Tag Archives: Jonny Lang

Jonny Lang Concert Review – Loveland, Colorado

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August 31, 2012
Thunder Mountain Amphitheater, Loveland, Colorado

Why is it that after I’ve just experienced a live concert that is so kick-ass amazing, I’m left feeling beat up, exhausted, and yet, indescribably invigorated?

Friday night, blues musician Jonny Lang performed at Thunder Mountain Amphitheater in Loveland, Colorado, and the phenomenal Mr. Lang, who never fails to blow his audience away, did it again.

With two local bands, Over the Rail and the Lindsey O’Brien Band opening for him, when Lang took the stage, he quietly picked up his guitar and with his long fingers stretched across the strings, began coaxing it into “Don’t Stop (For Anything).” Joining him onstage were Jim Anton on bass, Barry Alexander on drums, Dwan Hill on keyboards, and Akil Thompson on guitar.

I’ve watched Jonny change and grow over the years, taking the blues and playing them just as well as the old-time greats, (if there is such a thing as reincarnation, Jonny must have been one of the original blues masters–you just can’t manufacture that kind of soul) but he also turns them inside out and upside down and weaves them with different genres, such as gospel, R & B, Christian, soul, funk, and hard rock, as he did Friday night.

     Akil Thompson on guitar

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Anton on bass

 

 

I would be hard-pressed to find anything to criticize about the show, but if I had to name one, it would be that I would have liked to have heard “Still Rainin’” and “The Levee,” but that’s just me.

One cannot deny however, that Lang is a master not only of the guitar, but also of vocal ability. He captures his audience and grips them with each note like talons piercing unsuspecting flesh and we never want those talons to release us. A shining example of this was the intro to “Red Light.” Lang took us on an emotional rollercoaster with just his voice. What a treat. I’d like to ask him what goes through his mind when he’s up there performing because it seems like he’s in his own little world and yet, he gives two hundred and fifty percent every time, getting so deeply into the music that it’s hard to tell where his identity ends and that of the music begins. Maybe it doesn’t.

“Forty Days and Forthy Nights,” an old Muddy Waters tune, showcased Lang’s incredible guitar work–exceedingly impressive–without the use of a pick.

“Lie to Me,” always an audience favorite, began almost as an acoustical tease, then exploded in a metaphorical wall of fire and power until it consumed the entire amphitheater. It doesn’t get much better than this.

“Breakin’ Me” was performed with so much emotion that there was hardly a sound from the audience, and “Turn Around” had a funky R & B feel to it, as well as Stevie Wonder’s “Livin’ for the City.”

 

 

 

Barry Alexander on drums

 

     Dwan Hill on keyboards

The final song was “I Am,” another emotional piece, in which all the band members performed solos. At the end of the show, Lang stepped up to the mic, and with a boyish grin on his face, quipped, “I just don’t want it to end!” and we knew he meant it. I didn’t want it to end either.

Thanks to the fine people at Thunder Mountain Harley-Davidson and Clear Channel Radio (107.9 The Bear), I got to meet Jonny backstage. Again, he did not disappoint. He was warm, down-to-earth and comfortably chatting with his admirers—signing everything they offered, then happily posing for pictures. Someone said to him, “Jonny, you have more talent in your little finger than most people have in their whole body!” Jonny smiled and replied, “It’s practice, just practice.” I beg to differ. I could practice until my fingers fell off and never get close to what comes so effortlessly to him.

       

Backstage with Jonny Lang

Discovering what a gracious person he was only deepened my respect for him and my appreciation of his music.

This man does have more talent in his little finger than most people will ever have, and he’s happy to share it with you; just don’t be fooled by his soft-spoken manner and humble nature—when he opens his mouth to sing and moves his fingers across the strings of his guitar—he will swallow you whole. And you will love every minute of it.

