Tommy Castro

This was my first time seeing Tommy and The Painkillers. They had my foot tappin' and my head bobbin', right out of the gate. A very tight band. All of them displayed most excellent skills on their instruments with Tommy's big smile, leading the way.

one of the best blue shows I've seen in years. Tommy looked like he was having all kinds of fun playing his guitar and putting on a great show. will definitely go to see another one of his shows. would and have recommended to my friends to go and see him.

Coco Montoya and Tommy Castro are great entertainers as well as great musicians. When Tommy told me after an August show at the Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse, NY that he was going to be out with Coco in the fall or winter, I made it a point to keep track and find out when and where. Both of their bands are tight and talented and either one could have been the headliner, as Tommy freely acknowledged. WIth his new disc release being heavily promoted he was, of course, the feature act.. I saw the show a few days ago (11/22) at the Keswick in Glenside, PA, and was a little disappointed. There was a local Philly opening act (Sister Blue, I think) that was good, but played well beyond the limits of good taste; four songs would have left me quite impressed but they simply played themselves around in a small circle, exposing and then reinforcing the reasons why they were not headliners. Their lengthy encampment ultimately forced the truncation of Tommy's set to what seemed like only 30 or 40 minutes. Coco was great - all I expected, finally seeing him for the first time. It seemed like Tommy and his band were not quite firing on all cylinders. Don't get me wrong - they were good, but have been better. It may have been the disappointment of a half-full theater and some of the problem may have been the sound; Tommy seemed a little uncomfortable and they seemed to do a lot of monitor adjusting. The overall sound for the night was okay, but I thought the mix was fair at best - the bass was buried and the guitar was annoyingly predominant. Anyway, that brings us to The Birchmere 11/25; nice venue - table seating rather than theater seating. Both bands were definitely on top of their game last night (and no local opener). The sets, of course, were pretty familiar, but there was an extra spark right from the start. Perhaps it was the more intimate feeling and bustling atmosphere. Coco Montoya is simply one of the most overlooked and underrated guitarists of any genre. He is a master of the instrument, able to make it weep in an almost imperceptible whisper or wail for its very life. Additionally, his left-handed reverse-strung style enables some quirky runs and inflections enabled by fingers moving backward and counter to the norm. His talent is equalled only by his humility, citing the audiences as his reason for doing this at all and, after the show, going so far as to call himself a 'hack'. If I could only hack like that....His set was excellent and left the crowd buzzing. Tommy started with a bang, but didn't enter from the rear of the house this time, as I had expected. He is a magnificent player in his own right, a touch more biting and not quite as sweet as Mr. Montoya - the lemon to Coco's honey, if blues were a cup of tea. He was locked in, primed, and ready to roll - and rock - as was his fantastic band. This was a set to remember - an inspired and enthusiastic performance that he seemed to be in total control of (as opposed to the 22nd). When Tommy brought Coco back to the stage for the end of the show....a raucus and energetic, if sometimes out-of-synch, jam, topped off with an Albert Collins number.....wow...they both looked like they could play all night - two contrasting yet complimentary flavors in the brew. The sound was very good, although it did seem like the bass was a little heavy in the 45-50 Hz range for most of the night and lacking a bit of definition. Tommy's vocal initially had a high mid peak, as did the guitar but everything was better by about halfway through the set. All in all, a fabulous and memorable show; if you were there, you know this to be true.

Excellent concert!! Will never miss Tommy Castro concert if in the area again! Also great jam session.

Tommy Castro is a wonderful performer on his own, then he brings out Debi Davies, then Joe Louis Walker. Not to mention that the band was fabulous. They are tight. The horn players are two of the best horn players I have seen in ages. And then to top it off, Donald Kinsey came and sat in with them. They did individual shows and a huge jam at the end. It was an amazing show.

Great show! Tommy and his band always put on an awesome show!

Great music. They all loved their work. Tommy Castro is among the elite in blues/rock.

One of the best shows I have seen in years. Amazing guitar work by all three headliners with one of the tightest and hardworking backup bands around. Musicians had wonderful interaction with the crowd, and really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Absolutely fantastic. Good to see my Marin County neighbor ripping up NYC!!! Thank, Chris

What a fantastic venue to see a show. Tommy and the review delivered big time. The show went on & on. Tommy took his "wireless" guitar & strolled thru the audience, pickin the whole time.

