Robert's Review of Carolina Lite Blues at Emerald Point, 5/16/98

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The Carolina Blues Festival featured a virtual Royalty of the blues with Koko Taylor the Queen of the Blues, The Duke of Swing - Duke Robillard, Corey Harris one of the young princes, and from the land of royalty - John Mayall as the Royal Father of British Blues.

Sponsored by Miller lite and the Piedmont Blues Society, this festival again brought a great selection of blues acts to the triad region of NC. This time they played at Emerald Point - a water park featuring water slides, wave pools, etc. A very strange place for a blues fest. The water park areas were closed off which was too bad because the day and music were both hot.

I arrived late as The Duke Robillard band jammed with Duke's guitar and the two horn players swinging away. Nice playing with a loose sound but I couldn't get it into focus enough to enjoy it.

Koko Taylor was her usual great self, her band was led by the great guitarist Vino, who took the Blues Machine through Willie Dixon's "I just want to make love to you" with a blend of "Big Boss Man" before bringing on Koko. She then led the audience through new classics like a reworking of a Bob Seeger song into "Come to Momma" and old classics including "I'm a Women", "Hound Dog", and of course "Wang Dang Doodle" before ending the set with "Big Boss Man." Koko and the band are tight but they tried to stretched out a bit on "Two trains running" but they didn't get very far. They were not quite as powerful as they were at last years Bull Durham's Festival perhaps because the time for the sets was a little tight. But still a great show.

The festival had a major coup by getting as its headliner John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers on their 30th anniversary tour. Led by the father of British Blues John Mayall on organ, piano, harmonica and vocals and featuring Buddy Whittington on guitar. Mayall's early bands were known for their guitar players. Eric Clapton played for one album and then left to form Cream. He was replaced by Peter Green who played for one album and left to form Fleetwood Mac. Then Mayall got wise he hired a seventeen year Mic Taylor as guitarist who stayed for a couple of albums before leaving for the Stones. After that, Mayall swore off of lead guitarists for awhile and came up with his best known number "Room to Move."

This night the bluesbreakers started out with a song and then Mayall joined them for a song from their new album. But just when it was time for Buddy to solo - their power went out. Power for everything but Mayall's mike & keyboard. So he played a piano boogie solo while they worked on the power. Then the power was ready and they played his old classics 'Hard Road", and "Pretty Women" - then the power went out again. By this time thunder and lightening were crashing around and they decided to hold off for 20 minutes and wait for the storm to pass. It did, they continued and Buddy played Clapton's role on "Have you ever loved a women" and they ended with the classic "Room to Move" which besides the great harmonica playing also featured a nice solo by Buddy.

The crowd loved Buddy's solos especially when he pounded away at the climax of the solo. He was very good but I felt that his rhythm work had too much of the power chord sound and overpowered the rest of the band. But then maybe it was just the sound system or remembering Mick Taylor or Peter Green playing the songs.

A great show - the audience went wild & I left very happy. It took me back, well almost thirty years - another great night of the blues.



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