As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Monday, August 5, 2019

The James Hunter Duo -- Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, 8/4/2019


Table 103, Row A, Seat 2 
 
James Hunter may have slept in and arrived late for sound check, but the 1:00 matinee show started right on time. Supported only by Myles Weeks on upright bass (“for economic reasons”), Hunter probably could have played it safe and gone with stripped-down versions of songs from his typical band shows. Instead, he did only a few old favorites, concentrating on a combination of new songs from an album planned for release next year and covers of other artists’ material, familiar and otherwise. It actually worked well, in an 80-minute 22-song set, as the absence of a full band showcased Hunter’s guitar virtuosity more than ever, earning numerous ovations from the crowd, as well as some chops on harmonica (especially during a rousing version of Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Step Back”).
 
Other covers included a blazing guitar instrumental on Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown’s “Okie Dokie Stomp”, and two classics by Chuck Berry: “Too Much Monkey Business” towards the end of the set, and “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” for the encore. The newer material he previewed was fully up to his usual high standards, notably the wordplay of “Missing in Action”, the tender ballad “Light of My Life”, and the sly “Paradise for One”.