Waterfront Blues: Young Guns, Part Two

Have you ever seen a concert that takes your breath away? Leaves you speechless, lost for words until the next day? Can't even talk to your girlfriend, in the car, on the way home (and it's not because she caught you looking at the girl dancing two rows in front of you).

I've seen those shows: Sting at the New York State Fair (though, mostly it was because Omar Hakim and Kenny Kirkland were playing with him); Lyle Lovett at the Landmark Theater; Keith Jarrett at Carnegie Hall; Cheap Trick almost anywhere (though the speechless part on that one came from screaming and singing along for 2 hours).

Add to the list: Ruthie Foster. I fell in love with her voice the first time I heard Give You My Love. Her set at the Waterfront Blues Festival was the one I waited for all weekend.

To say she was amazing is an understatement. From the minute she took the stage, she captivated everyone with her smile, her enthusiasm, her energy and, of course, one of the most amazing voices in music today.

No unnecessary pyrotechnics, no over-to-top feats of skill: just a voice that went from sweet to on-fire and back again. One minute: Sam Cook. The next minute: Bob Marley.

As her set walked through reggae, gospel, blues, soul and R&B, more and more people came toward the stage to dance or sit and listen, as if a magnet were pulling them forward.

She's been my Artist of the Year all year long; she may now be my Artist of the Decade.

Take a look at her a capella version of Son House's People Grinnin' In Your Face (which she did at the Blues fest with harmonies by bassist Tanya Richardson and drummer Samantha Banks) and buy all her records at Amazon.

Comments

[Jack]

WOW
really powerful - must have been amazing live