David Gogo made his Kitchener debut at the Boathouse
yesterday afternoon. |
Linden, Gogo light up Boathouse with acoustic blues
The Boathouse refers to itself as both a restaurant and a music house.
The emphasis yesterday afternoon was on house of music when it opened
its doors to two of the country's best bluesmen.
Bridging east and west, north and south, Colin Linden and David Gogo
blew the roof off the Victoria Park music hotspot on the strength of
close to three hours of electrifying acoustic blues.
The Toronto-born Linden, who now hangs his signature black hat in
Nashville, and the Nanaimo-born Gogo are two of a kind.
Both are steeped in the rich tradition of the blues, which they have
absorbed into the marrow of their musical bones. Both are solid songwriters
and vocalists and both are superb guitarists.
Gogo got things off to a blazing start in his Kitchener debut with
a set of nine songs over 50 minutes.
In addition to introducing some original material, he covered Johnny
Winter (whom he opens for during a December tour), Texas songwriter
Tony Joe White, and Howlin' Wolf, the legendary bluesman Gogo and Linden
admire with equal devotion.
Gogo's set, enhanced by his vintage arch-top, dobro and National
Steel guitars, confirmed that the multiple award-winning West Coast
blues artist is every bit as exciting playing solo acoustic guitar
as he is fronting his two high-powered blues bands -- one based in
Vancouver, the other based in Ottawa.
Linden plowed his way through 18 songs over 75 minutes.
Colin Linden gave fans a taste of his new album
yesterday at the Boathouse. |
He smiled throughout with one of the warmest grins in contemporary
music, and it was obvious from his few words he was having a ball.
He didn't allow anything to get in the way of the music.
He offered the enthusiastic capacity crowd a taste of songs from
his forthcoming solo acoustic album, Easin' Back to Tennessee, and
served a sampling from Southern Jumbo, released earlier this year (Sugar
Mine, Go Back Old Devil, Which Way Does the M&O Run, as well as
the title track).
He also dished up Skeleton Key, Spirit of the Golden Tone and the
title track from Big Mouth; Before the Blues from Raised by Wolves;
and Homesick in My Backyard and Sad and Beautiful World from Through
the Storm, Through the Night.
Whether showcasing lightning fingerwork on his sunburst Gibson acoustic
or slick bottleneck slide on his dobro, Linden demonstrated why he
is such a sought-after guitarist as well as producer.
Linden called Gogo back up on stage for I Give Up. As always, he
ended with Remedy, complete with his customary tribute to the late
Rick Danko -- "Wherever you are, this is for you."
The first encore featured a song each by Gogo and Linden. On the
last, the two guitar titans switched instruments -- not once, but twice
-- to the delight of the uproarious crowd.
"What a great place to play," Linden exclaimed to a house full of
agreeably nodding heads.
rreid@therecord.com
© 2005 The Kitchener Record. All Rights Reserved.
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