Ronnie, clearly ailing -- can barely walk or stand, still has his guitar and musical faculties fully operative. Another great night of jazz inflected blues, jump, boogie stomps and ballads. You know it's Ronnie Earl playing from the very first two notes. Very tight band, with guest artists Greg Piccolo on tenor and Pete (?) on second lead guitar. Greatly enjoyed the interplay between Piccolo and Ronnie. I'm not as sanguine about the lady belter, Diane Blue, as the rest of the audience apparently was -- but she is clearly popular and my two family guests enjoyed her more than I did.
The band played almost 3 hours, never dragged. Ronnie even made the effort to get out into the audience. At the half dozen previous Ronnie Earl concerts I've been to he had taken his guitar out into the audience and played while walking up and down the aisles, dragging a cord with him. Last night he struggled to get into the audience, then took up a few seats and played from there. He really tried to connect up close with the fans -- and the audience truly appreciates the effort and the effect.
Ronnie informs that he's getting surgery in January. Maybe that will relieve his mobility difficulties and he'll be more comfortable playing. But his guitar playing hasn't been affected by his other health maladies -- he's still at the top.
Built to Spill
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