[Harp-L] Mayall at Chicago Blues Fest -- a mini-review

[Mudharp@xxxxxxx]

Yesterday was the opening day of the Chicago Blues Festival. The evening  
show was billed as the "British Invasion". Yeah, well I suppose gimmicks are  
useful when it comes to drawing crowds. The first Brit on stage was Kim Simmonds  
of Savoy Brown. No harp, no comment. Well, OK one comment: he was bloody 
LOUD. I  had to leave the seating area to prevent instant tinnitus. I could have 
heard  him from halfway across Lake Michigan. 
 
After Simmonds' set ended I headed back to our seats with a couple of beers  
in hand to settle in for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Mercifully, their  
volume level was half that of the previous act. Mayall's band took the stage  
without him for the first tune and they sounded like solid seasoned vets -- very  
tight and slightly greasy. Guitarist Buddy Wittington fronted the band and he  
was absolutely stellar as a front man as well as lead guitarist.  Mayall came 
out for the second tune and just took over. When I say took over, I  mean he 
is one of the best and most selfless front men I've ever seen. He's  all about 
the music and making his band mates sound the best they can and they  nailed 
just about everything. Doubling flawlessly on harp and keys and  moving around 
the stage like a man 30 years his  junior, Mayall kept the flow of the music 
going seamlessly and  at the kind of consistently high performance level that I 
guess  only comes with 40+ years in the business. His harp playing (through 
the  P.A.) was very tasty and perfect for the music. Not great, not bad,  but 
perfect. Never once did he overplay or hit a clunker. This may sound like  
damning with faint praise, but that's not it at all. The whole of the ensemble  
was the charm of the show and Mayall was the glue that held it all  together. 
Even after guest guitarist and ex-Stone, Mick Taylor (who played  beautifully) 
was called out on to the stage for the second half of the set,  the music 
maintained it's cohesiveness and clarity and the band followed  Mayall's every cue. 
An obligatory and somewhat mediocre version of "Room To  Move" closed what 
was otherwise a wonderful performance. In  this age of hot pyrotechnical 
spotlight playing and jaw-dropping power that  some very gifted players seem to 
possess, it was a breath of fresh air to see  John Mayall front a band with such 
generous ease, grace and soulful  leadership. Nice.
 
The Chicago Blues Festival continues through Sunday. There will be other  
harp players on stage and some fine performers around town during the fest.  
Saturday night harp-l contributor Scott Dirks will be holding sway  at 
Smokedaddy's with guest harp players like Steve Guyger, Bob Corritore  and Al Blake. 
Ahhh, Chicago. My kind of town.
 
T. Albanese