These kick-ass Blues guitarists are truly amazing! Coco came out with his band and was all too humble as an opener- he is truly a headliner himself! Great vocals and well-constructed guitar leads go on to take you on a journey. His set list wasn't his best for what he's done in the past, but that didn't matter. What can I say about Tommy Castro and his band? Tom Poole (trumpet) and Keith Crossan (tenor sax) are about the best horn section anywhere. These guys have played together longer than most people have been married. They "traded fours" incredibly on "I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On". (And Keith looked hot with his red cowboy boots!). I never saw this bassist with him before, but he layed down solid runs while dancing out of time to his own playing...while holding the electric bass like a stand-up! I never saw this keyboard player either, but he was outstanding, as was the drummer. The set list was shorter than when they do their own thing, but since they had an opening act ( a local female, Sister Blue, with a Joplinesque voice which rocked the house), as well as Coco, they didn't get into some of their classic favorites like "I'm Not Broken", or my obscure favorite of all times, "Wake Up Call". Instead they were playing and pushing the new CD (which they are entitled to do on a tour). The biggest disappointment was that the theater was only about 1/3 full. If this show was at the Count Basie in Red Bank, NJ, it would have been sold out! Although they didn't do an encore, Tommy and Keith came out to sign and talk to the fans afterwards. These West Coast boys should never be missed when they venture back East!!!

LOVED Tommy Castro ... however, he didn't sing enough songs .... WAAAY too much jamming ... I think because Coco set the stage with his performance (which was TOO long !!). The sound should have been turned down to accommodate all of the instruments ... Tommy's voice was drowned out !!! I had to put something in my ears because it was so painful !! I would love to see Tommy Castro perform with an opening act instead of an equal billing. I felt that his talent was compromised by Coco Montoya !! Birchmere should have paid more attention to the sound volume !!

We always enjoy the Birchemere....this show was a notch above,,,,Coco was intense and Tommy,,always good.....don't get rid of your bass player,,,,,,,maybe the newest to the band, but he was very unique,,,his stage presence....great food and easy drive from 75 miles west......thanks

Tommy jamming is the best you can ever expect. It is good old fashion blues with guitar challenges between Coco Montoya and tommy ripping it up. Been tracking tommy, keith and randy since grant and green, the saloon and lou's in SFO and they are amazingly still my favorite. My first time at the birchmere and the only missing opportunity is a little dance floor space to watch the honey's shake it.

Terrific performances by both Coco Montoya and Tommy Castro. I'd definitely do it again!

Coco Montoya opened the show. I've never seen him play and was looking forward to seeing him. I'm a new fan. He was great! It's interesting to watch a lefty play guitar, but he plays a right hand neck! He has great dynamics and tone. I've seen Tommy several times. He always delivers. And what a band (Coco's was great too). They each have enough talent to front a band (just check out Keith's CD if you doubt it) so Tommy has great support behind him.

What an incredible night of music.... two of THE finest blues -based bands out there today. The Tommy Castro Band is a tight...full sounding....high energy....feel good band! A taste of blues, R & B, funk and soul.... fabulous band and material. Coco Montoya has proved himself to be one of the best...and accomplished master guitarists out there. You could hear a pin drop when he treated us to his emotional guitar solos...beautiful!

Excellent concert. He's a great singer/song writer. However, the sound volume was unnecessarily loud.

As has always been the case, the Tommy Castro Band put on an excellent performance Friday night in Saratoga, CA.

The band was awesome! So was the opening band....Venue was just the best. A lot of fun!

Excellent show! The opening act The JC Smith Band was worth the price of admision alone. As for Tommy Casrto a great performance with a mix of new and old.

only thing, Tommy's band wants you to get up and shake a leg.The carriage house is not the place to do this. It is pretty formal in there, and like a lot of folks, you just want to get up and move. We saw Tommy's band in Sonora where they played on stage out in the open air...this was magical event (and Janie was great to talk with)!!

i have been a tommy castro fan for a long time, but this was my first show where he was the headliner. Great energy and very tight band. The venue is really nice, although it is not a great rock/blues venue in that you can't really get up and move around and dance a bit, which is normally part of the fun. i have always thought tommy was a very good guitar player, but not necessarily great, but i now have changed my mind. he was awesome playing that old fender strat. the rest of the band was great as well. he played some rock, but mostly blues, which was a little disappointing because some of my favorite songs are more on the rock end. regardless, great show and a great value ($40 got me three rows from the stage).

