Filmed and recorded at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh, PA, The Kelly Richey Live DVD is a work in progress of a young woman whose road journeys have molded her into a guitar warrior awaiting an overdue corronation.
Watching this DVD brings back fond memories of when I saw Richey perform at Huey's in Memphis, TN. Working with drummer Tony Dennis and bass player J. Scarr, Kelly is giving guitar lessons to students watching her every move in the DVD.
Why this woman is not a big name in the blues community is beyond sheer bafflement. All ten songs on this DVD exhibit an artist who shows no mercy with a performance taking things over the edge. Blending showmanship and blues histrionics coming from the Hendrix and Stevie Ray instruction manuals, Richey powerslams and shreds classic standards "Red House and "CrossRoads"
into fashions that not even Deborah Coleman and Susan Tedeschi would want to tackle.
Even when Richey plays "Hey Joe" solos behind her head, she's not just some carbon copy with cheap ink. Her original material is solid fare. "The Blues Don't Lie" along with "My Baby's Gone Crazy" come off as fresh bluesrock injections guaranteed to wake up a dying horse.
It's easy to see why Kelly releases so much live material. Her studio cds pack punches but are too short-sighted for this is a woman who ignites the stage. From the camera angle shots, the audience at Club Cafe are enjoying themselves. You would think they be out on the dance floor as Richey's music is medicine for the soul. Coming to just listen only? Tired?
More intimate is the fifteen minute segment devoted to Richey describing her upbringing, roots, influences and a special night for her when she got to play with the late Albert King.
Surely this lady can strike fear in her female guitar companions who receive more notoriety. Perhaps we should be thankful Richey won't dilute her music or cater to the American Idol illness perpetuating our television waves. Better off taking a blues diva with a Strat of fire, Chrissy Hynde vocals and become part of a thread that winds its way on those roads we call the blues.
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