The Kamsack Playhouse was transformed into a “house of blues” on November 7 when storyteller/musician Guy Davis sauntered onstage.
If the mark of a good performance is technical mastery and consistency, or if it is how well the performer connects with the audience, judging from the reaction of the audience on November 7, Guy Davis delivered on both counts.
“I don’t like people to see the hard work and sweat that goes into what I do. I want them to hear me and be uplifted,” Davis says on his website.
When asked prior to the show how he felt about doing a one-man show without a back-up band, Davis promptly replied that when he is performing as a solo artist he gets to share the intimate side of Guy Davis.
“A band delivers a lot more power onstage, but in a solo setting I am able to display the more intricate side of my skills as a musician when playing my instruments,” he said.
“I enjoy what I do. I get to travel the globe to do my shows, but it truly is the people that keep me coming out to perform. My reward is the reaction of the audience.”
Davis began the concert with Maggie Campbell Blues and Saturday Blues and it wasn’t long before the audience was clapping and whistling along to the music, chuckling at his jokes and singing along to the songs with a few barks and howls included.
Demonstrating that he is a masterful storyteller, Davis’ stage show contained liberal amounts of back stories to complement the stories told in song, especially so in the numbersSugar Belly and Kokomo Kid.
“I can tell stories as good as any politician,” he joked.
Keeping up a strong personal interaction with his audience, Davis easily managed to deal with a broken guitar string, while joking about the broken “G-string,” and the show flowed seamlessly on.
When launching into the Muddy Waters’ tune, My Eyes Keep Me in Trouble, the depths of Davis’ powerful, rasping blues vocals and masterful harmonica accentuations reverberated throughout the venue.
For the tune Shake it Like Sony Did, Davis used only his powerful vocals, harmonica and stomping feet.
He earned, and received, a standing ovation at the Kamsack Playhouse.
Davis is from the Bronx, New York, and has agents in various parts of the world, including Canada. Kamsack was one of two stops in Saskatchewan on his current Canadian tour.
The next Kamsack Arts Council concert presentation at the Playhouse will be in April.
