[Harp-L] Norton Buffalo in Marin County!

[Phillip Franklin <pbf@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I had to write about the rare treat (first time for me) of catching  Norton Buffalo backed by a full band on an intimate stage -- the  Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, CA.  Thank's to Danny  Wilson's gig list, I knew what I had to do Friday night while I was in  San Ramon on business.  Forget that it was raining cats and  dogs.  Forget that it was a 90 minute drive north through  rush-hour traffic.  This is one show I did not want to miss!
  
  I had only seen Mr. Buffalo play once before, at the 2003 SPAH in  Dallas, but there he had only his lovely wife on guitar for  accompaniment.  This time he played two sets -- the first was an  "acoustic" set, Norton Buffalo and Friends (the CD will be out  soon).  Two guitars, percussion, and an acoustic bass guitar  backed Norton's harps on a set that covered latin rhythms, folk songs,  show tunes, and blues.  Norton switched harps liberally throughout  the tunes, often moving effortlessly from chromatics to diatonics and  back on the same song.  He talked a bit about his harp switching  on "Runaway", then played a bluegrass style song using four harps --  whew!
  
  The second act was Norton Buffalo and the Knockouts, his blues  band.  Normally a four-piece band, he complimented them by keeping  all of his Friends on stage, and added a keyboardist to boot (okay, the  acoustic bass player was a regular member of the Knockouts, but that's  still eight pieces!).  What a sound!  They played blues, of  course, but they played soul, rhythm and blues, and rock too.   Norton's playful personality filled the theater (it only sat about  300), and the musicianship was top notch all the way around.  
  
  Don't miss the opportunity to catch him if you get the chance.   Not only does he play the harp beautifully, expressively, heartfelt-ly,  etc., but he sings masterfully, in full control, covering all the  different styles, and mostly playing songs that he penned  himself.  I can't say enough about him as a performer, a musician,  and a songwriter, so I guess it's time to stop.
  
  Great show!
  
  -Phil "Back in KC"