The singer, songwriter, and guitarist delivered a standout performance, celebrating the storied history of the blues through his own unique take on the genre.
Keb Mo
SPRINGFIELD – Kevin Moore had a case of the blues on Saturday night, and the audience at Springfield’s Symphony Hall knew it.
Better known as Keb Mo – one of contemporary blues music’s brightest stars – the singer, songwriter, and guitarist delivered a standout performance, celebrating the storied history of the blues through his own unique take on the genre.
With a palette of influences ranging from the acoustic, finger style blues of the 1930s, to the smoky, gritty Chicago blues of the 1950s and 1960s, to more funky modern variants, the three time Grammy winner proved himself to be equal parts entertainer and historian throughout his set, bringing the packed house at Symphony Hall on a journey through American music.
Standing alone on stage with only his resonator guitar, Keb Mo channeled the spirit of the legendary Robert Johnson to kick off the night, performing renditions of “Every Morning” and “Infinite Eyes” with a raw, Delta blues style that featured sparse guitar playing punctuated by bursts of noise courtesy of his bottleneck slide.
With the rest of his band joining him shortly thereafter, Keb Mo would switch musical styles on a dime with “Life is Beautiful,” a folk-inspired number that would fit on a James Taylor record with ease, thanks to the singer / guitarist’s keen sense of melody and soft guitar chords.
Much of the night, though, would be dedicated to the electric side of the musician, with his band – consisting of Les Falconer on drums, Vail Johnson on bass, and Michael Hicks on keyboards – kicking into high gear during funky tracks such as “Government Cheese” and “More Than One Way Home,” which also brought Keb Mo’s lead guitar chops to the forefront.
In one of the night’s most memorable and spontaneous moments, Keb Mo would lead his band mates – and the crowd – through “America the Beautiful,” with Hicks showcasing an impressive range while performing lead vocals.
In fact, at multiple points through the night, Keb Mo showed willingness to step out of the spotlight entirely, giving both Hicks and Johnson ample room to improvise, with the latter providing a number of tasty bass licks.
As the set moved forward, the band’s performance would grow more spirited and energetic, with Keb Mo himself revealing a bluesy wail that’d make B.B. King proud in songs such as “The Whole Enchilada,” and “Dangerous Mood.”
In these two songs in particular, Keb Mo would also put on a clinic for aspiring blues guitarists, performing a pair of jaw-dropping, extended guitar solos showcasing his technical mastery over the instrument.
Coming back out for a pair of encore performances, the night much like it started – with stripped-down renditions of “Am I Wrong” and the boot-stomping “She Just Wants to Dance,” wrapping up a marathon set lasting nearly two and a half hours in length.
Over the course of the performance, too, Keb Mo would practically give the audience a history lesson on the amplified guitar, too.
Switching between the time-honored “quack” of the Stratocaster, the raspy thump of the Les Paul, and the harsh, steely tone of the resonator guitar, the sure-handed bluesman used a different instrument on nearly every song of the night.