CONCERT REVIEW
Delbert McClinton rocks the Studio
by Seth Rogovoy(PITTSFIELD, Mass., May 24, 1997) -- Backed by a bright, snappy, six- piece band, Delbert McClinton rocked the house to high heaven at the Studio on Friday night with his relentless brand of roadhouse R&B. The native Texan who has called Nashville home for the better part of the last decade entertained, teased and cajoled his fans for more than two hours of maximum, horn-drenched rhythm and blues.
McClinton was the picture of the workingman's rock 'n' roller. At 56, he wasn't about to attempt any acrobatic hijinks, but that would not have been his way in any case. McClinton's style is that of the no- nonsense journeyman, whose job is to sing his way through a dozen upbeat rockers, a dozen mid-tempo tunes and a handful of soul ballads, pushing his crew members -- the band -- along with him, and providing the soundtrack for the thousand or so listeners on hand to dance, party or just to forget momentarily the cares of the working week.
On Friday night, McClinton did all these things, with the seemingly effortless ease of the veteran he is. Mixing familiar tunes, a few covers and a generous helping of songs from his upcoming album, McClinton didn't have to work hard to convince the crowd to get in the mood for a party. Most of McClinton's songs are of the "forget your troubles and dance the night away" variety; the medium was the message, in a sense. Between the suggestive beat of the music and McClinton's own gospel-based testifying -- in this case, a more mundane brand of testimony -- the crowd got it, and went with it. It helped that from the get-go McClinton's band was top-notch, perkily spinning around every musical corner on a dime.
As for McClinton, the bandleader only occasionally picked up his harmonica. He stuck mostly to vocals and hand-held percussion. McClinton boasts a powerful, dynamic vocal instrument, although it was not invulnerable to hoarseness as the night wore on. It did, however, boast a strong character of its own -- his notes had a tangible, elastic quality that seemed to stretch out of his vocal cords and then stick to the air like glue.
With a few exceptions, McClinton played three kinds of songs on Friday night. There were a few roof-raising, Rolling Stones-style rockers, such as "Every Time I Roll the Dice" and "Somebody to Love You." Then there were a few, vintage-style soul ballads, such as "He Keeps Sending Me Angels" and Otis Redding's "I've Got Dreams to Remember." On these numbers, McClinton especially seemed like a Texas version of Van Morrison. The meat and potatoes of the show was plain, funky R&B, like McClinton's own hit, "Giving It Up For Your Love," and a cover of the Temptations' "Shakey Ground."
That McClinton succeeded at getting across to the crowd was no surprise. What did come as a surprise -- indeed, as a palpable shock to some -- was the powerful impact of the openers, local blues quartet Catfish Blue. The young group, whose members range in age from 16 to 21, had jaws dropping with its piercing, hard-bitten, original electric blues. Lead singer Todd Stentiford boasts a voice seemingly channeled directly from some 70-year-old bluesman in a Mississippi juke joint. Between Stentiford, who also plays guitar, and fellow guitarist Steve McPherson, the two offer a complete catalog of blues stylings, which they draw upon not to showboat but to devise uniquely suggestive combinations -- thus a Cream-style power chord might erupt out of a delta-style number. In tandem with the group's rhythm section, consisting of bassist Sean McPherson and drummer Conor Meehan, they boast an inerrant sense of swing, suggesting that they are really a jazz quartet lurking in a blues-band disguise. In any case, the group's sophisticated musicianship and intelligent virtuosity deserves a wider audience.
[This review originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on May 26, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
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