exactly Shakespeare we're talking about, but when it comes to bombastic three chord rock n' roll, nobody did it better than Kiss in their prime, except arguably AC/DC. As great as some of their records were, Kiss was always best experienced live. And unlike the legendary "Alive" albums, none of these performances have been polished in any way. Simply put, this is Kiss warts and all, and this is Kiss at their very best!

My personal favorite member of Kiss has always been Ace Frehley, not only for his "Space Ace" stage persona (which I always thought was the coolest by far), but also for his actual guitar playing, which was every bit as explosive as the Kiss stage show. Like his AC/DC counterpart Angus Young, much of Ace's guitar playing was built on basic blues based licks, just played very fast. The end result was a style rooted in the past yet pointing towards the future. His infamous extended solo on "Shock Me" ranks amongst the highlights of the three disc set and at one point you can see some of the two handed tapping technique that Ace was among the first to utilize. Legend has it Eddie Van Halen himself got the two handed tapping technique directly from Ace. Paul Stanley was no slouch on guitar either as he proves whenever he takes the occasional lead, and the rhythm section of Gene Simmons and Peter Criss is as tight as can be throughout the five concerts included. Another thing I've always liked about Kiss is, like The Beatles before them, all four original members took the occasional lead vocal and all four members were of course very distinct personalities that created a unified whole.

I think the performances featured in "Kissology Vol. 1" could win over even the most cynical of Kiss bashers! This is six plus hours of classic Kiss footage, and it shows you exactly how Kiss became the biggest band in the world for a time, and why they remain such a cultural phenomenon to this very day.

Happy Birthday Mick Taylor

Former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor turned 58 years young today! I thought this would be a nice opportunity to write about one of the most criminally underrated guitar players to emerge in the late sixties/early seventies....

Taylor first picked up a guitar at the age of nine and began giggin' around with local bands in his early teens. By the age of 18 he had been tapped to fill the prestigious guitar spot in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, formerly occupied by Eric Clapton and Peter Green before him. It was then that Taylor really started to make a name for himself, wowing British audiences with his pitch perfect bends, emotive vibrato and truly sublime phrasing and tone.

Meanwhile, the already legendary Rolling Stones were struggling with guitarist and founding member Brian Jones. His infamous problems with substance abuse and the resultant legal battles had long been a thorn in the group's side. The talented multi-instrumentalist had hardly contributed anything at all to their most recent LP "Beggars Banquet" (aside from some Delta style slide on "No Expectations"), instead often opting to sit around at sessions napping or reading if he bothered to show up at all. After much deliberation amongst the band members he was fired in June of 1969. The Stones hadn't toured since 1966 and were anxious to get back on the road. John Mayall spoke highly of Taylor and Jagger invited him to a recording session. Taylor mistakenly assumed his presence was only required for some session work, but before long was asked to join the band. His first public appearance with The Stones was at a massive, free concert located in London's Hyde Park on July 7th. Jones drowned only days before the concert. Rather than cancel it outright the group decided to turn it into a tribute of sorts to their former bandmate.

Despite these grim beginnings, Taylor soon made a name for himself on the subsequent tour of the States and the live album that resulted entitled "Get Yer Ya Ya's Out". He went on to play on some of the group's greatest LP's including "Sticky Fingers", "Exile On Main Street", "Goat's Head Soup" and "It's Only Rock and Roll". "Sticky Fingers" featured one of his greatest moments as a Stone in the form of an elongated, Latin-tinged solo on "Can't You Hear Me Knocking". He co-wrote the "Exile" track "Ventilator Blues" and "It's Only Rock and Roll" featured another two songs that Taylor supposedly had a hand in writing, "Til The Next Goodbye" and "Time Waits For No One". Taylor did not recieve a co-writing credit for either song and left the band shortly thereafter. "Time Waits For No One" featured another breathtaking, extended solo from Taylor. It served as a fitting swan song to his stint as a Rolling Stone.

After his departure from The Stones Taylor went on to play with artists as varied as Jack Bruce and Bob Dylan. He's released a handful of solo albums and continues to tour regularly. He occasionally even appears with his old mate John Mayall. He can be seen appearing with John Mayall and Eric Clapton on the "John Mayall's 70th Birthday Concert" DVD. In recent years Taylor has chosen to concentrate on his slide playing, often leaving the slide on his pinky throughout the set and switching back and forth between slide licks and regular fretted playing mid-solo. The "Sticky Fingers"/"Exile" period of The Stones remains a favorite of fans and the longetivity of those albums is due in no small part to Taylor's masterful guitar playing. Never before or since has a virtuoso guitarist of Taylor's stature been a member of The Stones. Often cited as one of the best white blues players to emerge from the sixties (right up there with such legends as Eric Clapton, Peter Green and the late, great Mike Bloomfield), I would quite simply rate Mick Taylor as one of the best blues based guitar players ever. Period.