Concert Review: Boz Scaggs at the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN 9/14/2008

I took a break from the hard stuff tonight and decided to see Boz Scaggs. I had never seen him live before this evening, but like all you old-schoolers, I've been hearing his hits on classic rock radio forever. And since I've really never seen a bad show at the Ryman yet I figured the chances were high I'd be seeing a great show.

With Boz, you get a little bit of everything, and it's all good. Blues, soul, rock and roll, jazz, New Orleans honky-tonk, ballads, funk; it was all here tonight. He came out looking dapper in a black jacket and white shirt, still in great shape but with a little touch of grey. But who cares about all that; can the man still sing? Absolutely. The soulful voice his still loud and clear, going high and low, soft and loud, and very smoothly to boot. And his playing is still right on also.

Wasting no time, the band started right off with perhaps his biggest hit, "Lowdown". Right here I could tell this would be a good show. The first thing that bounced out at you was the impressive rhythm section. The drummer was just cruising hot and the bass player sharp and perky. There was also some nice flute work and good backing vocals from Monet Owens and Barbara Wilson. Singing lead, Mr. Scaggs was content to showcase the playing of his talented band, and they were worthy of the spotlight.

Next up was another favorite, "JoJo", featuring some really tight sax work. Scaggs tours with an eight piece band, and they all came to play. "Slow Dancer" was next, a slow tune with some excellent, bluesy organ, bringing back to mind the days when the Hammond was king. In "Desire", Scaggs came more to the forefront with some really nice wah-wah. Now it was time to go to New Orleans. "Hercules" by Allen Toussaint, a song about the poor conditions right in his backyard, had Scaggs noting the similarities to New Orleans today. Staying with the Louisiana theme, Fats Domino's "Sick & Tired of Fooling Around With You" featured great honky-tonk piano and a fantastic trumpet solo that just oozed New Orleans jazz and had some people on their feet. A little rock, a little jazz.

Getting back to the hits, we heard the easy going and dreamy "Harbor Lights" with an incredibly jazzy clarinet ending that again made the crowd take note, the funky "Miss Sun" which featured a vocal duel between Scaggs and Ms. Owens that resulted in a full standing ovation, and "Street Life", a jazzy number that featured Ms. Owens solo. I don't know if she has gospel roots but it certainly sounds like it. And she would obviously be the leader of the choir.

Now it was time for some big guns. Scaggs slowed things down beautifully with the poignant "Look What You've Done to Me", which was part of the soundtrack for "Urban Cowboy" in 1980. His vocals were particularly tender on this one. This was followed by the upbeat "Georgia" with some real nice horns, and finally, the other song that you're most likely to hear on FM radio, "Lido Shuffle".

I was totally satisfied by this time, but the crowd wanted more. Since he didn't save his big hits for last, I was wondering what hits I was forgetting that Scaggs could do in the encore. But as this night was going so well, he didn't need to play any big hits. Everything was sounding great and the crowd was definitely knowledgeable of his material, so he pulled out two treats from the goody bag.

He started with a rocker, "Breakdown Dead Ahead". After a small fake towards backstage while the rest of the band went nowhere, he held up his index finger and asked "One More?" And that's when I heard my favorite song of the night, the super-bluesy "Loan Me a Dime". It was one of those blues songs that just has everything. It starts out slow and tender, with lots of well-timed silence. Throw in some classic feel-the-pain vocals, and then a gradual build-up to a smoking guitar solo that Scaggs does all on his own, and you're in blues heaven. But the song didn't end there. It continued with another round of vocals, and finally the rest of the band did their thing, including some great blues organ one more time. It made you proud to love the blues.

So the next time you need a break from the hard stuff, don't settle for one alternate genre, go see Boz and get a taste of it all.