duhvoodooman
March 23rd, 2011, 01:37 PM
When I saw this event advertised back around Christmas, I jumped all over it. I've been a HUGE Johnny A fan for a few years now, so seeing him was the big attraction for me. And the fact that he was appearing with Tommy Castro (the actual "headliner" for the show) was just gravy! I rendezvoused with a couple of old HS buddies, one of whom lives in the East Village and the other came down from the Boston area, and we caught the show last Wed. night.
Bottom line--great show, particularly Johnny A. Not only is he a fanastically talented player and instrumental arranger, but his tone is to DIE FOR. That Gibson signature model of his is one seriously gorgeous looking and sounding axe...and he had 3 of 'em on stage. He did several of the tunes off his two solo CD's, plus some stuff I'd never heard before, including Red House and Brown Sugar. Incredible level of musicianship throughout.
Castro was great, too, and he's got an outrageous band. I'm usually luke-warm on horns, but his saxophonist and trumpet player were both outstanding. I'd always thought Tommy was strictly a Strat man, but he played a Firebird all night long. Sounded great--nice balance of body & bite. I was particularly tickled to see he was playing through a little Mesa Boogie Transatlantic TA-15 head like the one I own, into a 4x10 cab, as I mentioned in THIS THREAD (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/18025-Tommy-Castro-s-live-rig....). He's quite the showman--and a helluva blues guitarist, too--and did many of his best known tunes.
Really enjoyed the venue, too. BB King's House of Blues is right in the Times Square area of Manhattan, on 42nd St. between 7th & 8th Ave. We had dinner & a few drinks--prices are typical "NYC high", but the quality of the food and the service was excellent, so no regrets there. All in all, a very enjoyable evening with old friends!
Bottom line--great show, particularly Johnny A. Not only is he a fanastically talented player and instrumental arranger, but his tone is to DIE FOR. That Gibson signature model of his is one seriously gorgeous looking and sounding axe...and he had 3 of 'em on stage. He did several of the tunes off his two solo CD's, plus some stuff I'd never heard before, including Red House and Brown Sugar. Incredible level of musicianship throughout.
Castro was great, too, and he's got an outrageous band. I'm usually luke-warm on horns, but his saxophonist and trumpet player were both outstanding. I'd always thought Tommy was strictly a Strat man, but he played a Firebird all night long. Sounded great--nice balance of body & bite. I was particularly tickled to see he was playing through a little Mesa Boogie Transatlantic TA-15 head like the one I own, into a 4x10 cab, as I mentioned in THIS THREAD (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/18025-Tommy-Castro-s-live-rig....). He's quite the showman--and a helluva blues guitarist, too--and did many of his best known tunes.
Really enjoyed the venue, too. BB King's House of Blues is right in the Times Square area of Manhattan, on 42nd St. between 7th & 8th Ave. We had dinner & a few drinks--prices are typical "NYC high", but the quality of the food and the service was excellent, so no regrets there. All in all, a very enjoyable evening with old friends!