The two hour show was great from start to finish, ending with a 15 min rendision of James Browns " Sex Machine".

The Tommy Castro band played to a jammed pack audience at the Rhythm Room. There was no issue with getting people out on the dance floor because that was the best view of the show and where the party was taking place. The band had a new addition of a keybordist that did an awesome job and should be kept as a regular band member. Scott, Ronnie, Tom and Keith all performed flawlessly and kept the audience on their feet boggying all night long. Tommy was very humble and made himself available to anyone that wanted to say hi. It is hard to believe that it is still possible to see the best blues act in the country in a intimate small blues club up front and right next to the performance. If you ever get the chance to experience the Tommy Castro band this way, it is an experience of a lifetime! Thanks for an awesome show, TCB! PS. Insanity was difficult to dance to and could be replaced with Lucky in Love or Chairman of the Board.

What a great show! I was impressed with how much fun Tommy and his band were having. I always think that is the most important ingredient to a good show. you go see someone live because you know you like the music, so you expect good music...but a good time is always the prize. Gotta be tough to make every show as fun as the last.

The place was packed - standing room only, which I thought would be a big negative but it turned out to be ok - gave everyone a reason to dance. It was high energy & packed with people of all types and ages! Tommy and his band put on an excellent show - connecting with the crowd. We would see him again in a heart beat!

As a Blues novice who has 40 plus years of listening to R/R, and being fairly unfamiliar with any one artist's work, this show was superb from a performance standpoint. Castro grabbed the audience by the short ones and didn't let go for 1.5 hours +. His band filled with excellent musicians, everyone of who had their chance to shine. To single one out wouldn't be fair and to be honest, of the many R/R concerts I've gone to over the years, this band was probably the best I've ever seen. As soon as I thought I knew what was coming, Castro did something else, new and refreshing. From what I could tell, the audience was filled with many Castro veterans and they were excited as I was. Castro knew several members of the audience, I assume from previous shows, but he made everyone feel welcome, opening at the rear of the room and moving through the audience to the stage. He later repeated the feat. As someone who likes his music LOUD, the band was at the upper limit throughout the show. If you have a chance to catch Tommy Castro, GO! You won't be disappointed.

My sister and I had a great time... the music was awesome! All six band members are gifted with great talent. The band played a lot from their new CD.... we loved it , so we bought the CD right there! Great Night!

I've been to many events at the Canyon Club and have enjoyed the entertainment tremendously. Tommy Castro was no exception. Mr. Castro is a consummate guitarist and his band are first class musicians. I would recommend that given the chance, you should definitely take in one of his shows. The Canyon Club is a decent venue, particularly from the viewing audience perspective, however, the overpriced mixed drinks, canned beer and food detract from the experience overall - regardless of the artist being presented. After paying for the tickets, expect to spend another $150 easily for dinner and drinks for two.

Tommy plays like he's having a good time. He smiles and engages with his audience. Makes for a good time!

Blues master playing and sounding as good as ever! Two hour show that seed like five minutes. Tommy was engaging with crowd and genuinely enjoyed themselves and it showed.guitar playing was superb! Piano pulsing was excellent! Bass by randy McDonald (25 years together) and it shows. Like tommy said, " we're not a rock band but a blues band that has to work for a living.". Was excellent to see th at work. Can't wait until they get back to this neck of the woods! Iced in both oldies and new songs well.

What a GREAT show! Great music, great energy, great talent! You guys ARE Rock Stars to us!

Tommy Castro rocked. This is my 4th show of his I've seen and he never disappoints. He hasn't lost his enthusiasm for performing and is incredibly accessible to his fans. I brought 4 friends who had never seen him and they were still talking about it the next day. I have never seen a show where he did not perform past his scheduled closing time. Always a good mix of his standards and new stuff. I never miss him when he comes to town.

GREAT show, small venue with great sound .Chris Cain is soooo Great, & Tommy always great !!!

Nice surprise - better than expected! Guitar girl Debbie really added a lot to the show! Great mix of musicians - Tommy Castro made it happen. Will definitely see him again. Affordable tickets made it even better! Thanks

I thought the show was better than I expected. We enjoyed the other Blues players performing with Tommy Castro. I would go again.

