Chris Duarte stepped on stage at the Fine Line like a man on a mission. One of the few comments he made that night said it all. He said "I'm from Austin, Texas and we're here to play our ass off tonight, thank you very much." The crowd just ate it up.
Duarte says he doesn't want to be classified as a blues player. Well he doesn't have any worries on that point because his show was anything but the blues. His show was a brilliant display of hard driving rock guitar (with a hint of a blues influence recognizable here and there). Duarte attacks his guitar with a vengeance -- bent over at the waste, long hair flying in his face, playing monster licks, at a decibel level that would make Quiet Riot flinch.
It was a party atmosphere at this show with lots of dancing, shouting and stage gawking. Iowa blues rockers Scarlet Runner, with young guitar wizard Jason Christensen, was in the audience and are big fans of Duarte. Duarte did a mesmerizing guitar solo at the end that just wouldn't stop...he just kept on going and going...thought he was the energizer bunny up there on guitar!
Copyright 1997 by Ray M. Stiles. All rights reserved. All reviews are copyright protected. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.