B.B. King – I’ll Survive

This is a live performance by blues legend B.B. King playing the song “I’ll Survive” live with his full band which also features a horn section, I’m a big fan of the horn section sound.
The song originally appeared on King’s 1998 album “Blues on the Bayou”. The first time I heard the song it was on the 2003 compilation album “Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: B.B. King” which is a great introduction CD if you’re new to King’s music.
It’s a great song and it really has that sound of a B.B. King song. Just sounds sweet.

Enjoy ; )

Joe Bonamassa - Burning Hell

This is a live performance by American rock and contemporary blues artist Joe Bonamassa playing the song "Burning Hell" live. The performance is from the 2006 Rockpalast festival in Germany. This performance was released on DVD. This was one of the last concerts Bonamassa played with his old three piece line-up band.
The song was originally released on Bonamassa's 2003 album "Blues Deluxe". It's a great slide guitar number by Bonamassa and I really love the groove Bonamassa has going with his band, especially towards the end of the performance. It's a great performance by a great, tight, and awesome three piece band.

Enjoy ; )

The Rolling Stones - Midnight Rambler

This is a live performance by the infamous British rock 'n' roll and blues band The Rolling Stones playing their song "Midnight Rambler" live. The performance is from a concert in India from 2003 and it was raining heavily which can also be seen in the concert footage.
The song is from the band's 1969 album "Let It Bleed". The lyrics take the viewpoint of a rapist/murderer, and Keith Richards has referred to the song as "a blues opera". The song was written by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. On the original studio recording Richards played all of the guitar parts, mainly using standard tuning, but also open E tuning for some parts. Mick played the harmonica on it, Bill Wyman played bass, Charlie Watts played drums, and Brian Jones was credited as percussionist.
I think it's a really good performance, I love the tempo shifts in it, Jagger's harmonica playing and just the whole feel of it. Really seems very loose and a lot like a jam. A great performance of a really great song.

Enjoy ; )

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Born In Louisiana

This is a live performance by blues musician and multi instrumentalist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown performing his song "Born In Louisiana". According to the video description the performance is from 2003 which doesn't seem unlikely.
Brown was a multi instrumentalist who played many instruments, he played: Guitar, fiddle, mandolin, viola, harmonica and drums. In this performance clip he sticks to guitar though, but if you are attentive you can spot a violin or a viola by one of the front speakers at the stage. Brown died in 2005.
He was a very influential guitarist in that his techniques inspired other guitarists, such as: Albert Collins, Guitar Slim, J.J. Cale, and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. He was also noted as one of the first guitarists to use a capo in his technique.
Brown also appeared on Kenny Wayne Shepherd's album "10 Days Out". The mission of that album was to record some of the old blues players before they pass away. And in this case it did just that, because Brown died prior to the album's release and was among the credited since deceased people honoured in the credits of the film that was included with the album. On this version he also pulls out his fiddle and does a solo on that which sounds quite astounding and unique. I definitely recommend checking out this version, as well as the rest of "10 Days Out", because it's great and a good way to get introduced to some of the roots of this thing called "the blues".

Enjoy ; )

Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry

This is a live performance by the Danish alternative band "Kashmir" playing their 2003 single "Surfing The Warm Industry". The song is off the band's "Zitilites" album.
It's a great performance of a great song. The song also had a really good music video. Click here to check it out. It's an animated video that tells the story of the song which is that a woman gets a job in a corporation and gets to the top by having sex with her bosses, only to then blow up the top floor at a party because she was a terrorist. It's a really great video and really worth checking out.

Enjoy ; )

Joe Bonamassa - Woke Up Dreaming

This is a live performance by blues and rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa playing his original song "Woke Up Dreaming".
The song was originally released on Bonamassa's 2003 album "Blues Deluxe" which was his fourth album as a solo artist. The song is sort of Bonamassa's version of an acoustic blues song, but with his own significant and apparent touch. For one it's very fast, but still follows a somewhat familiar chord structure again with some apparent differences from your run of the mill blues, this is definitely unique and different while still familiar which is quite an accomplishment in a song.
He also explains this as he's getting into the tune in this performance. The performance is from the series "Guitar Center Sessions" where the artists switch between talk and performance. He kind of combines it in the beginning as he explains how this song came to be.
It's a great song, I really love the speed and truly unique sound it has. Also just watching Bonamassa playing is amazing, his technique is amazing and his control of volume on an acoustic instrument is amazing as well.
It's a great performance of a really good song.

