#567 > Ghost Town Blues Band Live @ Prairie Dog Blues Festvial – July 28, 2022

 

Ghost Town Blues Band

Live @ Prairie Dog Blues Festvial – July 28, 2022

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin

By Phillip Smith; June 28, 2022

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

* All Photos by Phillip Smith

 

For the first time, Prairie Dog Blues Festival had live music on the Thursday evening preceding the festival to get things going.  For this inaugural addition to the festival, the chosen band to kick it all off was Memphis Tennessee’s Ghost Town Blues Band.  Playing two ninety-minute sets with a minor break in between, they performed all of their fan-favorites, as well as a lot of deep cuts.   The show was colossal to say the least.

 

 

#410 : Ghost Town Blues Band - Shine

2019 – Ghost Town Blues Band
By Phillip Smith; Sep. 28, 2019

I’ve been anxiously awaiting this new album from Ghost Town Blues Band since first hearing about it this past Spring.  It was indeed worth the wait.  Shine, the band’s fourth studio album, and fifth overall is downright spectacular.  Soulfully packed in roots and blues, each of the dozen original songs stand out in their own way.  With singer/guitarist Matt Isbell as front-man, this Memphis-based band consists of guitarist Taylor Orr, saxophonist/producer Kevin Houston, trombonist Suavo Jones, bassist Matt Karner, drummer Andrew McNeill, with Cedric Taylor on B3 and piano.  

The feel-good energy of “Running Out of Time” delightfully ushers the album in.  I love the Allman Brothers vibe and the sweet sound of slide guitar.  “Soda Pop” is a downright blast.   Isbell fearlessly rips it up on cigar-box with some hard-driving blues.  The song is definitely one of my favorites.

Although “Shine” and “Givin’ it All Away” were both on GTBB’s live album, Backstage Pass, I embrace the new studio recordings.  Guest vocalists Paul DesLauriers and Annika Chambers both make an appearance on title-track “Shine”.  This beautiful feel-good song always puts a smile on my face. “Givin’ it All Away” is one bodacious jam.    The jazz-soaked rhythm from McNeill and Karner set the stage for a captivating performance from Suavo amid the swirling sounds of guitar and B3.  I enjoy it immensely.               

The funky groove of “Dirty” sinks its psychedelic claws in deep as Orr tosses out screaming cool-as-hell guitar licks.  I dig the rap break injected into the song by Suavo too.  It truly gives the song an extra dimension.  With a chockful of emotion, Orr gives a heart-felt delivery on “Carry Me Home”.  It’s such a great song.  Illana Katz Katz makes a guest appearance on “Hey There Lucinda” with violin in hand.  This absolutely lovely song delicately brings the album to a close.         

Shine is one of the best records I’ve heard this year.  I give it my highest of recommendations.

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For more information about the artist, visit this website.. www.ghosttownbluesband.com  

#388 : Ghost Town Blues Band Shine – (sneak preview review)

By Phillip Smith; April 14, 2019

This week, I had the honor of getting a sneak preview of the new and upcoming Ghost Town Blues Band album, tentatively titled Shine.  After hearing just a few of the songs, I am very eager to hear the album in its entirety once it is released.  “Shine”, which appeared on their live album Backstage Pass last year, now has a studio version.  I’m delighted the way this song embraces the Memphis sound as it does.  GTBB injects the spirit of the Allman Brothers into new tracks “Lying To Yourself Gypsy Queen”, and “Running Out of Time”.  They wonderfully sit in that Muscle Shoals pocket.  There’s an inescapable groove on “High Again” that takes a hold of me.  This one will definitely be a fan-favorite.  “Dirty”, a very cool track, filled with psychedelic Clapton-esque guitar licks, and funky fueled rap from Suavo, is another treat indeed.  I'm liking what I 've heard and have a feeling this album is going to be spectacular. 

For more information about the artist, visit this website: www.ghosttownbluesband.com

#383 : Ghost Town Blues Band live @ Moline Viking Club - March 24, 2019

Moline, Illinois

By Phillip Smith; March 26, 2019

I was happy as a lark to see Ghost Town Blues Band return to the region on their latest Canada/Midwest tour.  They truly are one of my favorite bands.  Presented by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, and hosted by the Moline Viking Club, the show featured two bodacious sets of riveting high-energy blues.  Fronted by Matt Isbell on lead vocals and guitars, Ghost Town Blues band is also comprised of lead guitarist Taylor Orr, bassist Matt Karner, drummer Andrew McNeil, organist/keyboardist Cedric Taylor, and trombonist Suavo Jones.

