Why subject myself to such inner turmoil for the sake of some scrawny quintet from South Carolina? If you have even half a recollection of what. With the sentimental swell of the drippy power ballad "Cisco Kid," grapefruit-size lumps well in the throat, and critical discretion takes a back seat to emotion. For info, call 266-9294.Īlbert Hill - As the pristine arena-rock chorus of Albert Hill's "Northbound" rings out over the stereo speakers, the critic in me withers, to be replaced by my inner rock and roll child. Friday, January 24, at Billy Blues Bar & Grill, 6025 Richmond Avenue. Fortunately, there are artists such as Rush who care more about being true to their own musical vision than they do about pleasing the experts - especially since pleasing the crowd is far more important than fitting any critic's stereotype.īobby Rush performs at 9 p.m. There's an unfortunate tendency among scholarly blues experts to disdain artists whose blues look to the future and make use of "contaminants" such as funk, soul and rap. But rest assured that Rush's live shows are as unprogrammed as they come. One Monkey's one fault is that it relies too heavily on programmed keyboard tracks (there are some modern influences that the blues should embrace hesitantly, if at all). It's his irreverent takes on relationships that make classic tracks such as "Hen Pecked" and "Jezebel" as topical as they are timeless. Still, seeing the humor in life is never beyond Rush's reach. When Rush truly gets down and serious, as on "Blues with a Feeling," he lights a torch that reveals the genre to its gloomiest depths.
It's easy to tell from the lyrical truths expressed in a song such as "People Sure Act Funny" that Rush's mind is as busy as his fingers meanwhile, the funky thump he returns to the blues fuels a creative energy that sets his music ablaze. Rush's latest CD, the self-produced One Monkey Don't Stop No Show, demonstrates his novel take on the Delta rule book while at the same time it highlights his strengths as writer, guitarist and harmonica player.
It's that heritage that Rush mixes with a joyous gospel influence to make some of the most contemporary blues around. Before there was rap and funk, there were funky-ass talking blues that could land on you like a regulation pool table. His rap workout "I Wanna Get Close to You" could, should, but probably won't teach an entire hip-hop generation about honestly expressed emotion that is far from obscene, insulting or demeaning. Though Rush's foundation is firmly in the Delta, he's opted to build on tradition rather than rely on it, successfully - at times hilariously - segueing heavy elements of funk and rap into his mix. He may be a master songwriter and guitarist, but he's also a clown and a cutup, one of the more riotous road shows in blues today. Different, but definitely brilliant.Back when responsible adults refrained from using words such as "smart-ass" in the presence of children, a relative of mine affectionately described certain people as "wisenheimers." And while that expression's meaning may have been mangled in translation over the generations, I think it's safe to say that blues bad-boy Bobby Rush qualifies as a wisenheimer. You can hear it in their other songs too, the kick-ass lyrics, you get confidence as a girl when you listen to them, and that’s great. That’s pretty neat to me, it makes me feel powerful as a girl. Normally you would think that it’s the girl who’s the “child”, but since it’s Lzzy who’s singing, it seems as she wants a boy’s “innocence”. She’s still the girl, but the roles are kind of different, turned in a way. The song is more of the bitchy type, if you know what I mean. The lyrics are not all that mushy and all about love. You really hear it in the mid of the song, after the bridge, “Child don’t follow me home”, I got chills the first time I listened to that. Lzzy’s got an amazing voice (her actual name is Elizabeth Hale, but her stage name is Lzzy). The song was actually co-written by Ben Moody, which is the co-founder, and previous member of Evanescence (ironically, I’ve listened to this for a while, and checked out just now about the song, and there his name was… funny how things like that happen to me). The song was released on their self titled album (Halestorm) in 2009. The band was founded by the siblings Lzzy(her actual name is Elizabeth, but her stage name is Lzzy) and Arejay Hale (thereof the name Halestorm). Well, Hello! Today’s song, and first artist for this challenge, is “Innocence” by the American rock band Halestorm.