Boulder's Home Of The Blues BluesNews

I'm still speechless about last Wednesday night, so here's Chick:

Wow. What a Wednesday night! The Blues Letter hit its 100th issue and my buddy Bob Caldwell hit his 60th birthday, both happening on what I am sure will become a legendary night in the history of the Outlook. It was Zac Harmon’s first show at the Outlook and damn, he proved to the Boulder crowd that he is one amazing performer. I had seen Zac at Blues from the Top a couple times and he was always great. I had seen him in Memphis as well at the 2009 IBC and he put on a show with Jonn Richardson that was just spectacular. But last Wednesday night surpassed everything else. There is something about seeing a performer up close and personal which is a sensation you can only get at the Outlook. Yeah, Zac got up close and in our faces and in our ears, and before the night was over he was in our hearts as well. Tearing it up with juke joint gospel (I assume there is such a thing, 'cuz that’s what it sounded like to me) mixed with deep blues, some blues rock for spice, some get up an move boogie, a dash of reggae and a whole lot of soul.

With a stellar band worthy of his talents, Zac had Cory Lacey on keys, Cedric Goodman on drums and Mr. Buthel on bass and together they gave as good a first set as I have ever heard at the Outlook. He had Honey swooning with his cut “Honeybee” from his latest CD; not to be confused with the standard “Honeybee’ you all know, this is a rollicking driving song that is Zac’s all alone. I reached the point of no return when he kicked into “Mannish Boy”. Damn, I love that song! I’d seen Big Bill Morganfield do it a few weeks ago and it was all Muddy and fantastic and about as good as it gets. But I tell you, Zac doesn’t take a backseat to anyone when he does it. He added a little more ‘bounce’ to it, threw in a little French, and kicked it up a notch to make this version all his own. When he sings it, it’s almost like he’s a preacher ‘testifying the blues’. And at times it did feel like a revival in there, a blues revival. The crowd responded like one three times bigger than it was. People had that blues feeling in their soul. That’s what Zac does; he puts the music in your soul. Zac is a pure blues ambassador. When Patti and I saw him this winter in Memphis he was all over that town, from the kick-off at the New Daisy Theatre to the Finals, promoting the music, promoting the blues. I seldom went more than a few hours without running into him as he seemed to comb every bar and juke joint on Beale checking out new talent, putting back double what he received as the IBC 2004 winner. He exudes genuine warmth, at the Outlook before the show started he was out in the crowd going table to table, meeting and greeting every fan who came out to see him. The personal touch; you didn’t just sense it, you knew he cared about his fans as much as they cared about him. As I said that was as good a first set as I ever saw at the Outlook. No way the second one could get better, right? Well he managed to top it. He had a little help though. His

Category 5 amp buddy, Jimmy Thackery, was staying at the Outlook for the Mile High Blues Festival so Zac called him on stage. Double WOW and Holy Crap, Jimmy played the entire second set with the band. Talk about a mesmerizing performance, two monster guitar players, Zac’s buttery voice and a sprinkling of Cory tickling the keys. Jeezus I’d died and gone to heaven. The evening turned into the Zac-Thack Show. Watching Zac and Jimmy smiling as they played you knew they realized as much as we did that this was something pretty darn special. I sat, I watched, I shook my head in awe but most all just soaked it in and enjoyed every amazing second of it. I was lost in some special place and didn’t want to find my way out of it. How do you beat a night like that? I’m not sure you ever can, maybe match it, but never beat it. I said it before and I’ll say it again, that’s the beauty of live music. You never know what magic moment is going to happen on any given night. Each show stands alone, each is unique and can never be reproduced. That’s what has me driving from Loveland to Boulder 2-3 times a week (or 5 times , like this last week!)…I don’t want to miss a thing.

(Continues Next Column)