Living in the Chicagoland area I sometimes get spoiled with all the opportunities I get to see live music. I'm 39 now and have been suffering from a debilitating condition known as "OMS" (Old Man Syndrome) where I no longer want to go out, go to shows, be in crowds, drive long hours there and back, etc...
So many nights I told myself I was gonna go see someone...and then elected to stay on the couch (or work on a guitar!) One of the acts I am spoiled with is Buddy Guy. I've had, I don't know, maybe 200 opportunities to see him play, I could catch him at his club on a number of nights, but for whatever reason I never get myself in gear to go see him live.
He was headlining the Blues on the Fox fest last night in Aurora, which is about a 15 minute drive for me. I told myself I better go see him. I missed all of the other acts unfortunately (Kenny Wayne and Shemekia Copeland the night before, Billy Branch earlier in the day), but I got there in time to ride the rail and see Buddy.
He did not disappoint. 83 and still going strong. The band was tight and smokin'. He did all of his usual shtick: walking in the audience, playing guitar with a rag and drumsticks, etc... He was swearing a lot and said, "I couldn't swear before Hip-Hop came along. Now you're hearing the real blues!" Stupid fans we're yelling out corny stuff to him all night and they were annoying and I wanted to call them out, but Buddy heard EVERYTHING that was said and he would call them out on it and it was awesome.
Only thing was it was more of a "Blues Greatest Hits" set, he only played maybe 2 of his own songs. But he played Muddy, Johnny Guitar Watson, Eric Clapton, Howlin', etc...all great stuff. Marty, their keyboard player was insane and his rhythm guitarist is honestly probably better than Buddy right now, but I don't expect 20 year old Buddy Guy anyways...
He played a vintage white Strat all night and I couldn't believe how "live" it was. I swear the pickups could almost pick up his breathing.
$35 would have got me in all day, but I would have paid $100 just to see Buddy. A living legend.
So many nights I told myself I was gonna go see someone...and then elected to stay on the couch (or work on a guitar!) One of the acts I am spoiled with is Buddy Guy. I've had, I don't know, maybe 200 opportunities to see him play, I could catch him at his club on a number of nights, but for whatever reason I never get myself in gear to go see him live.
He was headlining the Blues on the Fox fest last night in Aurora, which is about a 15 minute drive for me. I told myself I better go see him. I missed all of the other acts unfortunately (Kenny Wayne and Shemekia Copeland the night before, Billy Branch earlier in the day), but I got there in time to ride the rail and see Buddy.
He did not disappoint. 83 and still going strong. The band was tight and smokin'. He did all of his usual shtick: walking in the audience, playing guitar with a rag and drumsticks, etc... He was swearing a lot and said, "I couldn't swear before Hip-Hop came along. Now you're hearing the real blues!" Stupid fans we're yelling out corny stuff to him all night and they were annoying and I wanted to call them out, but Buddy heard EVERYTHING that was said and he would call them out on it and it was awesome.
Only thing was it was more of a "Blues Greatest Hits" set, he only played maybe 2 of his own songs. But he played Muddy, Johnny Guitar Watson, Eric Clapton, Howlin', etc...all great stuff. Marty, their keyboard player was insane and his rhythm guitarist is honestly probably better than Buddy right now, but I don't expect 20 year old Buddy Guy anyways...
He played a vintage white Strat all night and I couldn't believe how "live" it was. I swear the pickups could almost pick up his breathing.
$35 would have got me in all day, but I would have paid $100 just to see Buddy. A living legend.
