Northsea Jazz Veteran Ball: Buddy Guy sweeps Van Morrison off the field | Displays

Watch him go up, in his dungarees. A white hat on his head, a yellow guitar tightly strapped and a cheerful smile on his face. Buddy Guy, Sun The last men standing From his generation of blues heroes. He’s 86 and takes the stage at Ahoy City’s Mass Ballroom, where he’s played opposite another legend, Van Morrison.

Its climb is less impressive. Unsurprisingly, the Irishman is known for being a snob and not exactly fun to play. This is no different in Ahoy. Van Morrison (77) proves once again that he is the king of the uninspired class. Skinny-clad with his inevitable hat and mirrored sunglasses, the Irishman puts on an extended five-quarters of an hour show that, in and of itself, is pretty solid. Without his big hits, but with an excellent troupe, which seems a little anxious at times. But what do you want with an eccentric foreman.

Then Buddy Guy, who makes his guitar howl from the start like his life depended on it. That’s probably almost the case, for an 86-year-old who should be his last outing. On Ahoy, it honors deceased colleagues such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and BB King. He is mischievous despite his age, playing the guitar with his bottom, with a drum stick and a towel. And meanwhile, bring the blues as it was heard in the Mississippi Delta for many decades.

With Van Morrison, the audience is there for the bacon and beans, but you get that feeling every now and then with his band members. Not that they rush about their work – on the contrary – but the great foreman seems bored during the solos of his band members, as if he were waiting for the bus. However, in the moments when he sings and shows off his amazing still gorgeous voice, it all suits him. Only the soul is missing, in fact the familiar flaw with Van Morrison, however talented he may be.

It’s a show Buddy Guy would have looked at with horror. The aging American, the muse of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Richards, was in touch with his fans from the very first moment. He trusts those present, almost when he sings, plays and jokes for an hour and a half. He was even emotional for a moment, you can hear it in his voice when he sings the song Deep skin It introduces a song that has skin color as its theme.

These feelings are miles away from Van Morrison. Stoically working through his repertoire, he steps off stage and returns for the closing number Blues anxiety man. Might he make him think that the audience only gets excited when he leaves the stage for good? Because the background singer who looks sullenly at her boss throughout the performance takes on the exterior Blues anxiety man Her chance and her voice are wild. For the first time, the audience becomes exuberant, rewarding it with cheers and applause. The man himself is already in the wings. Maybe he didn’t get it.

Buddy Guy will be the worst. The Blues show their smile again at the end of their great show. A little earlier he played the guitar with his buttocks, a scoundrel in an old man’s body. He says goodbye to Ahoy by throwing some guitar into the room. Ahoy at his feet. With him yes.

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