Tony Joe White @ Joe's Pub (pics)
photos by P Squared
Legendary songwriter and performer, the “Swamp Fox” Tony Joe White brought his current tour to NYC’s Joe’s Pub last Wednesday night (8/3). On guitar and backed by his drummer Bryan Ownings, he is touring behind a wonderful new album called Rain Crow, his second for the Yep Roc label. While his voice these days is a bit more gruff, it suits the dark, moody, “swamp music” that has been his trademark since he first rumbled out of the bayous of Louisiana in the mid ’60s. And while the band setup was minimal, it filled up this beautiful room with Tony moving from straight ahead slinky fingerpicking to stabs of blasting skronk that had you looking around to make sure your eyes weren’t deceiving you on the number of musicians on stage. In front of an enthusiastic crowd and with only a few comments, Tony played much of the new record as well as classics such as “Rainy Night in Georgia” (a hit for Brook Benton) and of course finishing the night with “Polk Salad Annie,” a song made famous by the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley. All in all a fantastic show in a stunning sounding venue with a performer still making vital music almost five decades on.
Pictures from the show are in the gallery above.
