Keb' Mo'

HOB, Anaheim

This was a special performance. Not special in that he was playing the House of Blues, just special because he was playing. Period. I knew when I walked in I was going to dig the show. Two beautiful six strings, and hiding out in the back ... a National steel guitar. Mmmmm Mmmmm. Gotta love it. So as I started drooling waiting for that little beauty to be picked up I checked out the crowd. I'll admit I'm no spring chicken by any means, but man that crowd was old. It's kind of a pity that there were so few young people there. I don't know, maybe you have to be a little aged or burnt around the edges before you can appreciate this kind of music. Anyway, the show was great. It consisted of Keb for the most part with occassional accompaniment by another guitarist, playing either the National, a banjo, or a freakin' beautiful looking and sounding Martin six-string. I just wanted to run up on that stage and start stealing those little pieces of music making. But I behaved. 

Keb has a beautiful voice, and it fits the blues to a tee. He's also got a great stage persona, and will make you laugh, or just plain get into it. There was lots of finger pickin, slide playing, foot tapping, and fancy fingerwork. It's shows like this that bring me back to realizing where I want to go as a guitarist, and how miserably far off I am from that lofty goal. Keb played a good selection of slow blues, faster stuff, and kept the crowd going all night ... for the most part. There's always some drunk fuckers shouting out the names of songs or just plain talking during the slow numbers. It's ok at another kind of show, but not one's like this. Enough bitching though. I will make an admission here that this is the first show I've cried at ... blame it on City Boy ... played on that steel guitar. Like the rest of the night, it was magical. If you like the blues at all, play guitar, or just want to see a really good show .... this is one of the best show's of it's kind I have ever seen. Don't miss him.

The Latest (Feb 04)
Man ... this was the show. No opener or warmup. Just 2.5 hours of Keb'. Totally different from his first show, this time Keb' brought along a drummer, bass player, keyboard player, and the same guitarist who played with him at the show described above. Definitely an uptempo night, with no sitting down, it was a rare treat to see this guy play. He totally loves what he's doing and it comes through in his presence and his music, making it all the more magical. Add in a good sense of humor and a big dose of fan appreciation and you've got one of the best shows I've ever seen. One note on the audience ... it was still the same old crowd, but the neat part was the kid standing behind me who knew of Keb'  and had brought his parents (who didn't know him) to the show  ... totally kewl.

Keb's website can be reached here.