Last night was opening night for Ray and his band and as always his voice shakes me to my core. You could tell the full band (bass, drums, piano, second guitarist) with Ray were still getting their grounding and polishing their newer songs. He played almost the full new album and it is going to be a good one. “Henry Nearly Killed Me” & “Hey Me Hey Mama” seemed to get this mostly sitting crowed up on their feet. Many have express the melancholies of his first two albums, and I think his newest one will surprise people with his wide range of vocal and musicale talent. But don’t be fooled this album will have its basic Ray that we have come to love.
The use of a slide guitar player (and also just a basic blues guitar) for more of the solos was a wonderful pairing to his basic acoustic style. His classic songs came across as great as ever and ended with 2 encores (the second being him and his guitar). Having the whole audience sing “Shelter” & Trouble” for him was a stunning show of how far this man has come, and you could tell by how gracious he seems to be on Stage.
While Ray, I think would be better seen in a smoke filled bar or smaller venue it is a test of his growth that lead to a packed theater on a fall night.
Partial Set List: You Are the Best Thing, Empty, Three More Days, You Can Bring Me Flowers, Let It Be Me, I Still Care For You, Meg White, Roses & Cigarettes, Winter Birds, Sarah Gossip On the Grain, Wild Horses, Trouble, Jolene, Shelter, Hold You In My Arms…
No comments:
Post a Comment