For my first post on the first day of this blog I am going to talk about a show I went to this evening featuring a blues guitarist/singer/harmonica-ist named John Hammond. I had only heard the name before attending the show so did not quite know what I was in for other than a night of acoustic blues. If anybody reading this post is not familiar with his work there are some pretty good videos on youtube you can check out. The venue for the show was Chicago's own Old Town School of Folk Music. A building that has been witness to some incredible shows over the past 50+ years it has existed, however tonight happened to be my first experience at a concert there. I was seated in the balcony section of the 150 person seat venue. John opened the show with a fast-paced number that featured him singing and playing harmonica. I impressed by the way that his guitar and harmonica playing melded together perfectly with his voice. He was obviously a talented musician but the richness of his voice was truly amazing. His set included songs written by the likes of Skip James, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, and other blues legends as well as a few that John had written himself. What I found most interesting about his choice of covers was the fact that he had had the opportunity to see each song either performed by its writer or perform it with them. During the set John switched between playing a standard 6-string acoustic and a steel guitar that he mainly used for slide-playing. The ability to switch between the two guitars with impressive embellishments as well as include harmonica gave him plenty of variety to hold the audiences' attention for the duration of the set and keep things interesting despite relying on fairly standard blues progressions throughout.
Although the set stood on its own musically what was equally interesting and thought provoking for me was the sense of history he conveyed with his storytelling in between songs. He has been performing professionally for over 40 years and has the experience that comes along with that type of lifestyle. One particular story he told stands out in my mind. He described a concert he played in 1963 opening for Jimmy Reed at Radio City Music Hall. Ok, amazing story on its own, however, at an All Star Blues Show in 2004 he was approached by John Fogerty who stated that he had been in attendance that night in 63' and wanted to compliment him!
At 65+ years of age John Hammond brought energy and originality to a set filled with music that extends even further back in time and continues to influence listeners. Overall, a great experience and a musician that is more than worth checking out. Lived.
