Tedeschi Trucks Band with Buddy Guy
Beacon Theater NYC 5/22/25
On an unseasonably cool and rainy May evening, Tedsechi Trucks Band continued their six-night residency at the Beacon Theater on the upper west side of Manhattan. Making this fourth night of the run extra special was that it was the last to have the legendary Buddy Guy and his band opening the show.
The 88-year-old blues legend kicked off the night with his trademark tune "Damn Right, I Got The Blues" as he looked and sounded half his age. During a fantastic version of "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man", which segued into "She's Nineteen Years Old", Guy delivered a screeching guitar solo and strong singing. Guy chatted with the crowd and gave some sage advice, "Sometimes you need to shut the fuck up and listen!", words to live by.
"Feels Like Rain" was led by a slower bass groove as the crowd provided the vocals for the chorus. Ric Hall helped Guy out with some soaring solos of his own while "I Just Wanna Make Love To You" dovetailed into "Chicken Heads" from the legendary Bobby Rush. Guy ended his excellent opening set with a run through of pieces from a few classics as the segue fest of "Grits Ain't Groceries">"Sunshine of Your Love">"Take Me To The River">"Cheaper To Keep Her" all displayed his and the band's strengths, funky riffs, meaty grooves and dripping blues.
With this being their last night with Guy, Susan and Derek set up some chairs, busted out the acoustics, bringing Buddy back out to start their set. The trio easily strummed, slid and sang a few blues classics like the old friends they are. "I'm In The Mood" and "Same Thing" were the focus of their acoustic playing as they laughed and enjoyed the special moment as if the sold-out crowd wasn't there.
Guy left and the full 12-piece band joined for "Wah-Wah" as the George Harrison cover rang out. The band was a large rhythm and soul review, and an early highlight was the burning "Outside Woman Blues". This smoking effort found Derek and Susan dueling to start with fiery solos, highlighting both of their playing. "Down In the Flood" featured the raspy Mike Mattison on lead vocals as Trucks guitar work (switching axes mid tune) rang gloriously out before a pair of Derek and the Dominos tunes.
"Bell Bottom Blues" was sung expertly by Tedeschi, but the highlight of the whole show was the full bands top-notch rendition of "Why Does Love Have To Be So Sad?" which used funky strums, hard drum hits, and multiple solos all around. While the brass and backup singers expand the outfit's sound and appeal, the focus of everything is Trucks who is one of the best guitarists alive, his ability to keep these classics sounding fresh is to be commended.
TTB took up the organ drenched cover of Taj Mahal's "Everybody's Got to Change Sometime" while the end of the set was focused on an extended version of "Midnight in Harlem" that started jazzy with a laid-back sax solo before the finale "I Want More", a driving rocker that included a spin through "Beck's Bolero". Huge brassy horn hits colored the band's soulful blues encore of "I Pity The Fool" which put a bow on a strong night of passionate blues and rock & roll.
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