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Lang's Voice, Allison's Riffs Delight All Ages
------Jonny Lang / Bernard Allison at The Aronoff Center, Cincinnati, May 4, 1999
See photos in this week's Everybody's News REVERB magazine.
by Todd Ethan
Capital Coverage News Service
Tuesday night was sure a swell ticket to ride. The Fourteenth row at the Aronoff offered up some wholesome blues to some lucky ticket holders.
John and I arrived to our seats promptly before 8:00 to the soul shaking, heartbreaking guitar riffs of Bernard Allison, son of the late Luther Allison. Set up with a bassist, a horn section, drummer and a keyboard player, Allison's band put it to ya, The outfit meshed so well together, insisting at times that Bernard Allison was just a hook to their rich sound. Then Mr. Allison stepped up showing why his name is on the billboards. The man was smooth, running the fretboard from high to low, interweaving harmonic intervals with Wah wah charm. With a Stevie Ray Vaughn hat and a cool demeanor he was screaming everything was going to be all right, if you just let me sing you the blues.
One of the coolest things about their set were two Motown sounding numbers, taking you back to how music used to be. Which leaves me craving his music on vinyl.
The crowd (mixed at all ages) accepted Allison very well and gave him and his band numerous standing ovations. Overall the 50-minute non-stop set was a definite a success. Buy his album and hear "Night Creeper" and "Son Keep the Blues Alive"!
Next up on the Cincinnati Arts Association's bill was the headliner, 17-year-old Jonny Lang. All the girls were hollering for him. Jonny walked out with his guitar and an old, handmade, Jimi Hendrix-style shirt straight from the sixties, baby. I personally didn't' know what to expect. After seeing Allison doing his thing I was so eager to see Lang's style of play.
He came out singing hard, with soul, like he was belting it from his toes, but the guitar just hung over his shoulders. I waited to hear Jonny's version of the blues. Finally half way through his song he started at it. Coming out with repetitive licks somewhat concealed with the distortion he used. He chopped at his guitar and swung his head around roaring the notes he played, which were seldomly different.
His songs were right on- topped by three encores about love and wandering. But his guitar playing was flat out mediocre. Him being in "the same boat" as Kenny Wayne Sheppard is a bunch of hoopla. Jonny was fun to watch, singing his songs but I don't he think he deserved any spotlights when his solos came around.
I was impressed by his voice though, very mature. I knew he meant every word he let loose. Quite a crooner for a kid.
If Lang were a telemarketer, John said, no self-respecting woman would hang up on his sweet sound. And if they could see his facial expressions on a video link, they'd buy anything he hustled. The Aronoff P & G Theater acoustics were as elegant as the auditorium's decor, especially compared to Jonny's voice as rendered on his CD "Lie To Me."
Lang should definitely stick to vocals.
Overall his performance was entertaining, but not near Allison's caliber. It's weird how that works out, isn't it.
---Todd Ethan is a singer-songwriter and graphics artist from Northern Kentucky
---AMP's John Zeh assisted.
(c) 1999 Capital Coverage
Comments: CapCoverag@aol.com
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See http://www.jonnylang.com. http://www.cdnow.com has reviews of Lang, but
none about Bernard Allison.
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