May 27, 1998

My main comment from the Chris Duarte show last Friday and Saturday night is, "WHY DOESN'T THIS GUY HAVE A RECORDING CONTRACT!!!!"

Playing to a packed house, Chris put out two nights of intense music. The Saturday night show was literally blistering, as the group did not have to travel that day and arrived rested and fresh for the show. Chris hit the stage around 10 P.M. and just ripped into the first song and then kept it up the remaining 3-1/2 hours. The people who paid their money for the shows got a bargain. Chris pulled out all the stops and played his own music along with everything from B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone" to Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", some Hendrix and a Saturday instrumental finale of Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love". Chris is not a cover band - EVERY song has his personal stamp on it and turns into something unique before he is done with it.

Chris has a new drummer, Jimmy Way, who is more agressive than his last drummer. He had pieces of drumsticks flying across the room both nights, and also used a violin bow on the cymbals to provide some unique sounds. (John Jordan holds down the low end on a seven string bass.)

There were a lot of repeat fans there for both shows, including people from Tampa, St. Pete, Melbourne, Georgia and points north and south. When fans are willing to travel hundreds of miles to see a show, that should tell you something about the artist. Chris does not repeat the same show every night, varying them depending on his mood and his emotions on that particular night. In this case the Friday show was more jazz (in the Coltrane style) influenced, and the Saturday show was more rock and blues. Many of the songs had new intro's to them as Chris modified them to his particular mood. One particular highlight was his current version of B.B. Kings "The Thrill Is Gone", which incorporated a jazzy intro that evolved into a moody reworking of this classic song.

Chris does not play his guitar as much as attack it with extreme intensity...sort of like extreme sports except it's extreme guitar playing. His favorite guitar is chipped, dented and battle scarred with large sections of paint missing from the body. He does not deliberately smash the guitar like many lesser players but does wring every bit of sound and tone from it. This is a guy that lives to perform and truly works at his craft. And in his case it is a craft, something that he works on and studies in order to improve his performance.

The Sapphire Supper Club has to be my favorite venue to see a show. The sound system is decent, and the club is small enough (with the raised floor at the bar around the pit in front of the stage) that you can have a good to excellent view of the stage from pretty much anywhere inside. The food is excellent (I recommend the catfish fingers), and the waitresses treat everyone very well. Tip them well - they really work hard every night.

Overall: Friday's show rates a 10, Saturday's show rates a Spinal Tap 11, and the Sapphire Supper Club rates a 10.

Murf Murphy Murf is a registered professional engineer....(i.e. haircut and a real job) who loves to play guitar. Vist Murf's home page. He lives with (1) wife who wishes he would grow up, (1) teenager who wonders how his parents got to this point in their lives without his help, (2) dogs who sleep a lot, (1) ferret who attacks when not looking and (1) cat who is basically useless. Other Articles I've Written