Wow. This afternoon I saw Randall Bramblett again with his band in a listening room about an hour from my house. As I navigated to the “Back Table” establishment in Greensboro, North Carolina I had no idea what to expect as far as the venue but I was excited as I knew I would enjoy the show.
No doubt. Randall is connected to so many of my lifelong favorite musicians and music that it is a thrill to watch them play. Randall is such a funky musician and he has that blues feel that resonates in my soul. He is a prolific song-writer and I love his take on just living like we all do. Not to mention he is another super nice person.
Well where do I start? I will tell you a few stories of this afternoon. I could recite the internet resume but what is the point? Randall has played with so many great musicians you just need to go look it up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randall_Bramblett
In the meantime let’s talk about today. I got there early and grabbed a latte to add to the espresso I had already drank to get me going from a late night of the Las Vegas GP race on eastern standard time TV. As I looked off to the right ordering my coffee Randall was getting ready for the sound check and the place was kind of quiet. This would only last a half hour or so as the place would completely fill up with music loving people. I smiled as I even asked a person next to me…”Is there like an age limit on the crowd?” She said yeah…”60.” Well they don’t know what they are missing and we mostly have the same color hair!
I talked to Randall about his albums and mentioned how I like “Throw My Cane Away” on his last album. This is the song he wrote about Dr. John. I will let him tell the story. This is from one of my favorite radio stations I fund. WNCW. Everyone should listen to this station. They have great music in many genres!
Randall and his band rolled through the solo hits one after another. He has so much music it is tough to even get a sample in a single show. I just sat back and took it in. I was amazed at the energy level after they played the night before in Chapel Hill. I am happy they are full of energy and still playing for us. I really am. As I said to Randall when I first greeted him before the show “It’s good to be here, it is good to be anywhere.” I took that from Keith Richards. I use it all the time and always will. Keep it positive. Stay healthy ya’ll.
Hey one other note. Randall talked about Howlin’ Wolf and Hubert Sumlin. I sit there and smiled as I spent seven years of my life in Greenwood, Mississippi. I went to first grade in Greenwood and then some. Hubert was born in Greenwood. I had a connection to that story. Hubert played with Howlin’ Wolf. See why I like this band? You should too. They are great!
At the brief intermission I talked mostly to Nick Johnson the guitar player about his gear and just whatever was going on at the moment. Nick was awesome on guitar but I will say the entire band was tight and really made my day. What a show! My favorite music. Blues, funk, soul, and rock. Nobody has the groove that Randall has. Nobody.
After helping to load the gear out I grabbed a photo. I enjoy helping a band that leaves all that energy on a stage for a crowd. This band did. I love helping to load gear and even setup a stage for a show. I really like to do it to support live music. These guys are great. I feel like getting on the road to go see them again. I have a feeling they will be back this way soon. Maybe I can do both options.
Thank you Randall Bramblett and band. What a great show! Life is good. See ya down the road.