As a singer-songwriter Boz Scaggs has been crafting his own flavor of rock-n-roll for over fifty years. Originally guitarist and a vocalist in the famed Steve Miller Band, Scaggs solo career lifted off in 1974 with the gold selling album Slow Dancer, and sky-rocketed with the five-time platinum selling Silk Degrees (1976). Now considered a treasure to his fan-base, Scaggs continues to compose new music into the new millennium with his most recent album Memphis (2013). On the warmest week all year, the Memphis tour came to The Paramount in Huntington, NY on Tuesday May 13th with special guest Drew Bordeaux.
Bordeaux hails from Westchester, NY and has been a musician since six years old. He has accomplished a great deal of success as a session musician for artists such as Lauryn Hill and playing along side Dave Bickler of Survivor. With his debut EP titled Live Your Way out; Bordeaux is ready to take his music to the people. Mixing a flavor of rock-n-roll swagger with smooth R&B, Bordeaux grabbed the attention of those which arrived early. His voice was soulful and his guitar playing impeccable. Listening to his lyrics it was clear Bordeaux has a knack not only for his instrument but also for writing beautiful poetic songs. Humble and gracious for the opportunity to play at The Paramount, Bordeaux put on an excellent performance and deserves music lovers attention.
With the floor and mezzanine packed with loyal fans of Scaggs, conversations could be over-heard of those speaking about seeing him live thirty nine years ago, sharing the stage with The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. If one thing was certain as the seats filled up on the floor, is that the history runs deep with Scaggs and his followers. After a few drinks and some laughs, everyone awaited for the show to begin.
The set began with the 1971 track “Runnin’ Blue”. Filling The Paramount with jazzy and bluesy tones; the music was crisp, clear, and lively. Scaggs shined vocally and musically on guitar with each song that followed including new songs like “Dry Spell”, “Gone Baby Gone”, and old favorites “Georgia” and “Miss Sun”. The entire band played like a well-oil machine, providing energy through every moment of the set. Scaggs back-up vocalist, Ms. Mone’t, possessed an amazingly powerful voice that electrified the room and added magnificent complementary tones to Scaggs. With everyone having a blast in this relaxing environment of musical fun, the noise level picked up during the set closing songs “Lowdown” and “Lido”, as everyone sang along. On their feet, applauds came raining down on Scaggs and company as they departed from the stage. Being a Tuesday night, no one wanted the show to end so soon and Scaggs came back out to treat the crowd with an excellent encore.
Scaggs and his talented band were outstanding in front of this enthusiastic Long Island crowd. Scaggs gave fans an intimate listening experience with tremendous personality and joy-filled moments. With great energy flowing throughout, many people grooving and dancing, and it was unquestionably a wonderful evening celebrating music.
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