Austin Zook
Audio By Carbonatix
For Buddy Guy, a guitar and a microphone are like a time machine.
The legendary blues guitarist took the stage at Toyota Music Factory on May 6, billed as a “very special guest” opening the show for Tedeschi Trucks Band. Guy, 88, has been in the spotlight for decades and has recently received attention for his performance in Ryan Coogler’s blockbuster vampire film Sinners, which prominently features blues music. Guy himself contributed a song to the movie’s soundtrack.
During the press junket for Sinners, Guy talked about keeping the blues alive and how he hopes the movie will help with that. There is certainly an argument to be made for the film reinvigorating the genre (we were asked if we had seen it by another audience member at the concert before Guy took the stage), and if Coogler’s film is enough to whet someone’s appetite for the blues, seeing Guy perform live is enough to make them a lifelong fan if the show he put on at Toyota Music Factory is any indication.
The performance was scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m., and the ever-punctual Guy and his band were in place, guitars wailing as they worked up to the opening line of “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues.” Guy was accompanied on stage by two other guitarists, a drummer and a keyboard player for the show, but all eyes were on him. He played with the energy of a much younger man, the years falling away, shaved off by every lick he hit.
Guy, who took the stage in a ball cap, a white shirt with dark polka dots and dark pants, played with mischievous energy; he was a trickster and a seducer, flashing a grin and drawing the crowd in with his prodigious guitar skills and vocal variation. He would alter pitch and delivery, roaring one line of a song and then slowing down and whispering the next several. It is a trick that might not work if someone else tried it, but Guy’s effortlessly cool, his confidence and his sheer stage presence had the audience leaning in and hanging on his every word and chord.
Throughout the show, Guy would occasionally go into what appeared to be his signature move: shoulders hunched, arms close to his side, fists balled up, moving his hips from side to side. It was a little silly, probably meant to be a little suggestive, but he made it work. He has the raw charisma that has carried him through his career and has been on display during shows in North Texas for years. It seems odd to say that someone of Guy’s age has sex appeal, but he still comes across like someone who could walk alone into any bar in the world and walk out with someone on his arm.
While Guy played his set with all the panache of a blues veteran, the only downside to the show was that the audience did not engage with him at the level he operated at. There were times throughout the evening when he would try to get the crowd more engaged, but it often seemed like the response was muted. There were certainly people dancing and singing along, but it was clear Guy was craving more.
The major exception came when he played the opening notes of “Feels Like Rain.” When the song began, the audience clapped and cheered, and Guy relished it, leaving space throughout for the crowd to jump in and sing the chorus with him.
Toward the end of his set, Guy mixed things up. He experimented, using unconventional means to draw sounds from his guitar, rapping a drumstick against the strings, laying it flat and running his arm up and down it, then swatting at it with a towel. He told a story about the first time his son saw him play at a blues joint and what it meant to their relationship, then brought his son out on stage to perform a song with him.
From time to time, Guy would take breaks from playing to speak to the audience, sharing funny stories and moving personal anecdotes. He talked about teaching himself to play the guitar, about not knowing about running water until he was 15 years old and went on an extended riff about where honey comes from (a long tangent that seemed aimed at the older attendees). Multiple times throughout the evening, he assured the crowd that, if he could, he would play all night long.
“Texas, I love you, and I always will,” said Guy as he wrapped up. He talked about togetherness, about no one ever being right or wrong all the time and shouted out the blues musicians who paved the road for him, some of whom came from Texas. It was a moment of absolute sincerity, a reminder that even someone as legendary as Guy is part of a continuum, and the music he loves has history here in the Lone Star State.
When Guy was finished, he walked the stage, tossing guitar picks into the audience. The crowd roared, giving him a standing ovation and making it clear that here, at least, the blues is still alive.
Like Buddy Guy himself, they just seem to get better with age.
