Blues rock reigned on the Acura Stage yesterday as Jazz Fest kicked off its second weekend with some relatively cool weather and a fair amount of rain.
Leading the charge was headliner Tedeschi Trucks Band, who delivered a soulful set of tunes that featured material from all three of their albums, as well as a few choice covers. Helmed by the husband-and-wife duo of Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, the group kicked off its set with the titular track from their 2013 record Made Up Mind before moving into a joyous “Laugh About It.” that was capped off with a delicate solo from Trucks.
In fact, that’s how much of the show went, with Tedeschi’s passionate vocals creating a nice foil to Trucks’ equally passionate soloing while their sizable band provided a perfect foundation for the two of them to strut their stuff. It was a classic fusion of R&B, soul and a heavy dose of blues led to fantastic new arrangements of tunes like The Box Tops’ “The Letter,” The Coasters’ “Let’s go Get Stoned,” Titus Turner’s “Stick and Stones” and The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends.”
Speaking of friends, the band definitely got some help from a few of them. Originally billed as “Tedeschi Trucks Band & Friends,” the set featured extended sit ins from blues guitarist/singer-songwriter Jimmie Vaughan and ZZ Top guitarist Billy F Gibbons. Vaughan came out about six songs into the show to take charge on renditions of his own’ “Let The Good Times Roll” and “I Like It Like That” before Gibbons took the stage for an rousing cover of Freddie King’s “The Palace of the King.” Tedeschi dedicated the following cover of B.B. King’s “How Blue Can You Get” to the late blues legend, who was both a friend and inspiration to the band. The “friends” portion of the set then came to a close with a take on ZZ Top’s “Goin’ Down To Mexico.”
TTB original “Bound for Glory” before the show climaxed with fan favorite “Midnight in Harlem.” While the song has been a staple of pretty much every set the band has played since 2011, its gentle-yet-soaring peak never fails to leave the crowd in awe. The throngs of festivalgoers that raised their arms up to the sky at that moment provided enough evidence to justify any theory that live music can be akin to a religious experience.
While TTB were undoubtedly the day’s highlight on the Acura Stage, the Gary Clark Jr. set that preceded it wasn’t too shabby either. The Austin-based guitarist once again proved that he is a master of the blues solo as he pushed through his Blak and Blu hits “Bright Lights” and “When My Train Pulls In.” If there was any issue with Clark’s set it was from the lack of dynamism displayed by his backing band. Whereas TTB (with their admittedly much larger ensemble), created a full sound that was taken to new heights by Trucks’ guitar wizardry, Clark’s backing band came off as somewhat stale when the leading man wasn’t working his magic.
Between TTB, Clark and an earlier set from French Quarter Fest headliner (and OffBeat’s May 2016 cover artist) Sonny Landreth, it’s safe to say that blues rock was the unifying theme for the Acura Stage on Thursday. If there’s a better way to spend a gray, damp weekday afternoon in the Crescent City, then I haven’t heard about it.
