’Til the cows came home

I’ve got to admit that a couple of months back when I requested the privilege of reviewing the Elvin Bishop show at the Big Room, I didn’t anticipate that I’d be out for the previous two nights in a row bouncing up and down on my ankles at the 30th anniversary reunion shows of Spark ‘n’ Cinder. Oh well, there are many justifications for complaining in this world, but getting to hear too much good live music ain’t one of ’em.

In the 30-odd years that I’ve been attending pretty much every concert Bishop has played in the Northstate, I’ve never seen him play a show I didn’t enjoy from start to finish. The guy knows how to attract a crowd and generate a party—even on a cold and rainy Sunday evening. Arriving at the venue a full hour before show time I was impressed that the sold-out crowd had already filled the place to the brim.

About the time the crowd finished consuming the buffet dinner, house manager Bob Littell introduced the band and the room was immediately filled with a rolling swamp boogie anchored by the tight drumming of Bobby Cochran and embellished by Steve Willis on accordion and Ed Earley on trombone. But it was Bishop, sliding in on a huge round of applause, who really spiced up the intro number with a fine bottleneck solo.

Looking fit and limber in a black satin western shirt with scarlet accents, his head a tousled frizz of graying brown hair over a craggy, expressive face accented by piercing, mischievous eyes, Bishop was obviously having a great time leading the band. But the man is no glory hog. Lead vocals on some songs were handled nicely by Earley, who brought a strong gospel baritone to bear, and drummer Cochran who also handled lead vocals, most notably on the Bishop classic “Party Til the Cows Home,” which inspired a major portion of the crowd to try to embody the ‘We’re gonna boogie ’til we lose control,” lyric.

Guitarist Ian Lamson was also given plenty of room to show off his chops, providing tasty, spot-on rhythm throughout the show, and taking a great, shoot for the sky wah-wah solo on the fleshed out “What the Hell is Goin’ On,"—a tune that’s played on nothing but guitars and vocal on the new Gettin’ My Groove Back album—which was transformed into a dance floor-filling blues boogie.

It was obvious from the middle of the second song that this was a crowd that had come to dance, and Bishop and band supplied a seemingly endless series of great rhythms not just on the fast numbers, but also slowing things down on occasion to allow the more romantically inclined gentlemen in the audience to, as Bishop put it, “rub up against a good-smelling girl.” Especially effective in this mode was the extended, mostly instrumental rendition of Bishop’s big 1976 radio hit, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” which graciously served up the elegant melody on lead guitars and featured singing only for the chorus refrain of the song’s title.

The dance floor was probably put to its best use on the new “Got to be New Orleans,” a tune that had a funky rhythm as thick as Mississippi River mud and twice as slippery, judging from the fancy footwork being demonstrated all over the floor.

The pre-encore portion of the show ended with the rollicking Bishop classic, “Got to Put on My Travelin’ Shoes.” But the show barely paused before Bishop and the guys came back out accompanied by special guest star Lazy Larry who proceeded to sing and play up a storm on the harmonica-fueled blues, “I Made Up My Mind,” winning over the crowd in no time flat.

It’s hard to end a night that consists of a series of high points, but Bishop’s closing number, the gorgeous, gospel-powered “Rock My Soul,” managed to channel the accumulated energy of the evening into one dramatically climactic crescendo of beautifully sung lyrics and blazing lead guitar that left everyone I saw looking quite satisfied with the festivities.