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 ZZ Ward |
 James Bay |
 ZZ Ward |
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Review and photos by Mary Andrews James Bay spoke to us in an interview prior to the show about being a new singer/songwriter on the music scene in America and welcomed the challenge of opening the shows with ZZ Ward. He hit the small venue stage with aplomb! James accompanied himself, rotating between acoustic and electric guitar. He sang self-penned songs with well-seasoned guitar "chops" that stopped the chatter in the audience. Everyone, indeed, took notice. The 30 minute set covered songs from his recent EP release The Dark Of The Morning. I suspect we are going to see and hear a lot more from James Bay in the future!Next up were The Wild Feathers. They recently came to Tucson as the opening band for Willie Nelson. My first reaction was what a huge difference the venue makes in the sound. Duh! Their sound takes on monster proportions in this venue. This is not a bad thing. Their harmonies and melodies have almost a recording studio quality in the intimate setting! The boys are used to being the unknown opening band. It was comical when the lead singer started "Left My Woman" and a fan in the audience started screaming. It took the lead singer so off guard. He stopped the song, 'you scared the shit out of me'. They started the song over. They need to get used to fans' screaming! The next set was the crown jewel of the evening - ZZ Ward! This little lady, "no bigger than a minute," wearing her trademark fedora crossed the stage, donned her guitar and started to sing! By this time in the evening, the room was under air-conditioned and OVERSOLD! Ms. Ward insisted that the energy burst regardless of the heat. Lucky for us, her momentum never stopped throughout the set. There is a tendency to want to pigeon-hole her style of music. I think blues is her true "muse." If anyone can bring the youth back to the blues, it will be ZZ Ward. She sang and played the harmonica on "Grinnin' In Your Face." Son House never looked or sounded so good! She gave her own twist to an old Ann Peebles song, "Can't Stand The Rain." Most of the songs were from her highly lauded album, Til The Casket Drops. The album is first class all the way and I consider it to be one of the best releases over the last year! Just sayin' now! ZZ admits that many of the songs come from making dumb choices when it comes to love interests. Her performance of these songs is as gut wrenching as they can get, but she gives them a revival touch. "Remember audience, you've got to move, hold your hands above your head and clap!" Clap they did! The band was straight A all the way. Eric Walls, guitar, Chris Pat on Drums, and Darius Shields on bass were spot on. The crowd certainly gave their seal of approval. ZZ came out for an encore of "Blue Eyes Blind" that finished off the sweat, drenched crowd. The juke joint was jumpin' tonight! If ZZ Ward's Down and Dirty Shine Tour comes your way, GO! |
| Set List for ZZ Ward: | |
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1. Boom Intro 2. Put The Gun Down 3. Til the Casket Drops 4. Home 5. Got It Bad 6. Can't Stand The Rain t 7. Last Love Song 8. Waiting For... 9. Charlie Ain't Home |
10. Grinnin' In Your Face 11. If I Could Be Her 12. Cryin' Wolf 13. Criminal 14. Move Like You Stole It Encore: 15. 365 Days 16. Blue Eyes Blind |
 ZZ Ward |
 James Bay |
 ZZ Ward |
 The Wild Feathers |
 The Wild Feathers |
 The Wild Feathers |
 ZZ Ward |
 ZZ Ward |
 ZZ Ward |
 James Bay |
 ZZ Ward |
 James Bay |
 ZZ Ward |
 ZZ Ward |
 The Wild Feathers |