 

Setlist:
Don’t Stop (For Anything)
A Quitter Never Wins
Turn Around
Red Light
Livin’ For the City
That Great Day
Breakin’ Me
Angel of Mercy
Lie To Me
Forty Days and Forty Nights
I Am

Photo Credits: ©Dee Walker

 

 

 

Have You Experienced… Hendrix?

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March 17, 2010

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Jimi Hendrix would have been 68 now. Hard to believe. Although he passed away in 1971, Jimi’s legacy lives on and there are many fine musicians out there making it happen.

Sunday night’s concert at the Paramount Theater in Denver on March 14, 2010, was no exception. The sold-out three hour show could have gone on for another three hours and it wouldn’t have been enough for me.

Billy Cox on bass, was one of Hendrix’s original players back in the ‘60s and he showed no signs of slowing down.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd delivered a stellar performance of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”—wow. His style was full of soul and grit and got down to the heart of Jimi’s music.

Jonny Lang was so amazing that as he played, his music took me out of my self and made me forget who and where I was. I was so mesmerized, I couldn’t even tell you what he played! Complaining about the altitude, Jonny only came onstage once—I was hoping for more. I’ve seen him in concert several times before and although I always think I’m prepared for it ahead of time, each time he gets under my skin.

Living Colour tore it up with so much energy on “Power of Soul,” and they were so tight, the audience went wild. And with Chris Layton (from Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Double Trouble” and Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford hammering the sound, Jimi would have been proud.

Joe Satriani performed “Three Stones from the Sun” and from the plethora of effects in his genius-sized toolbox, among others, produced sounds that seemed to flow like water—sounds I’d never heard from a guitar before. During “All Along the Watchtower,” the audience was on its feet and nearly delirious with emotion.

Among the other songs performed were: “Hey Joe,” “Fire,” “Foxey Lady,” “Red House,” “Are You Experienced?” “Crosstown Traffic,” “Purple Haze,” “Voodoo Chile,” and “The Wind Cries Mary.” I was hoping for “Star Spangled Banner” and “Machine Gun,” but I guess you just can’t please everybody.

The show also featured Eric Johnson, David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, Susan Tedeschi, Doyle Bramhall II, Ernie Isley, and Robert Randolph—all of whom contributed to make this a most memorable evening—a tribute to the greatest and most influential guitarist of our time—Mr. Jimi Hendrix.

This is the kind of music that stirs my soul—a heavy-electric-infused, psychedelic mind trip, and easily one of the best concerts I’ve seen. Give me more!

Voice of the Blues: Jonny Lang

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July 21, 2010

Ah… Jonny…

Last night was the third time I’d seen Jonny Lang in concert. The first was when he was just beginning his career—a teenage boy with a guitar. I couldn’t figure out how such a big sound and big voice could come out of someone so young.

I still can’t. Jonny has as much soul as that of a man in his 60’s.

Some are just born with talent, I guess.

Jonny took the stage Tuesday, July 20, 2010, at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood, CO. It’s a small venue that holds about 1,000. Built in the 1920’s, it’s rather tattered, with brick walls and old paint, but it has character—the perfect place to play the blues.

Lang ripped through his repertoire, combining some slow and some faster songs and always, ALWAYS putting his heart and soul into each piece. It’s almost as if he’s in his own world up there onstage, getting so heavily into the sound that he’s not even aware of anyone else in the room. I don’t mean this in a bad way, because in order for others to be able to relate, an artist has to expose his or her soul with raw honesty. That’s when great art shows us parts of ourselves.

In this department, Jonny never disappoints.

His performance took me out of myself to the point where I leaned over and said to the man next to me, “You know it’s good when the music makes everything feel right with your soul.”

To a packed house, Lang played “Breakin’ Me,” “Turn Around,” “Red Light,” “Rack ‘Em Up,” and “I Am” to name a few. But my favorite was “Lie to Me,” which he started out acoustically, then switched to electric guitar and really kicked it in the ass. With his face writhing between agony and euphoria and sweat flinging off him, Jonny and his band tore the place up.

This is what the blues is all about.

Jonny Lang is what the blues is all about.