Saturday, August 5, 2023

#627: Kurt Allen Band - Live at the Flatted Fifth : Aug 4, 2023 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 


Kurt Allen Band

Live at the Flatted Fifth – Aug. 4, 2023

Bellevue, Iowa

By Phillip Smith; August 5, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com


It was great to finally catch up with Kurt Allen Band on their current tour.  I had reviewed this Kansas City artist’s Whiskey, Women & Trouble album in 2020, and been wanting to see him play live since.  His guitar prowess and whiskey-soaked vocals make for a spectacular combination onstage and in studio.  Backed by Josh Wright on bass guitar and Greg Schaberg on drums, Allen kept his fans fully entertained for two extraordinary sets.

The first set opened with a super-funky cover of Anthony Gomes’ “High Calorie Woman” before tearing into a tuneful, rocking original “Sweet T”.  Schaberg delivered a second-line backbeat as I got caught up in the groove on “Cry Mercy”.  The vocal harmony between Allen and Wright sounded terrific on their cover of Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love”.  A smokin’ performance of “Hoochi Choochi Man” led into a glorious cover of “Soulshine” by the Allman Brothers.  That was followed by a blissful one-of-a-kind take on Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” which brought the first set to an outstanding finish.     

The second set began with a personal favorite “Graveyard Blues”.  The slide-work on this was amazing.  “How Long”, Allan’s homage to Led Zeppelin drew me right in.  I loved the cover of the George Harrison song “My Guitar Gently Weeps”.  Allen took this to places I never imagined it could go.  It was great to hear the swinging rockabilly original “Whiskey, Woman & Trouble”.  Ending the set with bow in hand, Allen reminded me of Jimmy Page as he brought the sounds of the cosmos to the Flatted Fifth while Wright keep the thunder rolling on bass for their intro to “Better Think Twice”.  I was so captivated, grabbing a photo at the time never crossed my mind.  The demand for an encore was so great, the band blessed us with a performance of Alvin Lee’s “Slow Blues in C”.  It was fantastic.

Kurt Allen Band keeps the energy high and focused on the music, making for a very enjoyable listening experience.  The band is certainly on my watchlist for when they swing by this area again.    

 

---

 

 

Set 1

 

High Calorie Woman (Anthony Gomes)

Sweet T

Cry Mercy

Sunshine of your Love (Cream)

Watch Your Step (Willie Cobb)

Hoochi Coochi Man (Muddy Waters)

Soulshine (Allman Brothers)

Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)

 

Set 2

 

Graveyard Blues

Funky Bitch

RoadRunner

How Long

My Guitar Gently Weeps (George Harrison)

Bad Love

Voodoo Queen

Whisky, Women & Trouble

Better Think Twice

Slow Blues in C (Alvin Lee)

 

 

*Photos by Phillip Smith





















No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.