Rebel Pride & Blind Buddy Moody

We hit the town last night and spent the evening at Dave’s Aqua Lounge (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite dives). It was July 4th! Who could sit in the house on July 4th? Okay, so I wasn’t as enthusiastic about leaving the house as I could have been, but when am I ever? John, our guitar player in Systematic Chaos, wrote me and asked if we wanted to go to Dave’s and hear Rebel Pride. We’d already sort of thought about it, so we figured “why not?”
Opening for Rebel Pride was a colorful gentleman named Blind Buddy Moody. According to his MySpace page, he’s appeared on bills with George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, Sammi Smith, Kenny Price and Ernie Lee. I’m sitting here trying to think of words to describe the man and his music, but I just keep thinking that somehow when I was listening to him I was experiencing genuine, living, breathing Americana. It was a distinct pleasure to experience the music of a man who has walked that long road and who paid his dues in full a long, long time ago. Unfortunately, I don’t think some folks in the sparse crowd fully appreciated what they were experiencing. Admittedly, Blind Buddy Moody isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I think we’re all richer just for the fact that he’s out there.
After Mr. Moody, Rebel Pride took the stage. They did an excellent “unplugged” show without a drummer. I was impressed by their energy and skill. Most folks don’t know it, but not every band can pull off a convincing acoustic show. It’s not as simple as just playing your regular electric parts on acoustic guitars. It’s an entirely different approach, if an artist wants to be effective. At no point did the band waver, even causing people to “hoot and hollar” on occasion during crescendos. The reaction of the sparse audience can probably be summed up by the fact that there were people singing along with Skynyd’s Call Me The Breeze (myself included) near the end of the show, including an audience attempt to sing the “Oooo… mister breeze” line at the end. They wrapped up the night with an original song, and closed out the evening with a satisfying swagger.
All in all, it was a great night out, and a fun way to celebrate the 4th. I’m sure I’ll be watching calendars for appearances by Blind Buddy Moody and Rebel Pride in the future. That’s the mark of great performers, that you want to see them again. And while the styles of both artists were markedly different, I’ll definitely think of myself as an enthusiastic supporter of both in the future.