This Show was awsome! Goes to show Great Entertainers are still around!

This was the best blues concert in South Lake Tahoe this year!

So much talent!!! Great venue. Sould have more shows like this. Only wish it ran longer.

Both Marcia Ball and Tommy Castro were great. The weather was perfect, the venue was great, and the music was truly wonderful. Both artists appeared relaxed and came ready to play their best. The only downside was the concert didn't last a lot longer.

We have seen Tommy Castro many times over the years here in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and he just gets better everytime we see him! He has a great connection with the audience, has everyone on their feet dancing, and he always looks like he is having a blast! We love, love, love him, and can't wait to see him when he returns!

Tommy Castro laid it out there and was terrific. Marcia Ball was an especially pleasant addition. Loved the show!

Tommy Castro -Way to much VOLUME -We left during the third song. Can't believe they charge $6.00 to park

The show was great! Marcia Ball then Tommy Castro. Tommy played excellent guitar and worked as hard as ever to entertain.

Tommy was fair playing mostly covers, Marcia was stellar.

Marcia Ball, who played the first half of this show, was fantastic! Great music, great sound, great seats, and she was worth the price of admission all by herself. Her band looked happy, as if they were having a good time making great music for an audience that was loving it. Imagine that! Tommy Castro is a good blues man and I love his music. But I won't be seeing him live again, and in fact we walked out halfway through his set. The major problem was terrible sound balance. The bass and drums buried the vocals, and the volume level was painful. I played in rock bands for many decades, so I'm not one to complain about loud music. As we were walking out I noticed that even in the top seats, the bass was far too loud. The venue acoustics are just fine. Marcia Ball was on stage with 4 sidemen (i.e. 5-piece band total) and the sound was perfect. It isn't the venue. Tommy, listen to me... You're a great player but you're screwing yourself here. You need sound guys who can hear, and aren't too lazy to walk the venue and make adjustments. The Painkillers are excellent players, but they look like they're not having any fun. You might wanna find some sidemen who actually enjoy performing. Ya know?

Had listened to a lot of Tommy Castro on satellite radio and one CD I bought, but did not realized how talented a guitar player he is. Great show! Marcia Ball was great too.

Great front band w/ \\Marcia Ball who joined Tommy for finale. Great hook-up...great show!

Tommy Castro at the MN Zoo was literally the best concert ever! The band ROCKED, the venue is fantastic, and the fabulous Marcia Ball as warm up was a bonus!! I highly recommend this venue, and if you ever get the chance to see Tommy Castro... you should GO!

Event was great but perhaps you should spray for bugs so the entertainers stay a little longer.

The room's capacity is about 300. He performed like it was 3000.

Tommy Castro was a great event. There was a great crowd and a great vibe. He really knows how to put on a show. I will definitely see him next time he comes into town.

Tommy Castro and his band, Trampled Under Foot & Joe Louis Walker put on a outstanding show.

I love Tommy Castro end of story. I feel he had too many people with him. I understand that the name of the show was R&B Review, but...he is the MAIN ATTRACTION! Trampled Under Foot was great and had a lot of ENERGY! Joe Louis Walker should of played different songs that had more energy! Rick Estrin played too long. It would of been better if he played 2 or 3 of his songs and then sat in on some of Tommy Castro's songs that I WANTED to hear, like, "Nasty Habits and Sex Machine". The jam at the end was good. They all could done and encore to one of Tommy's songs. I would of like to have seen the bass player do a solo. Afterall, the bass player holds the groove down to EVERY song. He also played all night with only a few minutes of a break! Lead guitarists only hold the groove for about 30 seconds.

You are in for a real treat by Tommy!!! This is a mst see.. Enjoy

Tommy is one hell of a blues musician and great performer. Enjoyed this concert immensely.

This concert Rocked! Tommy Castro, Joe Louis Walker & Debbie Davies all doing their own sets... then jammin together for dang near an hour and a half!.... whew... don't get any better than 3 virtuoso guitarists playin off one another... this was the most enjoyable concert I've been to, and I've seen plenty including Buddy Guy, BB King, Susan Tedeschi, Joe Bonamassa, ZZ Top, Pink Floyd, Ted Nugent to name a few... and Tommy's band with killer sax, trumpet, keyboards, bass & drums just make it even better. If you love the blues and don't wanna mortgage the house to see it live... check out the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Review, you won't be sorry.