Enjoy ; )

John Mayall, Chris Barber & Eric Clapton - Please Mr Lofton

This is a live performance by John Mayall, Chris Barber and Eric Clapton. The concert footage is from the DVD "70th Birthday Concert" from 2003 where Mayall celebrated his 70th Birthday with a concert featuring his own band The Bluesbreakers and a couple of carefully selected guest stars. Two of these were Clapton and Barber, but Mick Taylor was also featured on some of the tracks.
This part of the performance is the part where they've taken it down to a smaller scale. It's just Mayall, Clapton and Barber on stage and the rest of The Bluesbreakers have left the stage.
This DVD is a must have for all blues fans. It's a really good set-list with a lot of up-beat blues songs that'll lighten up your day for sure. Also it was a historic event since it was more than 40 years since Clapton and Mayall had been performing together, a reunion of those two is definitely worth buying for alone, but also you get Mick Taylor, Chris Barber and the rest of The Bluesbreakers on top of all of that. As said, a must see for all blues fans.

Enjoy ; )

Beck - Loser

This is a live performance from 2003 by alternative rock artist Beck. The song is from Beck's 1993 album "Mellow Gold", but it was originally released on Beck's own independent record label on 12" vinyl. The song gained massive air play on modern rock station and Beck was picked up for a much bigger contract with Geffen Records who also re-released the single. It did very well and reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming Beck's first mainstream successful hit.
The song came to be as Beck moved back to his home-town of Los Angeles. He was broke and needed to take low-income jobs to survive financially. He still performed in coffee houses and such and to check if the audience was listening he would make up ridiculous lyrics while playing in and open tuning. This is how the song "Loser" eventually came to be.
It's a very good song and a very good performance by Beck as well. He is improvising and having fun with the tune and finally getting a big crowd who is listening.

Enjoy ; )

The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army & Death Letter

This is a live performance from the Grammy Awards, don't know what year, haven't looked into that. They play their probably most recognizable song from their career "Seven Nation Army". The song was released as a single in 2003 and was the opening track for the band's album titled "Elephant". The song reached the tops of modern rock charts and also won a Grammy Award for best Rock Song in 2004.
The song is known for it's lower register toned bassy guitar riff. It is in fact a riff that sounds like a bass, but it's played on guitar. Jack uses his semi-acoustic 1950's style guitar and runs it through a Digitech Whammy Pedal that drops it one octave giving the sound it's bassy guitar riff.
The song is played in Open A tuning, and he uses slide on it which I think just sounds amazing.
Towards the middle of the performance there's a break and they start playing their version of the classic blues song "Death Letter". I really like this version and I love how agressive Jack's slide playing is, I really love it and you can hear the roots dating back to Son House. I earlier posted Son House's version of Death Letter CLICK HERE for that performance. It's a great performance from a great band.

Enjoy ; )

Velvet Revolver - Set Me Free

This is a live performance from 2005 by the American hard rock group Velvet Revolver. The song was released in 2003 and originally appeared on the soundtrack for the Hulk film of the same year. The single then also made it onto the bands debut album "Contraband".
The main riff of the song was made by Slash, and it's what drives the song. On the record version there's two rather complicated guitar solos done by Slash.
This live version is really good because the band really goes nuts and gives 100 %. Slash is playing like crazy, and doing a fantastic job with the song, he even throws the guitar behind his head for a chunk of the performance, and makes the guitar scream at the end until the last chord is played. Dave Kushner even does a little solo at one point.
This is a pretty sweet hard rock song, and the band rocks it with this performance.

Enjoy ; )

The White Stripes - Ball and Biscuit

This is a performance by legendary alternative/blues/garage rock band The White Stripes. They could probably be attached to even more genres. They perform the song "Ball and Biscuit" from the album "Elephant" released in 2003. The band consists of Jack White on guitar and Meg White on drums. That's it, two members, and two instruments. The weird thing is that it's kind of a genius thing, because it really works. The song "Ball and Biscuit" is clearly a song deeply inspired by the very early acoustic blues the likes of Robert Johnson and Son House, but in an electric version. Jack has, by many, been said to have revitalised the guitar, and I kinda understand what they mean. He draws influence from multiple genres, and innovatively mixes them all into his own, mostly electric sound. In many ways doing the same thing as Clapton was doing when he recorded Crossroads.
This song is delightfully simple, simple rhythm and simple chord structure, with a slightly more difficult solo. It's reminiscent to the old Delta Blues because it's so simple, there's no bass, and Meg White's simple drumming is kinda like a foot tap of a self accompanied acoustic blues man. Jack also has to play the bass part, the rhythm part and the solos. This makes for a very interesting and innovative trade of playing, it makes him unique. This is a great song, and it pays tribute whilst still being new and innovative, well done Jack!

Enjoy ; )