July 18, 2011

You pay a price. A big price. But there is absolutely nothing in the world like being up front at a rock concert. Or in this case, a rock/blues show.

Saturday night I was fortunate enough to get in the second row of the sold-out concert by Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Thunder Mountain Amphitheater in Loveland, Colorado.

Oh my God.

I know I probably sound like a giddy teenager, but that’s what great music does to me. It transports me. Turns me into a pool of pure, animal instinct and puts me in touch with that part of me that I usually keep well-guarded because it’s vulnerable and real—my soul.

Anyway, it’s a whole different experience being up front. You can’t hear as well, and you don’t get that balanced, more expansive sound—the entire band as it’s really meant to be heard. But you get to experience the energy firsthand—freshly blasting from the performers. And it is intense.

Despite the fact that I was squished, stepped on, bumped, sweat on by strangers all around me, and subjected to enthusiastic fans screaming into my ear so loudly that it was painful, it was all worth it. Because when the large man in front of me moved to the side for a brief moment and Kenny came over, put his foot on the amp in front of me and made his guitar sing, I think I stopped breathing. The energy spewing from him was like a volcano exploding into my chest. A volcano of sheer blues power.

With killer-voice singer Noah Hunt by his side, and joined by veteran performers Tony Franklin on bass, Chris Layton on drums, and “The Reverend” Riley Osborne on keyboards, Kenny tore up the night, grinning and grimacing, his entire body ricocheting off the notes coming from his axe as he became the sound with everything in him.

Noah’s voice, as always, was like a bullet to the soul—deep, thick, and hard—the epitome of male sexuality. So when he sang “I’m a King Bee”, with it’s blatant sexual lyrics, and combined with Kenny’s phenomenal guitar work, I was so into the music, if I could have crawled right into it, I would have.

“I’m a king bee, baby, buzzing around your hive. I can make you honey, baby, just let me come inside . . . I can buzz you better when your other man is gone,” he taunted. I was gone at that point.

I wish they’d do more songs like that!

Another highlight of the evening was the hit “Blue on Black” —where the audience all joined in and sang along, and a strictly-blues portion, where Noah walked offstage, leaving Kenny and the boys to dig deep into the blues. Oh. Yeah.

The show ended with “Voodoo Child,” a frenzied and fantastic rendition of the classic Hendrix tune.

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Kenny has had an ear for the blues all his life. He explained that at the ripe old age of three, he attended a concert by Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, and that was all it took. Completely self-taught on guitar, Kenny gave credit to some of the other blues greats who influenced him: Buddy Guy, B. B. King, Albert Collins, Albert King, Robert Johnson, and Bessie Smith, among others. You can hear it in his music. Stated Kenny, “The blues is the foundation for everything we play.”

And although he’s only 34, his music has the richness and depth of a person twice that age. Some people just “get” the blues. Kenny does. And if you want it, Shepherd delivers—mixed in with a little bit of rock to create his signature sound.

The show was so hot that it started pouring rain the instant the band left the stage. I guess there needed to be some sort of means to put out the fire!

Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s next album, How I Go is due for release August 2.

Setlist:

Somehow, Somewhere, Someway
Everything is Broken
Never Mind
Last Goodbye
Losin’ Kind
Come On Over
I’m Leaving You
Shame
Never Lookin’ Back
King’s Highway
True Lies
Blue On Black
Shotgun Blues
I’m A King Bee
Oh Well
Voodoo Child