Dueling Strats at the Blues for the Blue Concert

Saturday night at the Blues For The Blue Concert, I witnessed an incredible performance.  Held at The Tifereth Israel Congregation (an incredible venue, by the way), this concert was for the benefit of The Ocean Explorium in downtown New Bedford.  Dozens of merchants donated products and services for the silent auction, and a good time was had by all.

The Neal McCarthy Problem opened with their usual top-notch performance. I hadn’t heard Neal play electric guitar for quite some time, and I’d forgotten what a virtuoso he was on the Fender Stratocaster. There were screaming solos laced with bluesy notes, bending all over the place.  Backing him were the understated and sublime Kyle Spark on bass, and the solid Chris Costa on drums.  Add in Colin Bradley on the organ and Dan Schwartz on percussion, and I didn’t know where to focus my attention.

Spark and Costa were standouts: they laid down incredible rhythms that only a front man could appreciate (which I did).  Mr. Bradley did a great job comping and filling the gaps, and he a couple of really sweet solos. Mr. Schwartz was in fine form as well, working well with Costa and funking it up like only Dan can do- he’s got your back. They played some blues standards and some original songs as well.

Towards the end of the set Neal introduced Quinn Sullivan, a 12-year-old guitar sensation.  Sullivan calmly walked out on stage with a beautiful Stratocaster and plugged in as the band dove into a slow, bluesy tune. After a few verses Sullivan ripped into some tasty solos, concentrating on the area above the twelfth fret- high and sweet. At that point, McCarthy started trading licks with Sullivan.  I don’t know if it was rehearsed, but they began to harmonize their solos a-la Derek and the Dominoes (Clapton & Allman), and the effect was mesmerizing.  The crowd loved it, going wild and applauding after every solo.

The next tune was an up-tempo song, and that’s when things really got crazy. I must say that going into this concert, I was skeptical of the Sullivan’s guitar prowess, but as I soon found out, this kid rocks out with the best of them.  He can really play. So can Neal. I’m not sure if the audience realized what they were witnessing, but it was truly sublime. At one point, Quinn and Neal were soloing at the same time and somehow it worked.  Dueling Strats, with no clear winner…except for the audience.

I didn’t stay for the end of the concert, but I did catch the first four songs of Santa Mamba.  They grabbed the audience from the beginning with their Latin beats as the dance floor became more crowded with each song.

As I headed for the door I caught a glimpse of young Mr. Sullivan dancing to Santa Mamba with his friends and family.  A great night was had by all.