Guitar Lessons: Three Guitar Greats

Last month, I had the very rare privilege of catching three of the greatest blues guitarists playing on one bill in one of the Pacific Northwest's newest live music venues. This month, I'm devoting my Cosmik Blues column to that show, not only to shout about three guitar giants, but also tip my hat to a classy new venue.

Tommy Castro, Coco Montoya, and Duke Robillard all tore up their fretboards at The Triple Door, a new 230-seat room that redefines nightlife smack-dab in the middle of the Emerald City at Third and Union in downtown Seattle.

The evening was packed with blues riffs aplenty, and Tommy Castro led off the evening with an inspired hour-plus set in a club that's more like a swanky jazz club than a blues bar. The Triple Door is a throwback to a more elegant nightclub era, the polar opposite of Seattle's punk clubs that've been smashed by the wrecking ball like the Astor Park or the Gorilla Room. The Triple Door's beneath the Wild Ginger, an upscale Pan-Asian eatery renowned for its satay bar and innovative fusion cuisine.

While the food at the Triple Door is top notch, I was there for the music, and wasn't disappointed.

Tommy, Coco, and Duke each played just over an hour, and being Seattle on a weeknight, I noticed far too many people heading for the aisles during Robillard's soulful version of St. Louis Jimmy Oden's "Going Down Slow" at about 11:45.

Tommy Castro kicked off the evening's inspired 3+ hours of blues with a pounding "Lucky in Love," from his 1999 release, Right as Rain. He also did the title cut of that Blind Pig CD in addition to a forceful "Chairman of the Board" from that disc. "Nasty Habits" was pretty funky from his seven-year old Exception to the Rule CD (Blind Pig), but the real showstopper for me that night in Tommy's set was his extended 11-minute jam on John Lee Hooker's "It Serves Me Right to Suffer." That song is from Gratitude, on Tommy's own Heart and Soul label, and it included some tasty hints of "Boogie Chillen" with John Lee's trademark spare, but powerful, two chord attack. Gratitude is a different type of tribute record: Tommy performs a dozen songs from artists that inspired him, and he does right by Howlin' Wolf, James Brown, Carla Thomas, and Chuck Berry, among others. Joe Bonamassa's released a similar CD with his Blues Deluxe, and I'm all for it when bluesmen (and blueswomen) pay tribute to their heroes (and heroines) by keeping those old songs fresh.

Tommy closed his set by giving bass player Randy McDonald centerstage. Randy led the band in a full-throttle "Take it Easy, Greasy" from his Walk on the Wild Side solo CD (Heart and Soul). After 10 years with The Dynatones, and 10 more with the Tommy Castro Band, Randy's beginning his third decade as a musician, and I've never seen anyone bend over backwards like Randy did at The Triple Door. Check it out: www.randymcdonaldband.com

While tonight's guitar line-up was a triple threat, I'm looking to hear more from Castro's new CD, Triple Trouble (Telarc).

Just when I thought it was time to kick back at the Triple Door, Coco Montoya took the stage. Truth be told, I'd never heard Coco's music before, save for a few isolated cuts on Alligator Records blues samplers. After hearing him for an hour, I realized that I truly had a canyon-sized gap in my blues education and it's time to back to school. Coco's style is slightly different than Castro's, and at the Triple Door, Montoya tended to develop longer, 10-minute blues jams that were all over the map as a sharp contrast to Tommy's focus on individual songs.

Not a problem, though. Far from it. I warmed to Coco's style by the time he finished "I Won't Beg," early in his set. "I Won't Beg" is from his 2002 Alligator release, Can't Look Back. He dedicated two songs to his late mentor, "the master of the Telecaster," Albert Collins: "Get Your Business Straight" and a plaintive, soul-drenched number that honors Collins' life and work, "Nothing But Love." These tracks are on Montoya's three-year old Alligator CD, Suspicion, and Coco also dipped back to his 1997 Blind Pig CD, Just Let Go, for a mixture of soul, blues and funk, "Do What You Want to Do."

Like Randy McDonald, Montoya's paid his musical dues and it showed. Coco's musical apprenticeship began behind the drums for Albert Collins, followed by a decade with John Mayall's blues employment agency, the Bluesbreakers.

Duke Robillard began the third hour of blues by easing into his set with a slow, jazzy instrumental, "Easin' In" from Conversations in Swing Guitar, his 1999 release on Stony Plain with Herb Ellis. His set was peppered with longer songs that showcased his picking, and two songs from last year's Living With the Blues CD still stick with me: "Buy Me A Dog" and "Goodtime Charlie." Robillard in concert, like on record, plays many styles equally well, from T-Bone Walker's soulful "Glamour Girl" to the in-your-face sparkplug of "Real Live Wire" from his new Stony Plain CD, Exalted Lover.

Tommy must've started a trend, as Duke deferred to his piano player, Matt McCabe, for the last song of the night. As many Seattleites headed for the aisles, the band did a soulful take on St. Louis Jimmy Oden's "Going Down Slow."

Tonight's show was special for several reasons. Not only was it the blues baptism of a great new nightclub, it brought together three guitar greats on one bill. Those who stayed weren't disappointed. Until next month, go see some live blues. And leave when the band leaves and not before.

(C) 2003 - Eric Steiner