January
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Hugh’s Room Live presents Albert Lee with Kate Taylor @The El Mocambo – Thurs., Jan. 26th, 2023
By Franklin Lau
Guitar virtuoso Albert Lee was on stage at the legendary El Mocambo. Lee put together an incredible show on Thursday night, and the 79 year young musician was in fine form from the start of show to the encore. Opening up and to kick off the concert was American singer-songwriter, Kate Taylor. She is the younger sister of acclaimed singer-songwriter Livingston and James Taylor.
Of course Lee had his instrument of choice, playing his signature guitar made by Ernie Ball Music. That is one sweet sounding custom “axe.”
A short intermission occurred after the opening act, and then Albert Lee and his band arrived on stage. Starting right off with “I’m Ready,” This was an amazing song to set the mood for what was in store during the concert, Lee is right up there with his contemporaries such as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Albert Collins, to name a few. With precision and dexterity, he worked his guitar like a seasoned craftsman.
The fans were in awe and it was musicianship at its finest. Lee’s voice was also in fine form, still vibrant and amazing after all these years, it was great to hear him and his band play some incredible standards, honouring many of the great musicians such as: Johnny Burnett, The Everly Brothers, Carl Perkins, Glen Campbell, Gram Parsons and Ray Charles were some of Lee’s influences that he paid a tribute to. Him and his backing band made sure the fans were off their seats and they worked the crowd into a frenzy,
The stories that Lee also told were very interesting. About halfway in to the performance, Lee went on about his time with The Everly Brothers, and how good it was to be in a band, as Eric Clapton was getting ready to fire him. Finishing this story off with a song, the band went in to the Everly Brothers classic tune, “No One Can Make My Sunshine Smile.”
Half way through the concert, Lee made his way over to the piano to play Jimmy Webb’s “Highwayman”and what a version of the iconic song. After that he was with his guitar playing “Tear-Stained Letter,” followed by his tune, “Country Boy,” Lee and his band thanked the attendees before leaving, it wasn’t long before Albert Lee and the band were back for an encore.
For the encore and at the piano again, he performed Glen Campbell’s “A Better Place,” and briefly paying his respects to the legend as the tune concluded. Ending with Johnny Burnette Trio’s “Tear It Up” was a terrific conclusion to the concert. He stayed around after the show to speak with concertgoers. Hopefully music fans can get a chance to see him perform on this tour, as it was an amazing intimate concert. Check out his website and attend a concert near your city.
https://albertleeofficial.com/
Albert Lee’s Band: His rhythm section included Jason Smith on drums, David Chamberlain on bass, and J.T. Thomas on keyboards
We would like to thank Jane Harbury for the invitation to this concert.
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