Concert Review: Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Pittsburgh PA, December 9th, 2011

admin    Reviews     Blues, Kenny Wayne Shepherd

There’s something special about seeing an artist mature before your own eyes. I’ve seen Kenny Wayne three times before and like all great artists, he gets better each time.

Back on his first time through Pittsburgh, he was a nervous kid that had great chops, but his stage presence was something that needed to be upgraded. That was back in 1997.

Fast forward to today and it’s quite clear that he’s found his comfort zone on stage.

The Venue: Carnegie Library of Homestead

The seating holds over 1,000 people and even if you are in the back row, it’s still intimate enough that you’ll see a great show.

Unless you have THIS GUY STANDING UP ALMOST IN FRONT OF YOU as I was trying to look at the gear and pedals getting laid down to help out with his set.

At least he sat down when the talent came on.

The opening act would’ve been better if it weren’t for the muddy sound of the bass and drums. Honestly, I couldn’t tell, but my partner in crime tonight is a sound board guy and he’ll be adding his thoughts on a regular basis here soon…

So, the lights get dim and Kenny opens with “Never Lookin’ Back”. Immediately the tone is way better, hence part of the reason he’s a national act and the opening band remains local.

They continued to play some more songs from the new album before playing some older stuff. As the concert progressed, there was only one thought that continually ran through my mind. What was Chris Layton thinking about as he heard all of this? Sure, SRV has been gone for over 21 years now, but there has to be some similarities that popped into his head.

Of course, the encore wrapped up with “Voodoo Child” and it was absolutely mind-blowing to see this song performed by my generation’s best Blues player.

There are some other great moments that took place, but those are reserved for those who saw the show. All I’ll say is, anytime that you can see a great artist perform, DO IT. The web is great, and social media is cool and everyone has fun playing angry birds on their phones.

But nothing beats seeing a great artist work his craft on stage. Those moments can’t be shared through this medium. You just have to see it live and experience for your self.

MXR M-116 Fullbore Metal Distortion Effect Pedal

admin    Reviews     Boss Pedal, Distortion Effect, Effect Pedal, Marshall, Metal Construction, Metal Zone, Mutes, Palm, Palm Muting, Solid Construction

This pedal finally puts to rest the aging Boss MT-2 Metal Zone pedal. Solid construction and a sound to match. Full control over the mid tone without getting unnatural tones. Palm mutes like a Marshall Lead. It’s found a permanent place on my pedal board.