I have seen Buddy Guy perform on enough occasions to know that he always delivers his ‘A’ game, but Sunday’s performance at Indian Ranch was spectacular! The weather even cooperated by not raining until the show ended!

Buddy Guy

Buddy, who recently turned 79 years old, shows no sign of slowing down or losing his touch. He is still one of the finest players in the blues world.

Buddy Guy

Buddy came to the stage and was greeted with a standing ovation from an audience that was clearly eager to see him. He acknowledged us and immediately joined his band which was already playing.

Buddy Guy

What a showman! Sure, he delivered some of his classic antics such as playing the guitar behind his back and plucking at the strings with his teeth. I am not sure I have ever seen him hit the strings with a towel or pound on the strings with drum sticks as I did at this show.

Buddy Guy

He has become a bit more sassy and irreverent these days. Early in the show, he said, “I use a little profanity occasionally, and it’s not right. It wasn’t right twenty years ago, and then hip hop came out. Now, I say whatever the f*ck I like!” He peppered his speech with a bit of profanity (not that it bothers me) for the remainder of the show!

Buddy Guy

Buddy also felt no compunction about talking back at the audience! At one point, a man stood to heckle Buddy who said, “Sit the f*ck down and be quiet!” Good for Buddy! He also responded (positively) to people who yelled out that he is loved.

Buddy Guy

I have not found a set list and am quite bad at recalling song titles. He played the title song from his new album, Born to Play Guitar and may have played others from that record.  There were riffs of ‘Purple Haze’ and some Mississippi Fred McDowell as well. ‘Skin Deep’, ‘I Just Wanna Make Love to You’, ‘Damn Right, I Got the Blues’, and ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ were also on the set list.

Buddy Guy

He alternated between slow, deep blues and hard-driving blues, never failing to keep the attention of the audience.

Buddy Guy

There were even some Blues Brothers in the audience who clearly enjoyed the show!

The Blues Brothers

Buddy is backed by a terrific band, The Damn Right Blues Band, consisting of Marty Sammons on keyboards (we had some great eye contact when I was shooting), Tim Austin on drums, Orlando Wright on bass, and Ric Hall on guitar.

Marty Sammons

Ric Hall

Tim Austin

Orlando Wright

I had a moment with Buddy when he came to my side of the stage to play. I was grinning behind the camera and he grinned right back at me and held my gaze for about thirty seconds! That is something I will cherish for years to come.

My moment with Buddy Guy

My moment with Buddy Guy

Opening for Buddy was local favorite Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers. Winners of the 2014 Boston Blues Challenge Competition, they brought their brand of Charles River Delta Blues to the crowd and the crowd responded positively.

Erin Harpe

Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers

Backed by her husband Jim Countryman on bass, Bob Nisi on drums, and Richard ‘Rosy’ Rosenblatt on harmonica, Harpe played songs from the début album, Love Whip Blues, as well as music that will appear on a forthcoming album.

Erin Harpe

Jim Countryman

Richard ‘Rosy’ Rosenblatt

Bob Nisi (with Richard Rosenblatt and Erin Harpe)

I have been listening to their album for almost a year and am glad I finally saw them perform! I now want to see them in a smaller venue where they are the headliner.

Erin Harpe

At the end of Buddy’s set, he left the stage while his band continued to play for several minutes. The crowd clamored for Buddy to return to the stage which he did not do. I read that the band does this to enable him to get out of the venue before the crowd realizes he’s gone; I have no idea if this is true, but he did not return to the stage for an encore.

Buddy Guy and Ric Hall

I would have loved to hear more from him (I am sure I am not alone in that sentiment), but I left the show feeling that Buddy delivered a stellar performance and that more than satisfied me.

Ticket courtesy of Indian Ranch; all opinions are my own.