I have driven by the Park Theater in Cranston for years without paying much attention to it, dimly aware that it was being refurbished until I started noticing more aggressive advertising for the venue as well as some iconic names of upcoming performers like the Wailers , George Thorogiood , and Buddy Guy. Buddy is the consummate Chicago blues hero,jamming with musicians ranging from Muddy Waters to Eric Clapton. his guitar playing effortless, constantly reinventing popular music into the blues, his demeanor relaxed and self deprecating. The only variable when it comes to seeing "icons" is age - as in are they still up to the challenge? In Buddy Guy's case, onstage at the Park in Cranston recently, the answer is a resounding yes.
The show opened with Buddy's protege, 15 year old guitarist Quinn Sullivan, who powered through a few recognizable classics , paying homage to Guy, Hendrix and Clapton and generally tossing off long, elaborate riffs, getting the audience primed and ready. After a quick break for drinks, popcorn, etc., Buddy stormed the stage, opening up with "Damn Right I Got The Blues" off his Grammy-winning CD of the same name, his commanding riff combining with the desperate vocal. That segued into " Five Long Years", a slower classic giving Guy endless opportunities to coax seemingly impossible notes out of his guitar, once again combined with a mournful refrain: "I been mistreated / People you KNOW what I'm talking about".
Buddy had the audience involved, constantly berating us for screwing up , running through his vast repertoire including a nod to his late great collaborator, harp player Junior Wells, with "Hoodoo Man Blues". Guy really shook the place up when he walked down to the aisle in the middle of a spine straightening solo and proceeded to stroll past the audience all the way to the back of the house, never missing a note, grinning as he played relentlessly.
The teenaged virtuoso helped Buddy close out the show, the set showcasing their own blues drenched versions of "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream, and "Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix, trading solos with each other as well as the keyboard player. When Buddy Guy finally slung his guitar over his shoulder, told his last joke and headed for his tour bus, we knew we had gotten a good dose of the real thing from one of the giants of the blues
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