Elvin Bishop Photo © 1999 Tom Asp All rights reserved

The Butanes opened for Alligator Recording artist Elvin Bishop at the Cabooze. Or should I say, a stripped down, power trio version of the Butanes. Curt Obeda on lead guitar and vocals was joined by John Lindberg on bass (and vocals) and Dan Hostetler on drums. This line-up allowed us to hear more solos from the three and also forced them to work a little harder. Curt sang a few of his new songs, one Jimmy Reed type shuffle in particular stood out ("You’re My Boy"), featuring some exceptional southern-soul vocals. The Butanes are always a fun band to listen to, whether they are a trio or a full soul revue.

The first thing out of Elvin Bishop’s mouth was, "It’s nice to be back at the Cabooze, the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime." Dressed in his typical bib overalls and clod hopper boots, his wild, Gene Wilder meets Harpo Marks hairdo and armed with his witty humor, home-spun wisdom and down-home "ah shucks" attitude, not to mention his wickedly sharp slide guitar playing, Bishop, with his guttural, growl of a voice and battered guitars was in outstanding form.

From Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bishop said he was "56 years old now and damned glad to be here, but because of my age I’m allowed to sit down once in awhile," as he sat for a stirring rendition of the song, "In the Still of the Night." But he is so animated he could only sit for one song before he was up and about the stage again, even getting out for a couple of long walk-abouts the audience. Here is some more of his wicked humor as he was introducing his song, "Go Fishin’." "All you need to go fishin’ is a jerk on both ends of the line." He then invited a young lady up on stage to help him play the guitar and he gave us some of the most outrageous faces you will ever see on stage.

Elvin Bishop Photo © 1999 Tom Asp All rights reserved

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1942, Bishop discovered the blues listening to late night radio during the 1950s. He soon began collecting blues records and taught himself how to play the guitar. In 1959 he used a National Merit Scholarship as a way to get closer to his blues heroes by enrolling in the University of Chicago (its campus was tucked right in the middle of the South Side of Chicago). "The first thing I did when I got there," Elvin recalls, "was make friends with the guys working in the cafeteria. Within fifteen minutes I was into the blues scene." Leaving his physics studies behind, Bishop turned to playing the blues full time. He soon befriended Hound Dog Taylor and Little Smokey Smothers (a legendary guitarist who played with Howlin' Wolf) who took Elvin under his wing. During this time he also kept running into fellow University of Chicago student and Paul Butterfield. The two began sitting in at some of the local blues clubs, jamming with Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and many other blues players. Along with guitarist Michael Bloomfield, Bishop and Butterfield began playing as the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Paul and Elvin soon recruited Michael Bloomfield as second lead guitarist, and in 1963 The Paul Butterfield Blues Band was formed (along with Mark Naftalin on keyboards, Jerome Arnold on bass and Sam Lay on drums). This groundbreaking group help introduce electric Chicago blues to a young, hungry white rock audience. By 1967, as the band’s popularity hit an all-time high, their sound was heading away from straight Chicago blues into rock and roll. There duo lead guitars (Bishop and Bloomfield) was also the inspiration for the lead guitar attack of the Allman Brothers and Derek and the Dominos.

Bishop left the group, going solo with some chart-topping rock hits during the 1970s. He returned to the blues in the late 1980s with Alligator Records where he has remained at the forefront of electric blues guitarists ever since. Bishop’s music combines a mixture of his blues roots with contemporary rock and a touch of country always delivered in his laid-back style.

When Elvin Bishop comes to town this is one show you just don’t want to miss!

See a review of Bishop’s most recent CD "The Skin I'm In"

This review is copyright © 1999 by Ray Stiles, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.