GARY CLARK,JR.

convenience but I want love.” Slim exited the stage, with a foolish
grin, pulling himself up by the seat of his pants. This dusty, craggy
old-timer is truly in the mold of America’s long line of folk heroes.
Malcolm, several decades and many miles behind Watermelon
Slim, has personally connected with R.L. Burnside and Junior
Kimbrough, and has their North Mississippi hill country style in his
pocket.
After announcing, “I’m bringing you the Mississippi juke joint
blues,” he and Wilburn ripped into an impressive serving of original
songs with a sound so full you’d swear there were other musicians
joining from backstage. Malcolm’s raw, hypnotic blues excited the
audience on the opener “Treat That Woman Right,” followed by the
dreamy “Last Night I Held An Angel,” then the Hooker-styled “Crawlin’
“Midnight In Harlem”at midnight. “Angel From Montgomery”
under a full moon. Those were some of my thoughts as the
Tedeschi Trucks band bulldozed through three two-hour shows
on the October 2012 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise stages.
The party began on the first night with a furious, all out cover of
George Harrison’s “Wah-Wah” in the confines of the ship’s
Celebrity Theater and ended four nights later at one a.m. on the
pool deck with cruisers dancing to Sly Stone’s “I Want To Take You
Higher.” And I can attest that this 11-piece band did exactly that
with every song.
Three nights of shows in four days to
the same audience can be a daunting
task, but the Tedeschi Trucks band was
clearly up to the challenge. When the
ensemble opened with the blasting horns
and double drummers on “Wah-Wah,” I
thought I was hearing Ringo and Jim Keltner
opening the Concert For Bangladesh.
It was a magical moment. From there,
Susan Tedeschi lead the band on “Don’t
Let Me Slide,” augmented by a gorgeous
horn and background ending, and “Rollin’
and Tumblin’,” with Tedeschi’s emotional
guitar at the forefront, before settling into
“Midnight In Harlem,” Derek Trucks’ and
the band’s signature journey into what this
band is capable of.
After Mike Mattison came center
stage for his “I Know” and a duet with
Tedeschi on “Shelter,” the band satisfied
the blues lovers in the Theater with “The
Sky Is Crying.” The rest of the night
included Saunders Sermons’ elegant gospel reading of Old Time
Lovin’,” Kofi Burbridge’s swirling keyboard work behind Tedeschi on
“Bound For Glory,” Maurice Brown’s blaring trumpet solo on
Uptight,” and the encore, Tedeschi’s stripped down “Angel From
Montgomery” and the full tilt joyous “Sweet Inspiration” duet
between Mark Rivers and Tedeschi.
At the end, the fan behind me exclaimed, “I’ve never seen
energy like that. I just found my new, favorite band!”
Baby” where he’s “crawlin’ away from home.” “Young Woman
Old-Fashioned Ways,” with the line “She greets me at the door with
an apron on,” depicted this blues man’s preference in women.
Joined by Sonoma County harmonica hero Charlie Musselwhite,
the band peaked on two numbers, including a tight version of “So
Many Women,” with Malcolm tormenting the guitar’s high register.
As the sky darkened, Malcolm and Wilburn seemingly cut
loose even more, creating droning, penetrating distortion, while
never losing touch with their sweet melodies on “Guilty Man” and
“Renegade.”
It was a night for two men from Mississippi, telling their stories,
baring their souls, and defining the legacies they’ll leave behind them.
– Robert Feuer
TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND
Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise
Caribbean
October 27- November 3, 2012
What that person didn’t know was that was the first show
that sax player Bryan Lopes and bassist Dave Monsey played with
this band.
TRUCKS AND TEDESCHI
“This was probably our most high stress gig because we didn’t
get a chance to rehearse on this one with a new bass player and sax
player,” said Trucks. “That first night, there were 16 songs that we
had never played together and some pretty complex tunes. Sound
check was in the room with an acoustic bass and guitar and people
clappin’ their hands and singin’ through the nuances of an 11-piece
band and two and a half hour show. With as much improvisation and
ESP that this band has developed, there were certainly times where
BLUES REVUE 37
PHOTOGRAPHY © ART TIPALDI