Since
buying Tony Joe White's "Live in Austin TX" album (which I
HIGHLY RECOMMEND) a few years ago, I've always wanted to check out
how he sounded in person. This gig at the Jazz Cafe in Camden was
part of a small European he's currently doing to promote his latest
LP "Hoodoo". The venue is quite small and seems to be
White's regular venue when he stops in London as it was there he
played when he last toured the UK in 2011.
Even though his level of popularity is lower in the UK than in some other countries (France, The Netherlands), it was nice to see that the gig was sold out in advance. I managed to catch 2 songs from the opening act Boss Caine but that wasn't enough to make an opinion on his music (a bit of a "Johnny Cash" balladeer mood). Tony Joe White's touring set-up is a rather basic affair. Usually it's only him and his long term drummer Bryan "Cadillac" Owens (with sometime a keyboardist added to the line-up). The crowd at the Jazz Cafe was mainly long tern fans (spotted the actor Bill Nighy at the balcony), there's was still a decent amount of people under thirty which proves that White's music appeals also to a younger generation. He came on stage and played a couple of numbers just by himself before being joined by Owens. At 71 years old, White plays sitting down which added to his ever present Black Tuxedo and shades gives an definite "bluesman" appearance.
Songs from the back catalogue were played at much slower tempos (the version of "Polk Salad Annie" from the "Live in Austin" LP sounds like The Buzzcocks compared to the one played at the Jazz Cafe). The newer tracks of "Hoodoo" are very slow and bluesy, so the whole set was pretty coherent with tracks from different LP's blending nicely with each other. White was quite generous on the number of old songs played. "Roosevelt And Ira Lee" from his second LP "... Continued" was aired but "Rainy Night In Georgia" (his most covered song) wasn't aired. Two of the songs he wrote for Tina Turner's "Foreign Affair" : "Undercover Agent For The Blues" and "Steamy Windows" bookended the set. There was quite a few technical glitches during the gig with Owens asking for more vocals in his monitors for a good half of the gig and a White's mike kept buzzing in between songs prompting him to tell the soundman in his laid-back drawl : "We need some help down here sir". In spite of this issues, White soldiered along playing lengthened out versions of his most famous songs showcasing his trademark Wah-Wah rave ups.
