The Fabulous Thunderbirds� keyboardist, Gene Taylor (formerly of Canned Heat, etc.), performed on Downchild�s 2004 CD, Come On In, along with a slew of other famous blues players, like (Dr.) Jeff Healey, so the event seemed like one big happy family getting together to celebrate the past and present.
The Fabulous T-Birds did, in fact, focus on their newest CD, Painted On, but there was an interesting addition of covers, including The Beatles� �Slow Down�, Muddy Waters� �She�s 19 Years Old� and Lazy Lester�s �I Hear You Knockin��. They also played their biggest hit, �Tuff Enuff�, to wild applause.
The band�s mainstay is, of course, Kim Wilson, on vocals and harp, who performed an extended blow-out that almost (but not quite) surpassed John Mayall�s classic harp opus, �Room to Move�. For the first five or so minutes of it, Kim was accompanied only by drummer Jimi Bott�s rock-solid sense of rhythm and dynamics. Long after Jimi left the stage, Kim was still furiously wailing away, non-stop, on his beloved harmonica � exhilarating!
Where laying on the boogie-woogie is concerned, Gene Taylor would have done the recently deceased "king of rock'n'roll" Long John Baldry proud, and I heard echoes of Little Richard (Penniman) in there, too, by way of guitarist Nick Curran�s rockin� vocals. Kirk Fletcher�s more blues-oriented and phenomenal guitar work complemented Nick�s rock sensibility perfectly, and the whole performance was anchored by bassist Ronnie James (Weber) - powerful stuff indeed!
The individual members of The Fabulous Thunderbirds are recording artists in their own right and have released their own projects to wide acclaim, and deservedly so.
One man in the audience, who was well over six feet tall, seemed to think he was attending at Massey Hall or something. He strongly objected to my standing to the right of this outdoor stage (the better to see and hear, my dear), whining that he and his partner�s seated view would be partially obstructed, despite my standing directly behind the videographer already stationed there. My refusal to move was eventually vindicated by the entire area in front of the stage filling up with excited dancers who knew what the concert was really all about � rockin� the blues away, and we did!
Top R:ight: Kim Wilson (vocals & harp)
Bottom Right: Jimi Bott (drums)
Photos reprinted with permission of
Mako Funasaka of Talkin' Blues.
