Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival / August 10th, 2008 / Deer Lake Park / Burnaby, B.C., Canada
On
a day when the stars came out, long before the sun went down on the ninth
annual Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby,
British Columbia, the star that shone the brightest belonged to Grammy Award
nominee, R&B / Soul artist Ryan Shaw. On August 10th, the city
hosted the festival and while some may argue as to whether or not all of the
music fell into the category of blues and roots, there you could not deny,
that once again the festival attracted some of North America’s most talented
performers.
The day kicked off with Americana artist Tom Taylor, whose show also featured legendary singer / songwriter Shari Ulrich playing the fiddle and mandolin. Taylor demonstrated good stage presence and the crowd immediately warmed up to the performer and his ballads. Taylor had a host of quality musicians backing him, including, bassist Peter Lepine, Steve Dawson on lap steel, and David Hughes who doubled on electric guitar and banjo. Taylor alternated between electric and acoustic guitars and while his playing is not flashy, it is smooth. The song that offers the most promise is his original composition “Wagon Train.” Taylor is one of those artists whom you cannot judge by the music that you will hear on his myspace site, because it seems that his best music is tied to his onstage persona.
Blues guitarist Tommy Castro may be from California, but he exudes the kind of charm one associates with those from the deep south. If young artists want a lesson in how to be, an entertainer and a showstopper they need look no further than this San Jose native. Castro is about much more than charisma. He is a superb guitarist, good singer and an excellent songwriter. One of Castro’s best songs, “I’m Not Broken,” is a blues rock tune, with an early sixties sound and featuring Castro’s torrid guitar riffs. The melody and rhythm are contagious and the song is easy to sing along with. The lyrics make this a working man’s song, “I just put one foot in front of the other / I put my nose to the grindstone and work like a mutha / I believe I’m going to make it, I got no doubt / Just as long as I’m breathing in and I’m breathing out / The rich get rich / And the poor get poor / Wonder who I’m Working for / I’ve got no time / For sugar coatin’ / I may be broke / But I’m not broken.”
Castro played a mix of older tunes and several from his new CD Painkiller, including the title track, a raucous song about addictive love. The crowd also demonstrated their appreciation for “It’s That Time Again,” a song reminiscent of James Hunter’s “People Gonna’ Talk.” The song, “It’s That Time Again,” featured some fabulous horn playing by saxophonist Keith Crossan, whose performance resume includes siding for Marty Balin lead singer and founding member for Jefferson Airplane. Crossan also toured with Mary Wells, Sam Moore, Lenny Williams, Benny King, Percy Sledge and Frankie Valli. Trumpeter Tom Poole, who among his many accomplishments, recorded with Boz Scaggs, blew some sweet notes.
Performing for the second time in Vancouver in as many months, Shelby Lynne turned up the heat with “Breakfast In Bed,” from her current album Just A Little Lovin, while she looked into the eyes of a photographer and softly cooed. Earlier in her career, Lynne was a bit harder edged and was intensely scrutinized by the media. These days she has reinvented herself, with a more expansive repertoire and easily establishes a strong connection with her audience. Her expression of gratitude to her fans exudes warmth and authenticity.
Between songs, Lynne told the concertgoers, “I always like to sing the songs that the storytellers wrote. I like to tell the story.” There are few artists that possess her knack for relating a southern ballad. The Alabama native creates the feeling that you are sitting on the front porch trading good ol’ stories and that is particularly evident on her cover of Tony Joe White’s, “Willie and Laura Mae Jones.” She belted out the line, “The cotton was high,” and she was soulful on, “that was another place and another time.”
Photo of Tommy Castro by Joe Montague, all rights reserved ©
