Last night we saw Buddy Guy and George Thorogood at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston. The last time we saw him was in 2004 when we brought our friend Frank to see him at the Casino Ballroom at Hampton Beach. Having been BB King's bus driver for 20 years, Frank knew Buddy Guy when Buddy was just starting out. The two had a wonderful reunion and Buddy was very sweet and gracious to both Frank and Craig and myself.
When Frank passed away in 2005, we put together some little photo albums and distributed them to folks who were close to Frank. We wanted to give one to Buddy Guy, but didn't have a chance until last night. His guitarist Ric was quite friendly and delivered the photos backstage to Buddy Guy, for which we are very grateful. Buddy did a great set; he was in top form. He played selections from his new album "Skin Deep" (the title track is excellent!!) as well as old favorites such as "Hoochi Coochie Man." He brought local 9 year old New Bedford blues prodigy Quinn Sullivan onstage and they traded licks on "Who's Gonna Fill Those Shoes". Buddy walked through the crowd during "Drownin' on Dry Land", and finished up with a much shorter-than-usual segment of impersonations of other blues guitarists such as Eric Clapton (a falsetto "Strange Brew") and Stevie Ray Vaughan as he raced the clock before he needed to get off of the stage. The crowd was loving every minute of it. From the second row, I was able to get some surprisingly good photos.
After a short break, George Thorogood and the Destroyers took the stage. They blasted through song after song, with special guests such as Barrence Whitfield on maracas and Elvin Bishop on guitar. "Fix Her"..."I Drink Alone"..."One Bourbon, One Scotch, and One Beer"..."Bad to the Bone"..."Move It On Over"...I couldn't stop dancing. By the end of the night, Thorogood comically collapsed on his stomach onstage while the Destroyers took bows, and then got up for one more number. They wrapped him in a bathrobe and he left the stage.
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