Cray delivers spirited performance
Published: July 19, 2009, 12:30 am
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The skies of Western New York were not at their friendliest Saturday night. While the rain that pattered down from the clouds Friday and earlier Saturday was missing, the breezes delivered a chill that caused most people to layer their clothing and bundle up in blankets. In the harbor, the Spirit of Buffalo was swaying in the waves while banners were flying all over the Erie Basin Marina.
Concert headliner Robert Cray even commented on the gusts, talking about the chances one takes when putting an outdoor event on the schedule. He also took note of (and a couple clever jibes at) a loud, funky party being held on the USS Little Rock that could be heard in the background throughout most of his set and that of the preceding act on the stage, the John Hammond Trio.
Cray’s Band has an almost new look; guitarist Cray and keyboard wizard Jim Pugh are still there but the other half of the quartet is new, sort of. The newest person in the band’s lineup is master drummer Tony Brunagel whose studio credits include stints with Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’ and B. B. King, but the bass slot has been turned over to Richard Cousins, who rejoined the rhythm section after a prolonged absence.
Cousins is an antic force on stage, running around and grinning while playing some monster bass lines. Sitting behind his drum kit, Brunagel pops the skins with force and on time. The pair is a formidable combination, one with a funky flexibility that creates more room for the guitarist and keyboard player to play around with the melody.
In addition to Cray standards like “Strong Persuader” and “Our Last Time,” the band whipped through some new material from their forthcoming album, “This Time,” and looked like they were having a good time doing it.
The John Hammond Trio did a more traditional blues set, with Hammond playing acoustic guitar and harmonica in addition to his strong, idiomatic vocals backed by a drummer and bassist. He also had a relatively new album to plug in addition to older riffs originated by Lightnin’ Slim and Billy Boy Arnold.
Opening up was Indigenous, a quintet that featured the talented guitarist/vocalist Mato Nanji but could have gotten by with being a quartet if they had left the slide guitarist home.
Concert Review
Robert Cray Band
With the John Hammond Trio and Indigineous Saturday night as part of the Buffalo Place Rocks the Harbor at Erie Canal Harbor.
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