{"id":1895,"date":"2005-04-22T20:00:17","date_gmt":"2005-04-22T20:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=1895"},"modified":"2015-10-20T14:30:40","modified_gmt":"2015-10-20T14:30:40","slug":"derek-trucks-band-meridian-houston-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2005\/04\/22\/derek-trucks-band-meridian-houston-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Derek Trucks Band – Meridian – Houston, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Samuel Barker <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apr 22, 2005 at 08:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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\"Image\"It was during the \u201cyoung blues guitarist\u201d wave of the mid-90s that I became aware of Derek Trucks. Trucks was the odd man out in the trio of himself, Johnny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. While Shepherd has the flowing hair and good looks and Lang had a voice rivaling Joe Cocker\u2019s, Trucks merely had the most pure talent and understanding of the guitar, which doesn\u2019t go as far in today\u2019s market.When Trucks started up the Derek Trucks Band, he hit the road hard to play everywhere he could, which led to a call from the Allman Brothers Band for him to step in on guitar doing all of the old Duane Allman slide parts; an offer that no guitarist could refuse.<\/p>\n

Rather than lay the band down and do the Allman gig full time, Trucks decided it best to play with the Allmans and spend his off time on the road with his band. The fruits of this is having the Derek Trucks Band\u2019s live album, Live at the Georgia Theater<\/em>, nominated for best live album by the Jammies.<\/p>\n

Enough of the history for now, it\u2019s time to see if Trucks and company could bring it to a live audience here in Houston, TX, which has a strong history of solid blues guitarists to hold Trucks up against.<\/p>\n

First off, the Meridian looked the part nicely. Tables were lined up across the floor to give an old Juke Joint feel to the club, smoke filled the air and soul played on the sound system as gear was being set up on the stage. Everything felt right for a quality night of blues.<\/p>\n

As the lights fell and the band took to the stage, Trucks began plucking notes with his fingers and vocalist Mike Mattison cooed into the microphone. Trucks\u2019 soulful guitar licks combined with Mattison\u2019s smooth as silk vocals brought everything together in a beautiful mixture that sent shouts from the audience and people into dancing fits.<\/p>\n

After a few songs, Mattison took a breather as Trucks and the rest of the band went into a freeform jazz jam. Showing the understanding of his instrument that sets him apart from his contemporaries, Trucks effortlessly changed tempos and styles throughout the night bringing the sound to life in songs that had meanings and tales rather than guitar exhibitions that so many other guitarist turn their sets into.<\/p>\n

This was a show that brought the house down as the beer flowed, spirits lifted and feet danced the night away. Glad to see the Meridian took a chance on a show like this and gave the audience something to be thrilled about. The blues just feels at home here in the Bayou City.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Samuel Barker Apr 22, 2005 at 08:00 PM It was during the \u201cyoung blues guitarist\u201d wave of the mid-90s that I became aware of Derek Trucks. Trucks was the odd man out in the trio of himself, Johnny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. While Shepherd has the flowing hair and good looks and… <\/p>\n

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