View Full Version : A little live music (Sonny Landreth show review)
Chip_B
01-15-2004, 05:58 PM
My wife and I saw Sonny Landreth--from a distance of approximately 10 feet, no less--last Friday night at the Cuban Club in Ybor City. Fred Eaglesmith opened with a set of wry country/folk/rockabilly ditties that I enjoyed a lot more than Ginny did. Overall, I liked the lyrics and his sense of humor. He described his harp/mandolin player (I guy that I swear had to be in his mid-60s) as "some dude I met at a p*ssyfied folk festival about 19 years ago who asked me if I needed a harp player to jam with. I said 'sure'...but I only meant for the afternoon." They were also fairly interesting to watch; you'd never in a million years pick these guys (and girl) to be in the same band. Hell, except for the tattoos, the old guy looked like he belonged on a tractor chewing on a piece of wheatstraw...this was truly the oddest looking band this side of Babylon 5.
But I digress.
Sonny and his no frills trio looked like guys you might run into at Applebee's having a beer. Landreth played the same guitar (a Les Paul) throughout the show and the entire performance was utterly flawless. His playing mesmerized...It was completely effortless and natural, as if he were having an intimate conversation with an old friend. His stage presence was understated and contrasted nicely with his amazing slide work. It's difficult to describe how it looked--the way he sometimes pressed the strings as if he were playing a piano or reversed the position of his hands on the neck to get an other-worldly 'shimmer'. I could see it all very clearly because we were within arm's length of the stage and the stage only rose about 2-3 feet above floor level, but it's still difficult to adequately express the impact of all the little things he did to get particular (and unique) sounds. It's clear that Landreth is by no means a product of studio manipulation, because every sound he's recorded he can also produce live. Sonny also has a distinctive and expressive voice that works well with his quick, fluid slide, and his rhythm section was outstanding. The drummer was particularly impressive in keeping the Zydeco tunes galloping at high speed, but never tried to take command with a lot of flashy fills.
As for the songs, Sonny played a mix of Blues and Zydeco that covered records going all the way back to 'Blues Attack', but he emphasized cuts from his most recent release, 'The Road We're On'. My favorite, though, was 'Native Stepson' from 'South of I-10'. When he tore into the opening notes, I started to grin and bounce up and down like some drooling idiot 20 (30?) years my junior. Flock it...I was having fun.
After the show, we approached him and he graciously spent time with us talking about music. He was particularly surprised (and impressed) that my wife knew enough about his music to ask him what he meant by "a Coricidan bottle to carry the Blues' in the tune 'Gone Pecan' (answer: it refers to the Coricidan bottle his idol, Duane Allman, used. Landreth also uses a Coricidan bottle as a slide on that tune). He also said he has a piece of cloth from one of Duane's shirts that he calls his 'Mojo'.
Before we left, he signed a copy of 'South of I-10' that Ginny brought with her for that very purpose, thus topping off a mighty fine experience.
-Chip
Damm, sounds like an absolutely outstanding evening Chip and a great review too BTW. I'll also vouch for Sonny recreating live what he does in the studio on CDs. Prior to Jazzfest, I had never seen him, had only heard of him thru RR here and had only a couple of cuts off comps that you and Y*** sent. To say Kathy and I were blown away is an understatement. I'd love to see him in a club atmosphere here in Dallas. This isn't exactly the core of the bluze universe here tho.
tentoze
01-16-2004, 05:45 AM
My wife and I saw Sonny Landreth--from a distance of approximately 10 feet, no less--last Friday night at the Cuban Club in Ybor City.
-Chip
Dang, Tampa sure seems to have a bunch of opportunities for great live music these days. Vegas gets Sheena Easton, Neil Diamond impersonators, and the Righteous Brother.
Hey Eric, I've got my burner up and burning, I think. I've never seen you commenting on having any Sonny Landreth. Want me to fire up a few tunes for ya? Feel like I owe you a bunch, specially considering that great 2003 comp I got the other day.
tentoze
01-16-2004, 08:02 AM
Hey Eric, I've got my burner up and burning, I think. I've never seen you commenting on having any Sonny Landreth. Want me to fire up a few tunes for ya? Feel like I owe you a bunch, specially considering that great 2003 comp I got the other day.
That'd be a happy thang, if you get around to it. I have had the newest one on my wishlist since it was released, and never managed to pick it up..........
richmon
01-16-2004, 08:35 AM
Nice review Chip, have you checked out the Columbia resteraunt in Ybor city? Excellent Cuban food with spanish dancing girls (flamaco dancers?). Was there on a biz trip a few years back and was impressed with the place, great food and atmosphere - three thumbs up.
Chip_B
01-16-2004, 05:18 PM
Apparently the site profanity sensor doesn't like the name for Bryan's infamous alter ego...interesting.
Chip_B
01-16-2004, 05:21 PM
Nice review Chip, have you checked out the Columbia resteraunt in Ybor city? Excellent Cuban food with spanish dancing girls (flamaco dancers?). Was there on a biz trip a few years back and was impressed with the place, great food and atmosphere - three thumbs up.
I'm not familiar with it, but it sounds like it would be well worth checking out. We like a place in Brandon called La Septima...best Cuban sammich we've had yet. No dancing girls though.
Chip_B
01-16-2004, 05:50 PM
Dang, Tampa sure seems to have a bunch of opportunities for great live music these days. Vegas gets Sheena Easton, Neil Diamond impersonators, and the Righteous Brother.
