Taj Mahal Trio (photo Park Theatre, Cranston RI)
Renowned blues artist played to packed house at The Playhouse
I can’t say if it was sitting in soft seats or the artist but something failed to connect on Friday night during Taj Mahal’s performance.
It’s almost a sacrilegious to make that statement since Taj Mahal is one of the giants of modern blues.
The man is a living legend. His CD The Best Of Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal Trio filled the soft seated theatre, but when the lights went down the audience more or less went to sleep. Maybe the mainly boomer crowd was ready for an early night at 8:30 pm. There were only a few people not sporting grey hair and bald heads in sight.
“Look there’s a young couple,” my companion said.
“Theatre audiences need to ask themselves: ‘What the hell is going on?” said Taj Mahal. “We’re asking these musicians to come and perform and then we sit there and draw all the energy out of the air.’ That’s why after a while I need a rest. It’s too much of a drain. Often I don’t allow that. I just play to the goddess of music-and I know she’s dancing. (Blues Nexus)
I agree. Stand up in the aisles and dance. This is the blues for the love of God not Mozart.
Along with a tiny bit of commentary, I’ll post fan videos from some recent concerts.
Taj Mahal at Copper Country Music Fest September 2011 courtesy of MsKrink
Taj Mahal is ironically more familiar to white blues audiences and he has considerable charisma which was in fine form. His patter was witty and kept people engaged between songs.
He was backed by a solid two piece including drummer and bass player. They laid down a solid groove that kept my toes tapping.
On hits like Fishing Blues, people got a little groove going. My toes was tapping to Annie Mae, Corinna and Take a Giant Step.
Rick Fines, who is an accomplished reproduction of Mississippi John Hurt, by way of comparison is not even in Taj Mahal’s league and he knows it. Despite that, Rick Fines seemed to connect better with the audience.
We weren’t allowed to record or take pictures in The Playhouse, which meant no fan pics. I wasn’t even allowed to turn on my iPhone to take notes. The Playhouse is one uptight place to stage a blues performance.
What’s was with his guitar?
It may have been Taj Mahal’s guitar amplifier which was set with lots of chorus and highs to ear jarring distraction.
He had an array of hollow bodied electric and acoustic guitars that all sounded the same – jangly. Even the great nylon string guitar came out sounding like it was a cheap guitar through a cheap amplifier.
No lows and mids, the guitars were harsh sounding which was disappointing considering how well Taj Mahal can play. I scoured YouTube for recent concerts and this may be his new sound. It baffled me all night. Why make your instruments, which could sound mellow and balanced, sound so jangly?
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