Live Review
Tinsley Ellis
The BamBoo Room – Lake Worth, FL
March 20, 2005
by Dave “Doc” Piltz
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"Keeping the Blues Alive Award" Achievement for Blues on the Internet Presented by The Blues Foundation
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Although Tinsley Ellis is promoted as an Atlanta-based blues guitarist, in reality he is a “favorite son” of South Florida, born and raised in Hollywood, Florida. Because of his roots in the Florida sand, Ellis is a regular and popular visitor to the region, selling out shows whenever he makes an appearance. With influences ranging from the British blues invasion of the 60’s to the Three Kings (Albert, B. B. & Freddie), Magic Sam and Otis Rush; Tinsley Ellis has created a sound that blends elements of classic West Side , Memphis and rock-tinged blues. As with most Tinsley Ellis shows, I anticipated that the performance during The BamBoo Room’s 6th Anniversary Week would be well-attended and have Ellis in top form.
After opening with a nice instrumental number, Tinsley Ellis and his fine band including Jeff Birch (drums), Todd Hamrick (keyboards) and a bass player who was simply referred to as ”The Evil One”, broke into a fine rendition of the song “Hell or High Water” from the recording of the same name. Mixing up tempo songs with slower, bluesier numbers, the band moved on to “A Quitter Never Wins.” Tinsley’s guitar work was some of the best I have heard from him and his vocals continue to improve each time I see him.
One of Tinsley’s most entertaining band mates was keyboardist Todd Hamrick. Hamrick is as animated a performer as I have ever seen work live, especially on keyboards that are not mobile. Many times, I though Hamrick was going to leap off of the stage as he pounding out the tunes, such as “The Next Miss Wrong” and “Sell My Soul to Devil for a Dime.” Between Hamrick’s excitability and the fine guitar work by Tinsley, the show was as fun to watch as to listen to.
The sets included songs like “Let Him Down Easy” and “The Last Song” from Tinsley’s 2004 CD, The Hard Way, along with songs from his earlier recordings including “Pawnbroker” from Fanning the Flames and “I’ll Be Lovin’ You” from Kingpin. Tinsley and company were in fine form throughout the performance, their final show before heading to Chicago to record a live CD at Chord-On Blues in the Chicago suburb of St. Charles.
Overall, this was one of the best performances I have seen from Tinsley Ellis live. The combination of songs, pacing and energy were great and the packed house at the BamBoo Room really got into the show. The quality of the live show definitely has me looking forward to the release of the live CD later this year.
To find out more about when and where Tinsley Ellis will be performing, visit his website at www.tinsleyellis.com or the Alligator Records website (Tinsley’s current label) at www.alligatorrecords.com.
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