As soon as the band kicked the first set into gear with “Hate to See Her Go”, and “Memphis Blues”, I knew it was going to be a sensational show.  They broke out “Dust the Dust” and ”Big Shirley” too, the latter of which sweetly rolled right into Led Zepplin’s “Rock and Roll”.  I loved the funky two-fer including “Shine” and "Givin’ It All Away” from their latest album, Backstage Pass.  Suavo belted out such a tremendous solo on trombone.  It was absolutely amazing.  Isbell pulled out his one-of-a-kind cigar box guitar he made out of his late grandmother’s silver drawer for an enthralling performance of “Road Still Drives the Same”.    

With a Bourbon Street-style entrance, horns and drums in hand, the band marched back into the venue for the second set playing “When the Saints Go Marching In”.  That was so fun to watch.  They played “Memphis Train” and “Tip of My Hat” soon after.  When they broke into the Beatles’ “Come Together” though, it was quite magical.  Like sword-wielding knights, Suavo and Isbell squared off.  While Suavo extended the outer slide tube of his trombone skyward, Isbell held his cigar box high in the air, nailing every note as the guitar neck maneuvered about the trombone as a slide.  It’s such a unique and amazing feat to witness.  Afterward, Orr gave a smokin’ guitar solo on “One More Whiskey”, then the band wrapped up with a spectacular extended jam on “Whipping Post”.  It was such a wonderful evening of music, I can’t wait to see them again. 

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* All photos by Phillip Smith     

#336 : Ghost Town Blues Band - Backstage Pass

2018 – Ghost Town Blues Band

By Phillip Smith; June 9, 2018

Ghost Town Blues Band’s Backstage Pass is one of the best live albums I’ve heard all year.  With every listen, I fall head over heels for its long soulful jams heavily steeped in American blues and roots.  From the beloved city of Memphis, Tennessee, Ghost Town Blues Band is composed of lead vocalist/guitarist Matt Isbell, guitarist Taylor Orr, Suavo Jones on trombone, Kevin Houston on sax, Tim Stanek on the Hammond B3, piano and keys, bassist Matt Karner, and drummer Preston McEwen.  Produced by McEwen, Backstage Pass consists of nine splendid tracks recorded live at Lafayette’s Music Room in Memphis on July 29, 2017.

The album breaks out with a smashing cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together”.  This sounds fabulous with slide guitar and horns.  I love the way they weave bits of “Norwegian Wood” and Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” into the fabric of the tune.   I will be sadly disappointed if this song does not make it on the next Fried Glass Onion compilation series (a tribute to the music of The Beatles, performed by Memphis bands).  They take on the Allman Brothers’ signature song “Whippin’ Post” with true justice and a truck load of responsibility, bestowing the listener with a beautiful and amazing sixteen minute jam.  Isbell’s guitar performance is stellar.  Their cover of George Porter Jr’s (The Meters) “I Get High” is a bouncy and funky treat loaded with contagious horn riffs and more head-turning guitar.  McEwen is a bodacious drummer, and keeps everything in check. 

“Shine”, drenched in that good ol’ Memphis soul greets the listener like an old friend whose face has not been seen in a long time.  The Stax sound is definitely represented here with the swirling organ and those cool little blasts of horns led by Isbell’s wonderful and gravelly vocals.  From their Dust to Dust album, GTBB revisits “One More Whiskey” a blues-soaked ode to drinking which Isbell tops with a tasty side of harmonica.  This is a fun tune indeed. 

   

I had the privilege of catching the band in Memphis earlier this spring at the Beale Street Music Festival.  With cigar box guitar in hand, stretching as high as Isbell could raise it, Jones proceeded to extend his trombone to its outer limits, to use the far-most edge as a guitar slide until that cigar box just plumb gave out.  After several attempts at reviving that guitar with no luck, Isbell put his own creation out of misery with a mighty rock-and-roll Pete Townsend style bashing.  They outshined every act I saw that day, and quite frankly, most of the other acts I saw that whole weekend.  They were truly amazing, as is this album.  It’s ridiculously good.

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Ghost Town Blues Band live in Memphis, Tennessee at
Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival 2018
Photo by Phillip Smith