This is for real - a scary moment at a pristine AZ venue
It must have been somewhere in 1995-96(?) we went to a few small performances in Glendale public library - mostly ethnic/folk music, the unusual stuff. One time it happened to be Hans Olson. Well, see here, I do respect the guy. The little problem is - he thinks what he's playing is blues. So sorry, but blues it ain't. I don't care how many greats he'd played with, the true sad story is that the gap between Mr. Olson and real blues was so wide that back in 1995/96 we decided to make up for our disappointment by seeking out some real stuff.
As luck had it, some true north Mississippi blues was about to arrive in town, in the form of R.L.Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. We wasted no time turning up at the Rhythm Room, and there he was
we were shocked at the fact that the musicians at the venue damn near outnumbered the audience... the place was almost empty... we were among the very few lucky to witness the outstanding, inspired performance... and one unforgettable moment.
A moment in time which still defies description, after all these years, but I'll try.
I'm not sure what he was playing - Nick thinks it was Robert Jonhson's Walking Blues - and he was doing it solo, just the guitar and him. Yes, it was just the old black dude sitting on a chair playing guitar, but suddenly something unspeakable happened. Suddenly, the time stood still, and the immense power coming from this guy's guitar sound took hold, and it was fucking scary. I think he stole a glance at the audience from under his visor and it didn't even seem human. No lightning from the sky, but we felt our skin crawl, and I think if there were a dog around it would have started whimpering in fear. All of a sudden all those ridiculous tales about selling your soul at the Crossroads started to make sense...
It was over before we knew it, and the life went back to normal. Never, never-ever-ever again were we to experience any crazy shit like this - neither at his subsequent gigs, nor at anyone else's. His audience grew steadily, which he certainly deserved. Jr. Kimbrough never came back - he died within the next 2 years. R.L. continued to tour and record, eventually with his cheeky grandson Cedric on drums. We were saddened to hear of his death in 2005. But this moment in time will remain one of the most vivid memories allowed to exist, like it or not. It was, in all its frightening glory, the real blues.
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