Bluesman Gary Clark Jr. at The House of Blues

00:00 December 18, 2013

 It was a rainy night in New Orleans. Even with the less than perfect weather, the House of Blues was packed. Nothing would keep the Gary Clark Jr. fans away. Each ticket for the event had been sold, not a single one was none left for the last minute folk.

The show started with the Moeller Brothers. They played like a headlining band; if you’d just showed up randomly and heard them playing, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that they were the opening act for a name that has been rapidly up and coming in the last year.

When it was finally time for the main event, Clark came out and let his presence be known through a single strum; that was all it took. The small buzz from the amp queued the audience in for what was the come next. Clark owned the stage with each song. His tall and lanky 6’-something frame made him hard to miss as he continued to dominate the stage. For the night, the HOB was his domain and everyone there was just around for the party. Clark rocked one amazing guitar solo after the next, song after song. The solos were something that drove the fans deeper into the music. When he would begin to sing after each guitar riff, the lyrics sang out from his mouth, and it was easy to lose yourself in the splitting sounds streaming from six strings and his long nimble fingers. It was easy to forget it was all part of a bigger picture.

I don't believe in competition, ain't nobody else like me around” Clark sang in “Aint Messin’ Round.” Truer words have never been said more clearly in reference to this man. His guitar talents stand alone for themselves, but his singing abilities are nothing to be overlooked. He closed the show with his first hit “Bright Lights,” and the crowd responded wildly. It wasn’t ten minutes after he played his last song that he was back on stage to really finish things off with a three song encore.

By: Lee Pointer

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