• From: San Clemente, CA
  • Registered: 2011-02-19
  • Posts: 569

Topic: Gary Clark Jr (oh yeah and Black Oak Arkansas and Santana)

Hey all...things have been crazy busy lately. No time to write about the fun fall full of fabulous fandom.

Black Oak Arkansas at M15 (Corona, CA) ... like any 70s band so centered on their frontman, you have to be willing to listen, and not let watching remind you of the ravages of time. Jim Dandy in the 70s was a shadow of his current self, but the show was actually a whole lot of fun. Expecting the night to be joke-worthy, the best Southern Rock band (sorry Skynyrd fans, they couldn't touch BOA in their prime) delivered. Despite some difficulties with the mix (when youre at the stage at M15 the house sound is basically unhearable) JDM sounded great and while he may have lost a step he hasn't lost an <ahem> inch.

Next was Santana at the HOB in Vegas. Great band, great guitarist, great songs, great Aaron Sanchez jalapeno maple cornbread...and a somewhat forgettable night. To be fair, after the incendiary set at Woodstock, hearing Abraxas for the first time after being pretty much shutoff from new music while in the Army, and other great shows in the 70s it would be difficult to match the memories. A night to appreciate, but not a night to be moved by the music.

Which brings me to Gary Clark Jr at the HOB Anaheim. After another cornbred the night was chilled by an absolutely horrible band that played far too long. Im not even going to mention their name lest it was an off night...off beat, off key, off-ful, dare I say offal!

But GCJ totally killed it. I had only seen him in his great appearances in the 2013 Crossroads movie and was pretty awestruck by that. Then I watched some Youtubes, and was a bit disappointed, and I was a bit concerned about which GCJ I was going to see. No worries...it was a night full of blues/blues rock that has been matched only by JB in recent memory. He is 2d on my personal "don't miss list".

  • From: Maryland
  • Registered: 2012-05-13
  • Posts: 2,790

Re: Gary Clark Jr (oh yeah and Black Oak Arkansas and Santana)

We have tickets to see Gary Clark Jr at the House of Blues in New Orleans the night before Joe's show there in November. I was a little ambivalent about seeing him at first because of some youtubes I had also seen, but he did a great job on a PBS broadcast of Austin City Limits, so that was kind of the deciding factor for us.  Glad to hear you also liked him.

  • From: San Clemente, CA
  • Registered: 2011-02-19
  • Posts: 569

Re: Gary Clark Jr (oh yeah and Black Oak Arkansas and Santana)

nmagcorn wrote:

We have tickets to see Gary Clark Jr at the House of Blues in New Orleans the night before Joe's show there in November. I was a little ambivalent about seeing him at first because of some youtubes I had also seen, but he did a great job on a PBS broadcast of Austin City Limits, so that was kind of the deciding factor for us.  Glad to hear you also liked him.

I think you'll be glad you did. If its even close to the same set he did here you will walk away smiling, dare I say with close to that feeling after a JB show.  And don't forget the Cornbread!  The new lobster mac and cheese is good if your arteries can stand it, and the cheddar cheese soup!