The music scene here is extremely healthy and Blues venues thrive. The Blues Foundation awarded the Suncoast Blues Society this year's 'Keeping the Blues Alive' award for best Blues organization worldwide, which indicates how active and strong the Tampa Blues community is. In fact, Suncoast was one of the Landreth show sponsors.
There are several venues throughout Ybor City that regularly book Blues, Jazz, and Folk acts. Just up the block from the Cuban Club we saw a marquee advertising Tommy Castro and Galactic. There's also a Tampa venue called Skipper's Smoke House that features national Blues acts almost weekly. They catered the Landreth festivities (Skipper's is a seafood restaurant) and I talked to the cook for about 15 minutes prior to the show. He was saying how much fun it was when Jimmy Thackery came down to hang out and tip a few with the restaurant crew back when he lived in Tarpon Springs. He often brought his guitar and jammed with whoever was playing that night.
I'm really looking forward to digging a little deeper into the local scene. The upcoming Tampa Bay Blues Festival (1st weekend in April) has a better lineup than any of the Chesapeake Bay Festivals Ginny and I attended and I'm really looking forward to going. If you're curious, here's a link to the lineup: http://www.tampabaybluesfest.com/
-Chip
tentoze
01-16-2004, 06:06 PM
I'm really looking forward to digging a little deeper into the local scene. The upcoming Tampa Bay Blues Festival (1st weekend in April) has a better lineup than any of the Chesapeake Bay Festivals Ginny and I attended and I'm really looking forward to going. If you're curious, here's a link to the lineup: http://www.tampabaybluesfest.com/
-Chip
Chip,
Here's a link to something you may or may not be interested in- it ain't da blooz, but a very fine annual folk festival coming up in Dade City. I went several years ago, and it has grown a lot since then, from what I hear.
http://www.willmclean.com/
Chip_B
01-16-2004, 06:47 PM
Chip,
Here's a link to something you may or may not be interested in- it ain't da blooz, but a very fine annual folk festival coming up in Dade City. I went several years ago, and it has grown a lot since then, from what I hear.
http://www.willmclean.com/
WMNF radio plugs this fest regularly and it apparently attracts a lot of serious talent. I like this kind of music and perhaps the spousal unit and I will check it out. Thanks for the link.
Shame you're still stuck in Vegas. Personally, I don't like that town even a little bit. If you ever get back to Florida, look me up and we'll go catch a show and sip a cold one or two. We've got plenty of room and you're welcome to stay with us.
-Chip
tentoze
01-16-2004, 08:18 PM
I'm not familiar with it, but it sounds like it would be well worth checking out. We like a place in Brandon called La Septima...best Cuban sammich we've had yet. No dancing girls though.
Columbia is a classic- I ferget the cross streets, but it's easy enough to find- been there since the '20's I think- they have a chorizo-stuffed pork loin that will make a believer outta you. They have an outpost in St. Augustine that is just as classy.
tentoze
01-16-2004, 08:26 PM
WMNF radio plugs this fest regularly and it apparently attracts a lot of serious talent. I like this kind of music and perhaps the spousal unit and I will check it out. Thanks for the link.
Shame you're still stuck in Vegas. Personally, I don't like that town even a little bit. If you ever get back to Florida, look me up and we'll go catch a show and sip a cold one or two. We've got plenty of room and you're welcome to stay with us.
-Chip
That's one you should check out, then. Before being exiled out here, I always went to the Gamble Rogers Folk Festival in St. Augustine every spring starting in '96, and it was always a friendly, fun time with much talent appearing for a pittance.
And yeh, this is a hellhole. Hard to believe how bad I miss the salt air. And green. Mebbe late spring it will end. I'd be happy to take ya up on that offer of a brewsky ANYDAMNWHERE in Florida..........
:]
DarrenH
01-16-2004, 10:23 PM
I wish I were In Florida.
It was 10 degrees today. With a bone numbing wind out of the north chilling it down to somewhere below zero. Once it gets that cold, who's counting.
Are you jealous?
I gots a reason to sing the blues baby. I haven't seen the sun in a week, until today. Think I'm kiddin'? No way. After today, It'll be another week. And I'm not kiddin' there either.
Friggin winter in Michigan sucks big time.
But if you like being really cold and under a blanket of clouds most of the time, come on over.
I've got a lot of great music to warm you up.
Darren
tentoze
01-16-2004, 11:13 PM
I wish I were In Florida.
It was 10 degrees today. With a bone numbing wind out of the north chilling it down to somewhere below zero. Once it gets that cold, who's counting.
Are you jealous?
I gots a reason to sing the blues baby. I haven't seen the sun in a week, until today. Think I'm kiddin'? No way. After today, It'll be another week. And I'm not kiddin' there either.
Friggin winter in Michigan sucks big time.
But if you like being really cold and under a blanket of clouds most of the time, come on over.
I've got a lot of great music to warm you up.
Darren
Naw, Darren- too damn far north as it is being in Vegas- it was about 60 this afternoon. I feel for ya. Turn up the heat and the music and wait it out for spring!
Chip_B
01-17-2004, 04:04 PM
Damm, sounds like an absolutely outstanding evening Chip and a great review too BTW. I'll also vouch for Sonny recreating live what he does in the studio on CDs. Prior to Jazzfest, I had never seen him, had only heard of him thru RR here and had only a couple of cuts off comps that you and Y*** sent. To say Kathy and I were blown away is an understatement. I'd love to see him in a club atmosphere here in Dallas. This isn't exactly the core of the bluze universe here tho.
I'm hoping he'll be at the Jazz Fest. It would be great to see him again.
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