The laid back atmosphere which is Discovery Green in downtown H-Town was the perfect back drop for the gig. Takin’ the stage with little fanfare Gary did a slow intro jam as if to loosen himself up. It was incredible. It did not take long to see how talented this 27 year dude is. His guitar style was so fluid and smooth.  Almost effortless.

Combining with a solid back up of Johnny Bradley on stand-up bass, Zapata! on bad ass guitar of his own, and a beyond workin’ skin masher JJ Johnson this show ROCKED.

Getting rave reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone and being anointed as a “savior of the blues” are heavy accolades to live up to, but Mr. Clark seems to be able to handle it and then some.  Already building a killer resume which has had him play along legends like BB King, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and Jeff Beck to name a few at the Crossroads Fest in Chicago and Bonnaroo is quite stout to say the least.

Working off thee only release he has to date,’ The Bright Lights’, Clark rolled from one number to the next without sayin much at all.  He let the music-and his guitar-do all the talkin’. He fuses the Stevie Ray Vaughn sound, but to me leans more to the Hendrix side of the fence into his own signature sound and delivery. Scratchy wicked sounds with little flashiness was beyond cool, especially when I went up front and plopped my ass right at his feet and let myself be mesmerized by his performance. In a nutshell, this cat scorched me back to the rockin’ blues arena of live music.

Gary Clark Jr. is a must see performer.  His new album comes out in the spring of 2012 and I’d check him out while his tickets are still inexpensive and he is still accessible to his fans………..CYA “somewhere” soon out there in music land!