Some know him best for his chart-topping hits in the 1970s, but Singer-Songwriter Boz Scaggs has continued to stay extremely relevant throughout the years. Active in music since the ’60s, he has put out album after album over the decades, including a worthy successor to 2013’s Memphis with the release of A Fool To Care this past March. Scaggs has won a Grammy Award in 1976 for best R&B Song for “Lowdown” and has countless chart-topping hits spanning almost his whole career. Now, at seventy-one years of age, Scaggs continues to put on live shows of a man half his age and been on the highway this Fall in support of the new record.
Making his third appearance since 2013 at The Paramount in Huntington, New York, on Sunday October 25th, a very faithful fanbase, made up of mostly fans of the same age range as Scaggs, came out to see the show. Accompanying Scaggs on stage this evening was Mike Miller (Guitar), Richard Patterson (Bass/Vocals), Gene Lake (Drums), Michael Logan Sr. (Keys/Vocals), Michael Logan Jr. (Percussion), Eric Crystal (Sax/Wind/Keys), and Grammy Award winning artist Coneha Monet Owens, professionally known as Ms. Monét (Vocals).
The band came out onto the stage; following swiftly, Scaggs walks to the microphone while a cheering audience greets them. They started off the evening with “It All Went Down The Drain” from 1997’s Come On Home. Stopping for a brief moment, Scaggs greeted the audience and announced the new release is out now, A Fool To Care, and then played the title track from it. The audience enjoyed the new song and many seemed to already be familiar with it. Next, Scaggs took them on a journey back to 1974 performing “Hercules” off of Slow Dancer, then to 1980 with “JoJo” from Middle Man. Scaggs introduced the next song, “Rich Woman,” off of the current release. He told the audience, “This song was written about a woman with certain qualities, so she has been immortalized in song.” The audience was bopping along to the upbeat New Orleans’s feel to this song. Next they played “Some Change” off of 1994’s release by the same name. The next song really got the audience swaying and bopping in their seats as they played “Harbor Lights” from 1976’s Silk Degrees. When the song ended, quite a few fans were up on their feet clapping. Scaggs took this moment to introduce the band members and compliment them on their “stellar musicianship.”
He then introduced the next song, another one off of his new release; “Hell To Pay.” Scaggs recalls, “I had the honor and the privilege to record this song with Bonnie Raitt! Tonight Ms. Monét will be joining me in this song.” This was another upbeat song that gave a lot of room for band members to solo and jam. Scaggs let loose on his guitar during one of his solos, proving he himself is a stellar musician. Introducing the next song, Scaggs said, “Now for more familiar territory,” and kept it upbeat as he took his fans back with another off Silk Degrees with “Georgia.” As Ms. Monét danced and swayed to the beat of this song on stage, you could also see fans up on their feet joining her. More fans joined the others at the end of the song, giving the first standing ovation of the evening. Scaggs then said, “Get ready as Ms. Monét is going to sing this next song for you” and she sang solo to the song “Until You Come Back To Me.” She started off by asking, “How are you all feeling tonight?” The audience replied with a unanimous cheer. She then belted out the song with her powerful voice and the audience ate it up, giving her a cheering, standing ovation.
With the audience fully exhilarated, Scaggs starts the next song, “Loan Me A Dime,” from 1969’s self-titled album. With a very Bluesy feel to the song, as soon as Scaggs started singing, the fans were cheering and screaming “Yea!” Next they performed another chart-topping hit off Silk Degrees, “Lowdown.” Many more fans were up on their feet dancing away as they played the song for them. Once the song was over, Scaggs asked, “You know what I’m talking about,” and the audience replied with a very loud “Yea!” Keeping them up on their feet, they rounded out the set with another classic chart-topper off of Silk Degrees, “Lido Shuffle.” Now the fans were not only dancing along, but also were singing to the chorus line and clapping in unison to the beat. At the end of the song, Scaggs exclaims, “One more time,” and the band continued with the last chorus as the audience sang along with him. At the end of the song, everyone was up on their feet, waving their arms in the air, and cheering. Scaggs steps out in front of his microphone and gave the fans a wave and a heartfelt “Thank you,” and then he left the stage. The band, also waving to the fans, soon followed Scaggs backstage.
With the fans cheering for more, several minutes passed before Scaggs and the band returned to the stage. Breaking into another new song from the new release, A Fool To Care, they performed “There’s A Storm A’ Comin’.” With fans screaming for more, they did another familiar song off of Silk Degrees, “What Can I Say.” With everyone up on their feet again, Scaggs said “Thank you” again and he wished everyone a “Good night.” They played one more song, “Sick And Tired” from Come On Home. The fans, clearly energized, clapped and cheered as Scaggs, and the band, left the stage.
While audiences should not expect a lot of glitz and glam from a Boz Scaggs show, they will in fact get to see an amazing performance full of energy with amazingly talented, seasoned musicians. Scaggs is youthful and his voice sounded just as it was recorded years ago. They played a perfect blend of new and classic songs, sprinkled with hits that fell in between. Scaggs has been on the road since March and will be winding down his 2015 tour later this month with appearances in Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Albany, NY, as well as Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
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The Band and the Man were here in Oregon about 9-29 and we had the same experience. Masterful sound. I believe some of the chords they ended on we’re masterpieces themselves. I have been to many concerts but this one was over the top for me. It took me at least 3 days to come down from that excellence. Like you said, the voice sounds so young and well trained. And when he hit the button on the floor he took music to a new level winding the strat like a Stratavarius. We will be waiting for his return. I had no idea he had so many fans here in Oregon.
Boz, come to DFW area!!!