Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Live at the El Mocambo 1983

Rating:
Summary: if you doubt
Review: August 27th 1990 will always be a sad day. I had lived in Texas for a few years, and went to the candlelight vigil in Kiest Park the day before the funeral. I had never(and still haven't) seen so many people crying in my life. But along with the sadness was a celebration of his life. There were people who he had played with in early bands who brought along pictures and told stories of the early days. I wish I could remember who they were. But it was a special night, and I won't forget it.
Tonight marks 14 years that he has been gone, but his legacy lives on. If you ever forget what a guitar genius sounds like, put this in your DVD player. The performance is second to none, and although the cameras bob from time to time, they get some great shots of his fingerwork along the fretboards. It just plain takes your breath away. In thirty years, there will be a kid sitting in his living room trying to figure out how he could play like that!
Simply put, Stevie Ray Vaughan was on a planet all his own. Buy this DVD.


Rating:
Summary: What A Phenom...!!
Review: As a middle aged man who first took up the guitar after seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan back in February 1964, I've always had a receptive ear for upcoming guitar players.

I first read about this Texas blues phenom in an old guitar magazine. And then one day, I happened to hear Pride and Joy on the radio and it literally stopped me dead in my tracks. I could not believe what I was hearing. In fact, I later heard an interview with Eric Clapton who first heard SRV on his car radio and immediately, he had to pull the car over to the side of the road and find out who this guy was. The way Eric tells it, it couldn't wait a day / week / month. It had to be that day.

So when I heard that he was playing a show at the El Mocambo in Toronto, I quickly made up my mind that I had to see this guy.

I had always had a mild interest in the blues - having been a big fan of Clapton and Hendrix, both of whose music had it's roots in the blues.

However, it was after seeing SRV that I became a disciple of the blues. That night, I saw the heart, soul and future of blues guitar in Stevie Ray Vaughan. What an incredible performer.

From my vantage point several feet away from the band, I could see Stevie's incredibly powerful looking hands / fingers bening these big strings as if they were slinky little pieces of wire. In addition to the heavy strings he used, it also looked as if he had his action set relatively high as well. For non-guitar players, I can assure you that the combination of big strings coupled with high action takes alot of hand strength to coax the sounds you want out of your guitar.

Watching this "psychedelic cowboy" that evening, it was like watching the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix. His take on Voodoo Chile left alot of the audience, particularily the guitar players in the room, staring straight ahead with their dropped jaws in absolute amazement.

IN fact, I remember being so thoroughly taken back by Stevie that night that I just wnated to go home and trash my collection of 10 guitars. While Clapton and Hendrix, for example, had inspired me to practice and want to get better, this guy, for that evening, had the opposite effect. He was too good..!!

He would play these absolutely blistering in-your-face licks, with the nastiest tone I've ever heard and then sit back and play something as soulful as Lenny, where you could have heard a pin drop in the room. Everyone was just captived and mesmorized by his ability on the instrument.

I've subsequently immersed myself in the blues and have a huge collection of CDs now of both past and present masters. And while I have nothing but respect and admiration for the likes of Buddy Guy, BB King, Muddy Waters and so many others, I'm not sure anybody has ever or will ever be able to play the blues - with such feling and such ferocity - as Stevie Ray Vaughan.

That night, there just seemed to be a limitless reservoir of blues licks at his command. There was never a moment when he seemed to take pause and wonder where he's going to go with a particular guitar line. And yet, nothing seemed like a blues cliche.

Of course, Stevie was heavily influenced by Albert King, and you can certainly hear "Albert" in many / some of his licks / riffs, however, Stevie seemed to put his own "fingerprints" on the blues and make it his own.

It was an absolutely incredible night that I'll never forget. Many months later, Stevie returned to Toronto to play at a great old venue in this city called Massey Hall, which I also saw.

After the show, I returned to my downtown apartment. About 12:30 or so in the morning, I ran out of cigarettes and stepped out to get a pack. At that time, the streets were relatively deserted on a weekday night. However, as I was walking up Yonge Street (the main street in Toronto), I could see these three guys walking towards me just checking out the street and store windows. As I got closer, I realized it was Stevie and the other two fellows who comprised Double Trouble.

While I nodded to Stevie as we passed, I always regret not thaning him for opening up the blues to me and providing me with countless hours of listening pleasure.

A guy like this comes along once in a blue moon.

This is a great tape of that wonderful night twenty years ago. I was lucky enough to be there to see him. But this DVD provides the next best thing.

Treat yourself to this gem - you won't regret it.


Rating:
Summary: Best SRV live
Review: This is the best SRV DVD out there. In fact, the day they release this as a CD, it will be the best live SRV CD. Stevie did not warm up, from the moment he walks on stage he is on fire, and never cools down. Its scary how good this guy was, he could play the blues with authority. In this DVD you not only get to listen to his amazing guitar, but also watch Stevie the showman. Good stuff!