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GREAT MAIL FROM PAT KENYON Subject:
john campbell Date: Mon, 31 May 1999 10:26:11 -0500 From: Pat Kenyon Organization: FORMS 4 U To: fraz@acon.com.au paul, you surely nailed the truth on john campbell! i appreciate that you have commemorated him for the blues world. some years back, at a club in fort worth. texas, i went to see chris whitley, who was opening for this guy i'd never heard of. i figured, he must be good if caravan of dreams has whitley opening for him! i had seen whitley previously and knew what a show-stopper he was. so chris opens with a big set, and the crowd is waiting, drinking, talking.......my wife says "oh my god, look at this guy!", and we all look, and i get this feeling, eerie, like this man could kill with a look. he straps on that big hollow-body, plugs in, and totally possesses the crowd, everybody rapt, no chit-chat or laughter, just total focus on this gravelly voice calling up spooky earthy images of a world most of us only read about. at one point the partner of my friend, who is really freaked out by the sounds and lyrics john is putting down, nearly runs out of the club-"he's looking right at ME, make him stop, oh my god"....we calm her down, no way i'm leaving the club to chase some fraidy-cat and ease her fears, i've got my own to deal with! in short it was in the top 5 shows i've ever seen anywhere anytime, and i've seen carlos santana, buddy guy, johnny winter, the list goes on. i had never heard anybody play so boldly, so on-the-edge, yet be in complete control of his axe and his voice. his backup band was top-notch also, which maybe needed not be mentioned. part of the mark of a performer, to me, is how he interacts with his backup, and campbell was flawless. i heard not one note or word out of place that night! we surely lost a big chunk of that louisiana-delta-urban blues culture with his passing. there is a void where he was for his time in the light. life does go on but i feel fortunate to be one person who saw him live once, and to have his 2 cd's in my pile of treasure! thanks again for remembering john campbell, a name many will miss without even knowing it- jawbone kenyon |
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