Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones - The Alamo, Springfield IL
Monday, March 17, 2008
St. Patrick’s Day can be a rough and rowdy time, and it
sure was at the Alamo in Springfield IL this past Monday night for Blue Monday.
Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones fit the bill as he served up the near capacity crowd of
regulars and St. Patty’s Day revelers with his heavy dose of Texas-induced
soul-blues.
From the opening number to the final chord, Jr. Boy brought
one of the largest dance crowds to the Alamo that I’ve seen in recent times with
doses of funk, Texas shuffles, and soul-fused ballads. Playing songs off of his
latest release Jr. Boy Live and off of his last studio release Mr.
Domestic, Jr. Boy hardly played a cover all night long; showing the blues
fans and the non-blues folks that you can be original and still get funky.
The covers that Jr. Boy did give the crowd were two very
familiar songs from the Pop-R&B realm, Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On?” and Ray
Charles’ “Georgia On My Mind” with the latter being joined by local Springfield,
IL trumpeter Frank Parker.
Jr. Boy’s crowning achievement, in between playful banter
from the crowd, was his story about the title track to his last studio release
“Mr. Domestic” in which he spins the tale of a bluesman without a job doing
chores for his woman. The rapid-fire guitar attack and the tongue-in-cheek
lyrics were a bargain at the $2 admission. At one point the police and ambulance
showed up just to see what the good-timing ruckus was all about! Jr. Boy also
paid great homage and tribute to his late mentor Freddie King. Jr. Boy rocked
the Springfield crowd, who stayed up till the last chord well past the 1AM call.
Next time Jr. Boy’s in your town, don’t miss this playful, high-energy
performance and all around great musician. To see all the pictures of the fun
CLICK HERE
Ben Cox is a Blues Songwriter, Musician, DJ and Journalist.
|