Budweiser Blues Series

Over the last 15 years or so, I have seen Tommy Castro maybe a dozen times, and even though he hasn't had any new material for awhile, the show at the State Theater in Kalamazoo, MI, on April 12 was an amazing display of talent and showmanship. Tommy Castro never fails to satisy his audience, whether it's on one of the famous Blues Cruises, in a funky club like Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa, FL, or at a handsome old theater like the State. Castro even mentioned at one point that over the years, the State Theater is his favorite venue, and it showed. The concert was scheduled for an 8 PM start, and it began at 8:05 - no opening act, just Tommy Castro & the Painkillers. The first set ran until 9:30 PM, and covered the entire catalog, from old to new. At 9"30 the band took about a halk-hour break, during which time Tommy came out to the lobby and worked the souvenir table, greeting fans, autographing CDs and shirts, and he is a most pleasurable guy to talk to, and really seems like the guy you'd like to hang with . At about 10PM, the band returned to the stage, and played another 45 minute set, focusing more on the older and more familiar stuff in the catalog, although he surprised the crwod with a really tasty cover of Wet Wiklklie's "Keep On Smilin'". After the band took its bows, they returned for a single encore. 2-1/2 hours of stage time to see a favorite band at the top of their game, for a $14.00 ticket. Not bad these days!

We loved Tab, he's an awesome guitar player and has pure soul in his voice. We went as a group of 4, and were upset though that he didn't play our favorite song, the hit "Whole Lotta Soul". We left disappointed.

She's a blues guitar virtuoso. I wanted to say she's the best female blues guitarist I've ever seen, but that's not true. She's one of the best blues guitarists--man or woman--I've ever seen. And she's eye-popping beautiful to boot. You're mesmerized by her looks in a tight mini dress, hose and heels, until she throws her head back and starts playing slide guitar. Then you forget all about her looks and watch her play that strat!

Awesome show at the State Theatre in Kzoo, so much talent and Ana is so easy on the eyes...

All said, good concert. Always enjoy the friendly venue. Sound levels on individual instruments needed adjustment. Good show, hard working musicians, the percussionist got a workout, and Tommy Castro is an accomplished guitarist. We'll look forward to seeing them again.

Tab Benoit is a great guitar player and has a unique voice. Both were downplayed by the drums and other instruments. Tab was difficult to understand even when talking between songs, due to something with the sound system. We heard him at the same place last year, and the sound system was fine.

Venue was fantastic, drinks reasonable, food good, Tab Benoit was amazing and opening band Out of Favor Boys was one of the best opening bands ever.

Tab Benoit brought his New Orleans blues out front and center, hardly taking a breath for the first dozen tunes. It's amazing that Tab and his two band members can make that much music with so few people. The State Theatre was full and the crowd was having fun. It's rare when a musician gives us a personal interview - but the audience got one when Tab came ouit for a encore. Tab truly knows how to make a connection with his audience. He engaged the audience with his music, his folksy humor, his humble story telling, and the pure energy he puts into his playing. It is really unfortunate that the sound mixing was so poor that most of the main floor seats had distorted quality sound and an inability to enjoy the lyrics due to the distortion. For those who are fans of Tab's slower blues that were so much of his repertoire before, this seems to be the guitar hero version of Tab - he's breaking out with the breakneck speed stuff - and he does it well.

Opening band talented, but played too long. Tab Benoit was unbelievable!! I have seen Stevie Ray, and Tab was far superior... Have never seen anything like it! Great show.

Great guitarist - great concert - the only problem with both the opening act and Coco Montoya was that the sound was turned up so loud it became distorted. When both first started the sound was good and the words were legible, but as it went on the volume got louder & louder. I like loud music..... not the problem - the distortion was though. Still was good and glad we went.

Great show! The opening act was great as well! Love the State Theatre!

Smooth, clean sound. Too bad for you if you didn't take advantage of this one.