Jonny Lang at the State Theatre, Minneapolis (9/18/13) concert review
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Set List Tour Dates
09/20/13 Rockford, IL Coronado Performing
09/21/13 Madison, WI Overture Center 09/22/13 St. Louis, MO The Pageant 09/24/13 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues 09/26/13 Boston, MA Wilbur Theatre 09/27/13 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre 09/28/13 New York, NY Irving Plaza 10/01/13 Paris, France New Morning 10/03/13 London, UK Borderline 10/05/13 “Avignon Blues Festival” 10/06/13 Zurich, Switzerland X-TRA 10/08/13 Hamburg, Germany Fabrik Hamburg 10/09/13 Bochum, Germany Zeche 10/10/13 Munich, Germany Muffathalle 10/12/13 “Nancy Jazz Pulsations” 10/14/13 Amsterdam, Netherlands Melkweg 10/15/13 Brussels, Belgium AB Club 10/18/13 Houston, TX House Of Blues 10/19/13 New Orleans, LA Lafayette Square 10/20/13 Dallas, TX House Of Blues 10/22/13 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre 10/23/13 Durango, CO Fort Lewis College 10/25/13 Scottsdale, AZ Talking Stick Resort 10/26/13 Beverly Hills, CA Saban Theatre 11/05/13 Milwaukee, WI Northern Lights Theater 11/06/13 Milwaukee, WI Northern Lights Theater 11/08/13 Chicago, IL House Of Blues 11/09/13 Kalamazoo, MI Kalamazoo State Theatre 11/10/13 Carmel, IN Palladium 11/12/13 Greensburg, PA Palace Theatre 11/14/13 Westbury, NY NYCB Theatre 11/15/13 Cranston, RI RI Center 11/16/13 Port Chester, NY Capitol Theatre 11/19/13 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall 11/20/13 West Palm Beach, FL Kravis Center 11/21/13 Miami, FL Knight Concert Hall 11/23/13 Lake Buena Vista, FL House Of Blues 11/24/13 Atlanta, GA Center Stage Theater 02/14/14 Tallahassee, FL Ruby Diamond 04/25/14 London, UK O2 Shepherds 04/28/14 Paris, France Olympia 04/30/14 Brussels, Belgium Ancienne Belgique Read More
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Lang’s first studio album in 7 years, Fight for My Soul (Concord Music Group), was finally released this week after continuous touring and having four children with his wife since 2007. Maybe Jonny ‘Big Daddy’ Lang is now more appropriate for the Fargo-born guitarsmith, who brought his live show back to Minneapolis’ State Theatre Wednesday night.
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Jonny Lang
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Though silent on the studio front for a while, Lang has kept busy touring with the likes of legend Buddy Guy, on the Experience Hendrix tour, and with solo outings of his own, so any lax in technique was not evident at all during the almost two-hour long set. After a pleasant 30min. opening by Washington DC’s Honor by August, Lang began with the appropriate ‘Don’t Stop (for Anything)’ from the 2006 Grammy Award winning (for Best Rock or Rap Gospel album?!) Turn Around, which helped set the template for the rest of the show.
Lang’s blend of blues, rock, and gospel has always been a mesmerizing mix of styles, since his preteen start in the clubs of Fargo and later, Minneapolis. Though influenced by other greats, he remains stylistically mostly rooted in true deep blues, solos still full of wide pitch changes. ‘A Quitter Never Wins’ from his most popular album Lie to Me followed, then the radio hit ‘Turn Around’, which got the mostly baby boomer audience (plenty of wolf-whistlers in the crowd for some reason), re- acclimated to Lang’s song catalog and gravel-y voice delivery.
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Lang takes a bow
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‘Red Light’ started as a crawl, Lang slowing the song tempo down then stretched from solos by a crack band that half-originated from Minneapolis (Barry Alexander- drums; James Anton- bass; and Akil Thompson- rhythm guitar; Dwan Hill- keys) before eventually rising up, anthem-like at the end. Stevie Wonder’s ‘Livin’ for the City’ followed to great reception, but again was somewhat slowed momentum-wise by solos and trading riffs between members. The first single from his current album, ‘Blew Up (the House)’ brought the energy back and he ended the set with ‘Angel of Mercy’; gospel influences on full display, in front of friends including fDeluxe’s Paul Peterson in the front rows.
The encore began quietly, with Lang on acoustic guitar for Muddy Waters’ ‘Forty Days and Forty Nights’ before ending nosily with his best-known song, ‘Lie to Me’. Lang no doubt still has the talent and chops that first brought him national acclaim, but where the rust seemingly needed to be shaken off, was in the show’s pacing. Playing just 11 songs with extended instrumental passages that didn’t seem to lead anywhere, often got the lubricated crowd a little restless and/or anticipating something that never came to be. There is no denying Lang’s guitar skills, but a tweak or two in better pacing a two hour set would have elevated the still-overall-entertaining performance dramatically.
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Johnny Lang at State Theatre, Minneapolis (09/18/13) |