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This Aint No Video Game!

Budddy Guy, Los Lonely Boys: Guitar heroes at HOB
posted by JimAbbott on Apr 12, 2008 1:29:39 AM

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It was a night for guitar heroes — and not the video-game kind.

Blues legend Buddy Guy and Los Lonely Boys, the latter powered by the fiery solos of legend-in-the-making Henry Garza, unleashed a stellar combination of blues, rock and Tex-Mex styles on Friday at House of Blues. It showed that you don’t need light shows or big video screens, at least when the musicians are capable of such fireworks.

Los Lonely Boys, the trio of brothers from San Angelo, Texas, make fine studio recordings, but none of them compares with the sparks that fly on stage.

Henry Garza, of course, is the catalyst. Wielding an assortment of Stratocasters, he conjured a sound that careened from Stevie Ray Vaughan to old-school R&B to something close to Carlos Santana. Often, the influences tumble into each other within the same song, or even the same solo.

That prowess is matched by his brothers — bassist JoJo Garza and drummer Ringo Garza. Together, they deliver songs that embrace the blues ("I Am the Man to Beat") or twist it into hard-driving Latin rock ("Oye Mamacita") or hooky pop ("Nobody Else").

Although the band’s marathon instrumental jam was technically impressive, the Boys really excel when they harnesses that skill in service of compact songs such as the signature "Heaven."

And the legend?

Guy’s guitar approach in his 80-minute set was lean and intense on rowdy favorites such as "Rock Me Baby" and "Hoochie Coochie Man."

In top form, as he was on Friday, he pits stinging solos with understated interludes that take things down to a whisper.

His skillful use of dynamics was showcased in "I’ve Got Dreams to Remember," a ballad that built from a flicker to a flame.

Of course, the guy knows how to show off, whether it’s taking his traditional stroll through the audience, using a hand towel on the strings to emit some wild feedback or playing "Sunshine of Your Love" holding the guitar aloft with one hand.

"This kind of blues don’t get played on your radio anymore," Guy lamented.

Fortunately, there are guitar heroes around to keep it alive.