Sweet Home Chicago, 70 times over

On Saturday morning, I went to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. While she was a charismatic performer with a great Janice Joplin-esque voice, the songs didn't grab me the way I had hoped. And sometimes it seemed like she was working a little hard on the stage presence thing. I guess my lukewarm response to their performance was...well...either due to the fact that the coffee hadn't taken effect yet...or reflected in the fact that I only took about 5 photos of their set. And they were all blurry. Argh.

This is the best of the pack:


After this, shuffled over one of the main stages for Buddy Guy's show. Waited for what seemed like hours in the 90+ degree sun...but the wait (and the cooking) were well worth it. Needless to say, the contrasts (between the first two acts) could not be more stark.

Here is the legend himself, stepping onto the stage for the first time:


This man has earned every last ounce of his status as a legend. An absolutely arresting performer, charismatic...lecherous...and a guitar player to make the most accomplished weep in despair.

So...there's a word in that previous sentence which probably needs a little explanation. You see, most of the lyrical material that comprises The Blues is...well...blue. That is to say, the subject matter is often of an erotic nature. Buddy Guy takes an almost obscene glee in his interpretations of that subject matter.


Owns a famous blues bar in Chicago, appropriately titled Buddy Guy's Legends. Turned 70 years of age just about a month after his performance at Bonnaroo. Happy birthday, Buddy, and many happy returns!


What a joy the man was to watch. If you ever get a chance to see him perform live, do it. Travel, buy plane tickets, whatever you have to do, make it happen. He's not going to live forever, and you will have missed out in a huge way if you don't.

Is There A Rock Star in the House??

Taking a break from our regularly scheduled Bonnaroo programming, I wanted to take a post here and let you in on a little secret.

Survivor (yes, *that* Survivor) is alive and well, rocking out festival crowds all over the country this summer. Because I am a lucky bastard and was in the right place at the right time, I got to relive some of my middle school fandom for a few hours a couple of Friday nights ago.


Here's the scoop: I do some freelance work for a webdesign company called Artsite Design. One of their clients is Survivor. Because I take kick ass rockstar photographs, and they needed new content for the website's redesign, I got tapped to toddle off to Sterlingfest in the Detroit suburbs.

Press pass in hand (well ok, not really in hand...it was a "virtual" press pass) I was able to get backstage, watch the meet and greet with the local bigwigs and snap some great photos.

Oh, and did I mention that these guys still rock?

It was remarkable that I still knew all the words to so many of their songs.

As with all scenes where artists of any stripe are involved, there has been some drama in the history of Survivor. They now have a new singer, Robin McAuley. He's a fantastic frontman.

Frankie Sullivan is the founding guitarist and driving force behind Survivor these days. Here is a shot of him and Robin rocking Sterlingfest:

A few more to come...