Artist: The Tommy Castro Band w/ opener Michele Lundeen
Venue: The Belly Up Tavern
Date: April 8, 2005
Once again, the uninitiated fought the masses to become more familiar with a band I'd only heard played on an internet station. I had several obstacles to conquer the other night as I tried to get from my house to the show, but none kept me from my task. A little pain, a little rain, and a few other unexpected surprises weren't going to get in my way!
I waited patiently at the side of the stage wondering if I'd ever manage to get in up front. The crowd was packed tightly in anticipation. After an intro and an award from a local organization, photocharity.com (more on this at a later date), the Tommy Castro Band started playing. People were swaying with the music and singing along. I couldn't help it. Despite my headache and sore back, I found myself swaying as well. He may have been singing about having "Had Enough" of the blues, but I didn't believe a word of it. From the look of the crowd and the look in Tommy's eye, he was just getting warmed up. We all were.
Black on black shirt gleaming in the club light, worn guitar slung across his "there's-no-way-he's-almost-50" body (he's a Tax Day baby), Tommy asked us to listen as he played lots of the new stuff. Who could resist?
Jumping from the soul shakin' to the tender, Tommy played it all. And then he gave us the older stuff. He's proof positive that, like fine wine, some musicians get better with time.
Never missing a beat, the band kept us on our feet. Special treats included a fun romp with the Ty Pennington of the band - bassist Randy McDonald and a cut, "Crawfishin'", from his album On The Wildside, and an appearance from Randy's dad, trumpeter Sam McDonald. The elder McDonald added a sweet touch of nostalgic class, a bridge from the past to the present.
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