Bluesfest 2013 – Day One
DAY 1
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
This first act we saw on arrival at Bluesfest, and what an act! Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue were super dynamic and had an amazingly full sound. They set a HUGE precedent for rest of the weekend. We watched in amazement and lost track of all time as they belted out their incredible tunes. Shorty was like Chris Tucker, Wayne Brady and Will Smith all in one! The entire band were depressingly skillful and Shorty took the trombone/trumpet to places we’d never heard before. Sneaky soul inclusions like the ‘I Want You Back’ bass line and nods to soul super-hits made sure the crowd was pumping – more than it already was! Must see again!
Counting Crows
The crowd around enjoyed and recognised all their slow and depressing songs. The lead singer looked to be on the verge of a theatrical breakdown. So were we. We evacuated the MOJO tent and found that liberty much more rewarding than waiting for ‘Mr. Jones’. (I later discovered, via the Bluesfest Facebook page, that they actually didn’t even play ‘Mr. Jones’)
The Robert Cray Band
To quote Glenn: “This song’s about doing it” (in the kitchen, with the neighbour’s wife, in the middle of the night etc.)
Robert Cray’s skill on a guitar is as sexy as the content he alludes to. He feels every note and executes it to perfection. Player of the more traditional slow and moody blues, Cray does so with effortlessness. We especially enjoyed the tinkering of Cray’s organ player named “Pastel Motif” whose skillful solo and swagger working the mounted camera charmed us to no end.
” ♪ You’re just another note on my guitar ♪ “
Rodriguez
The JAMBALAYA tent was massively crowded to see the ‘Latino Dylan’. After many knocks, spilled red wine on my shirt (from someone attempting to drink in the over-crowded tent) and long time waiting – he appeared. He sounded exactly like Bob Dylan: voice, song and delivery. Others more familiar with his work basked in musical glory. Yet Sarah and I were bored after three songs (not Dylan fans of any particular fashion) and made a tight escape to the remainder of Jason Mraz’s set.
Jason Mraz
A very impressive and full sounding set. The crowd got up for ‘I’m Yours”, of course, but we more enjoyed his other funkier songs. His reggae version of “Remedy” was a refreshing and highly enjoyable re-imagining of a song also heard hundreds of times on the radio. He was accompanied by a woman percussionist/backing vocalist who at times threatened to steal the show. Together, however, they sounded brilliant and powerful.
Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite
Good, slow and funky. By this time legs were exhausted and mind was all blues’d out. After a third of their set bed seemed a much more rewarding prospect. Even so, “I Don’t Believe A Word You Say” was one of the most potent “stuck-in-my-head” songs for the entire festival.
