With the music press hyping Robert Cray’s last two CDs as modern Memphis soul, one might well have imagined Al Green’s tour bus parked in front on Napoleon Avenue this particular evening. However, soul was not on the menu, as Cray served up an enjoyable set of tasty blues. Fronting a band sans a horn section (bass, drums, keyboard), Cray played a lot of the material that made some scribes once refer to him as “The Savior of the Blues.” His lengthy set included “The Forecast Calls For Pain,” “It’s Because of Me,” “Bad Influence,” “I Guess I Showed Her” and “Don’t You Even Care.” The only “new” song I recognized was “The Twelve-Year-Old Boy,” and that’s stone blues. Cray’s encore included “Smoking Gun” and it really did smoke. Cray’s playing has only improved over the years and I’d recommend that aspiring young blues guitarists put away their Stevie Ray Vaughan and Johnny Lang CDs and give this man a listen. A stellar show indeed. Can’t wait until he’s back in town.