Kenny Wayne Shepherd is one of those guitarists who seems to effortlessly hit the sweet spot between rock ‘n’ roll gunslinger and soulful blues man. Whether flying solo, or providing support in The rides, his deft mastery of the six-string is a joy to behold and always best appreciated live. Having spent time on the road with the acclaimed Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, Mascot have put together a spectacular CD/DVD (or blu ray) set, which is both an essential purchase and a welcome addition to Kenny’s catalogue. Captured on stage at Rockpalast and featuring twelve tracks, this beautifully shot show captures Kenny and his seven-piece band (complete with horn section) in full flight in front of a rabidly appreciative festival crowd.
Opening with the bright and breezy Woman Like You (the band’s most recent single), all of Kenny’s trademarks are intact – a killer riff, a taut beat (Chris Layton) and, of course, Noah Hunt’s wonderful vocals. It makes for one hell of an opening and, by the time the song has blazed past, Kenny has the audience eating out of his hand. Next up, Buffalo Springfield’s Mr Soul is given a ferocious working over that benefits from a driving beat and the gorgeous additions of the horn section. It’s a turbo-charged, soul-blues revue of a classic track, and it leaves the viewer breathless. Steadfastly refusing to ease the pace, an explosive Long Time Running is anchored by a grueling bassline, whilst the harmonies remind us of Kenny’s strengths as a vocalist. With the camera prowling the stage, we get the best possible view of a full-tilt performance, and credit is due to the crew running the stage and filming that day.
Sticking with awesome new album The Traveller, the horn-soaked blues of I Want You sounds even bigger on stage, as Kenny steps up to the mic and Noah adds additional guitar to the mix. The flexibility of the band is just one of its many strengths, and it is a tribute to all involved that ego is always secondary to the needs of a given song, with every musician given a chance to shine across the course of the show. I Want You, however, is Kenny’s moment in the spotlight, and his incendiary fretwork threatens to burn the stage clean down. Those expecting some respite won’t get it just yet, however, as Kenny leads his band into a take on Diamonds And Gold that has all the energy and panache of the Blues Brothers in its delivery, eclipsing the already impressive studio version in almost every conceivable way.
Not forgetting the blues root that has always informed his playing, Kenny heads down a swinging path with the cocky strut of Elmore James’ Talk To Me Baby delivered like a shot of whiskey in a speakeasy, the call and response vocals a particular delight. Then there’s the eleven-minute epic, Heat Of The Sun, which sees the whole band focused on delivering a performance that has the entire audience stopped dead in their tracks. With Noah once more at the mic, and delivering the performance of a lifetime, the whole band hit a peak on a track that is utterly irresistible. If the short, sweet Down For Love acts as a palette cleanser, a nine-minute reworking of Shame, Shame, Shame (harking back to Kenny’s 1995 debut) serves to remind us that Kenny had it right from the start – the wild horns and rippling guitar no less potent than on more recent fare such as Woman Like You. Once again, Noah shines behind the microphone, and you can tell the whole band are having a blast on the stretched-out, slow-paced blues the track makes its own.
With the set coming to an end, the final four tracks are where the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band leave their mark on the festival crowd. The Stones-esque blast of Turn To Stone certainly packs a hefty punch, although it’s arguably eclipsed by the driven road-rock of mega-hit Blue On Black (from the band’s sophomore effort), which seems to evoke the wide-open landscape of Arizona in its dusty riff. With the audience’s appetite for a classic sated, the fast-moving King Bee explodes into vibrant life before a crushing take on Hendrix’s Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is delivered like a cannon ball, the instantly recognizable, wah-soaked opening eliciting wild applause from the packed audience and bringing the show to an unforgettable conclusion. As Kenny solos like a man whose soul is still floating around the Crossroads, the band cast off any possible suggestion of tiredness and deliver a finale that is soaked in adrenaline. It is a masterclass in paying tribute to a legend, and it marks the conclusion of an unforgettable show.
Beautifully shot, recorded and played, this 90-minute show is the final word on the brilliance of the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. There’s not a single duff note, not a moment wasted and the set list; packed with a mix of the new, the familiar and a couple of well-chosen covers; is perfectly paced to attract both the seasoned fan and the newcomer. Is there such a thing as a perfect live show? Watch this, and you have your answer. 10/10
