Jimmie Vaughan Live At The Iridium - New York City Article

I’d seen Jimmie a few times with the Fabulous Thunderbirds and various other groups he’s assembled and knew this would be a memorable show. Jimmie was accompanied by Mike Flanigan on keyboards, George Rains on drums and Barry “Frosty” Smith on saxophone. It was evident with the first notes of the evening that this show was about feeling good and rolling with the groove the band was in!

The set list was dominated by many of Jimmie’s favorite blues numbers with a few songs from his new album Baby, Please Come Home sprinkled amongst them. Jimmie is Stevie Ray’s older brother so you would expect him to have a deep catalog of great blues songs to deliver.

Click Here For The Iridium's Full Event Calendar!

In the number 2 hole was the classic Howlin’ Wolf song, “Who’s Been Talking.” Wolf’s guitar slinger, Hubert Sumlin, is often imitated but Jimmie Vaughan infused his own style, soul and swing to breathe new life into the song. Jimmie’s special style makes you savor every note that he and each member of his band play. Jimmie speaks with his guitar!

His current trio makes expert use of space to accentuate the mood and deliver the songs. Sometimes less is more! A few of the songs were played without lyrics and that served to highlight their excellent playing even more. The band was tight and intuitive and you could tell they knew each other’s cues well.

Jimmie’s guitar is an additional appendage to his body and his playing is casual, natural and soulful. Definitely in the same class as both Jimmy Page and T Bone Walker. This was a smoky basement blues set…without the smoke.

I was super excited to hear their take on the Magic Sam classic, “I Just Want A Little Bit.” He also covered Jimmy Reed’s “Honey, What’s Wrong With You.” I’m sure Jimmie has played these countless times during his career but he made them sound as fresh as yesterday on Friday night at The Iridium.

He included “Hey Baby,” the Bruce Channel classic, and the crowd sang along. The Dovell’s “You Can’t Sit Down,” followed with more assistance from the small crowd. Another welcome cover was Slim Harpo’s “Scratch My Back. Slim is one of my personal faves and it’s hard to capture the swampy swing inherent in all of his songs but Jimmie knows how to deliver on that too!

As if all of this wasn’t enough, Jimmie was joined onstage at The Iridium for a few numbers by Sue Foley. Ms. Foley has been putting out exceptional blues albums since 1992 and she added her own touch to BB King’s “Let The Good Ties Roll,” Jeanne Pruett’s “Satin Sheets,” and Buddy Guy’s “Leave My Little Girl Alone.”
Howlin’ Wolf’s “I Ain’t Superstitious,” and “Texas Flood,” made famous by his little brother Steve Ray, wrapped up the show.

This was a perfect set and very welcome distraction from the constant bad news on the TV and social media over the past few weeks. Music can be great therapy and we needed it tonight!

Click Here To Read Our Blog of Iridium Show Reviews!

Click Here For More Of The Best Things To Do In NYC!

Click Here To Read Will Friedwald's NYC Show Previews and Reviews!