Bobby "Blue" Bland
Sure, Bobby "Blue" Bland is a bona fide R&B legend and a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. But apparently he'll have to pad his résumé to get some people to pay him respect. The 75-year-old singer couldn't catch a break at the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis on Wednesday night.
A few folks insisted on gabbing so much during the show that Bland confessed he found the conversational buzz distracting. A woman at a nearby table, not the least bit embarrassed or contrite, said she was talking, all right, and asked, "Is that okay with you?" Bland, bless his soul, graciously said she could do as she pleased since he was going to get paid anyway, but he thought everyone turned out to hear him perform. Silly him.
Tori Amos tickled a stage full of ivories Wednesday at the Warner.
(Cellar Door Concerts)
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Chatter, though, wasn't the only thing preventing Bland from being heard. He's touring with a sextet featuring a three-piece horn section. The trumpets and sax blared so loudly at times that Bland might just as well have mouthed the lyrics to some of his best-known songs. More crooner than belter these days, he stayed seated for most of the show, and his soft, husky voice often had difficulty rising above the brassy din.
Yet when the horns backed off, Bland delivered a series of soulful, low-key performances: "I'll Take Care of You," "Soon as the Weather Breaks," "Members Only" and "Take Off Your Shoes." He remains a great balladeer, and even though some vintage hits received short shrift, he rarely reached for a note that didn't ring true.
-- Mike Joyce
Tori Amos
Although Tori Amos performed solo Wednesday night at the Warner Theatre, she had four instruments to choose from onstage: two organs, a Rhodes keyboard and a grand piano. She spent most of the compelling hour-and-45-minute show at the piano, often turning around to the Hammond B3 organ behind it. She sometimes alternated between them in the same song, allowing the turbulent piano verses of "Marys of the Sea" to contrast with the more reverent and restrained organ-backed choruses.
Occasionally, Amos even played both instruments at the same time, straddling her bench to attack one with each hand, adding a depth of sound to songs like "Angels" and "Mother Revolution" as she engaged in a one-woman keyboard duel.
Showmanship aside, the songs in which she stuck to one instrument were the most moving: She moaned a cover of Madonna's "Like a Prayer" to the crowd's delight, and during a trancelike "The Beekeeper" her vocals droned over her organ as she fervently chanted, "I must see the beekeeper."
Midway through her set, Amos flubbed the lyrics to "Snow Cherries From France" and recovered by ad-libbing a verse about her lack of rehearsal time because of a full day of radio interviews. With a quick glance at a lyric sheet, she launched back into the song and glided smoothly over the words as a supportive fan shouted, "You got it!" Indeed, the crowd gushed at Amos all night, shouting comments like "You're amazing!" and "I love you!" and greeting every song, new or old, with the same enthusiastic yells of recognition.
-- Catherine P. Lewis
