Random Thoughts #13: Taste of Chicago music 2009
We have a condo in the city of Chicago. Our son and his friend rent it from us. Our son's roommate was out of town so I asked if I could stay on Friday night so I could see the city of Chicago's fireworks (set off on July 3).
Fireworks were splendid - we went to the Aquarium area. Great place to view the fireworks!
But what I want to talk about...is the music.
Saturday afternoon, July 4, had three free performances scheduled at the Petrillo Shell: Booker T., Guster, and Buddy Guy. Taste of Chicago is one of the only free festivals left in the U.S. - thank you Chicago and thank you sponsors!!! Because it is free, and because I love to go to things that are free, I get some exposure to artists I wouldn't have gone to see otherwise. And whoever it is that comes up with the programming - picks some pretty darned good artists!
Last week, when Taste of Chicago opened, I attended a performance by Cameo and then Charlie Wilson and the Gap. Both very good bands, and I was astounded to see that almost everyone in the audience (95% black) knew all the words to all the songs. It was quite an experience, being surrounded by exuberant, enthusiastic people singing along at the top of their lungs and dancing away!
Today's performance was also quite an experience. First, the audience mix was quite different: more white than black, and initially, lots of young people.
The first performance, Booker T and the DTB's, was very good. Booker T was an older black guy, and the band was white and early middle-aged, and included a blond female playing base. Their music was instrumental. The only song that Booker T sang was "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" - very well done, very melancholy with a soaking cold rain drizzling over us all.
Next band, "Guster," was one that I'd never heard of, but the young audience was going crazy over them, dancing, singing along. Needless to say this was a younger band, too - perhaps in their late 20's or early 30's. The drummer often played with his hands rather than with drumsticks. For this band, similarly to the Cameo and Charlie Wilson performances from the previous week - I was most interested in watching the audience. The bands were all very good but I wasn't familiar with the songs. But the young audience was SO enthusiastic!
After Guster left, most of the young people scooted out of there. I wondered if the Petrillo shell would be left largely empty for Buddy Guy, but then more people drifted in. Audience was more middle-aged, now, and smaller than Guster's audience. I thought that Buddy Guy had a hard act to follow: the young audience so clearly loved and was very enthusiastic about Guster, and the band did a great job of whipping up the audience enthusiasm and energy level.
Well, when Buddy Guy came out - he was the master. OMG - and then some. The word "legendary" comes to mind and it is fully deserved. WHAT a performance. Loose. Funny. Amazing guitar. Amazing vocals. Amazing feats. In fact, I still cannot believe such an amazing performace - one of the very best I've ever seen. BB King had a voice like a lion, and he could still put out some wonderful guitar licks, but Buddy Guy is a little younger (around 70?) and he PERFORMS. He entertains. He is utterly amazing and deserves all the accolades. I can see how he influenced Jimi Hendrix. And his music is also amazing and yanked me to my feet, even though I didn't know any of the songs!!! None of the other acts could do that.
But the most astounding thing: he kept talking about bringing in a very, very special guest. I expected someone like, say, BB King to show up. But no - it was a pudgy haole KID - 10 years old, I think. This kid played like a Buddy Guy - did all the tricks - even the playing with his teeth and with the guitar on top of his head!?! They even did guitar battles! And then - he SANG! In a high-pitched young boy's voice - very incongruous, singing the blues with such a voice, but it was funny 'cuz the song was about learning the blues from Buddy Guy!
Well, what an afternoon... Too bad it was so cold and rainy (I wasn't dressed for the weather - just had shorts and a T-shirt), but I am SO GLAD I went!!!
Fireworks were splendid - we went to the Aquarium area. Great place to view the fireworks!
But what I want to talk about...is the music.
Saturday afternoon, July 4, had three free performances scheduled at the Petrillo Shell: Booker T., Guster, and Buddy Guy. Taste of Chicago is one of the only free festivals left in the U.S. - thank you Chicago and thank you sponsors!!! Because it is free, and because I love to go to things that are free, I get some exposure to artists I wouldn't have gone to see otherwise. And whoever it is that comes up with the programming - picks some pretty darned good artists!
Last week, when Taste of Chicago opened, I attended a performance by Cameo and then Charlie Wilson and the Gap. Both very good bands, and I was astounded to see that almost everyone in the audience (95% black) knew all the words to all the songs. It was quite an experience, being surrounded by exuberant, enthusiastic people singing along at the top of their lungs and dancing away!
Today's performance was also quite an experience. First, the audience mix was quite different: more white than black, and initially, lots of young people.
The first performance, Booker T and the DTB's, was very good. Booker T was an older black guy, and the band was white and early middle-aged, and included a blond female playing base. Their music was instrumental. The only song that Booker T sang was "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" - very well done, very melancholy with a soaking cold rain drizzling over us all.
Next band, "Guster," was one that I'd never heard of, but the young audience was going crazy over them, dancing, singing along. Needless to say this was a younger band, too - perhaps in their late 20's or early 30's. The drummer often played with his hands rather than with drumsticks. For this band, similarly to the Cameo and Charlie Wilson performances from the previous week - I was most interested in watching the audience. The bands were all very good but I wasn't familiar with the songs. But the young audience was SO enthusiastic!
After Guster left, most of the young people scooted out of there. I wondered if the Petrillo shell would be left largely empty for Buddy Guy, but then more people drifted in. Audience was more middle-aged, now, and smaller than Guster's audience. I thought that Buddy Guy had a hard act to follow: the young audience so clearly loved and was very enthusiastic about Guster, and the band did a great job of whipping up the audience enthusiasm and energy level.
Well, when Buddy Guy came out - he was the master. OMG - and then some. The word "legendary" comes to mind and it is fully deserved. WHAT a performance. Loose. Funny. Amazing guitar. Amazing vocals. Amazing feats. In fact, I still cannot believe such an amazing performace - one of the very best I've ever seen. BB King had a voice like a lion, and he could still put out some wonderful guitar licks, but Buddy Guy is a little younger (around 70?) and he PERFORMS. He entertains. He is utterly amazing and deserves all the accolades. I can see how he influenced Jimi Hendrix. And his music is also amazing and yanked me to my feet, even though I didn't know any of the songs!!! None of the other acts could do that.
But the most astounding thing: he kept talking about bringing in a very, very special guest. I expected someone like, say, BB King to show up. But no - it was a pudgy haole KID - 10 years old, I think. This kid played like a Buddy Guy - did all the tricks - even the playing with his teeth and with the guitar on top of his head!?! They even did guitar battles! And then - he SANG! In a high-pitched young boy's voice - very incongruous, singing the blues with such a voice, but it was funny 'cuz the song was about learning the blues from Buddy Guy!
Well, what an afternoon... Too bad it was so cold and rainy (I wasn't dressed for the weather - just had shorts and a T-shirt), but I am SO GLAD I went!!!
posted by Gaye Marasaki | 8:30 PM
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