(Me & Honeyboy)
Either prior to or while reading my Honeyboy Edwards experience, you may want to play this bit of audio from the show. I was close enough (front row) to capture near the last 25 minutes on my iPhone. If you want to wait until after, fine. I’m sure you will be playing it more than once.
Oh yeah…those two instances where you jerk your head upwards and say in amazement…”HOT DAMN“!…after you hear what you hear, are at 7:35 and 15:23 in the recording. Enjoy.
I am standing four feet from David “Honeyboy” Edwards and my needle is in the red. I am rooted hard where I stand, up against the front of the stage…but I feel like vapour. I feel like I am a massive exhale exhorted out in to the atmosphere, swirling around to make sure everyone understands the significance of what is about to happen next.
At any moment, the Blues is about to emerge from a hole in wall and walk right up on the stage, sit a spell and play awhile. Yes, The Blues. The Blues will be here tonight. Not in black and white; not in folk or lore; not in contemporary mimicry. The Blues will be here, live and in the flesh, and it is going to show us just how blue you can get.
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I am in a small London bar cum music venue cum makeshift Mississippi-backroad juke joint. The stage is a rag-tag collection of folding chairs, assorted bits of rug, wires, microphone, amps and opened guitar cases. The stage is flooded in a velvety red glow from the dim white lights bouncing off the old ragged red curtain that is draped behind on the wall.
The house is three-quarters full and the opening act has just finished his set. People are rushing around to refresh their drinks. Some are grabbing two or three beers at a time to last them for the entire next set. Some are knocking back ceremonial shots of whiskey to prep themselves for what they are about to experience. For some, moving nary an inch from where they stand is not an option.
For these people…the non-movers…us…nothing could be more important right now than the anticipation of what is about to happen. One of the last two, and the only touring, living legends of the Delta Blues is about to play. David “Honeyboy” Edwards is 94 years old. He has played the blues from the Mississippi’s Delta on up to Chicago and all the broken down juke joints in between. The list of the blues legends he has played with can drop jaws: Tommy Johnson, Son House, Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lightnin’ Hopkins…utterly staggering. He has played with them all at one point and tonight he channels them for us.
Ninety-four years old. This ain’t no oldies act. This man knows what he is doing. He knows who he is and what he represents. He knows why he is here and what he must do. Ninety-four. If it is true that age brings wisdom, then Honeyboy Edwards must be one of the smartest motherfuckers on the planet.
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If you have been reading along on this blog you know I am a fan of the blues…to say the least. This gig was a bow-down event for me. One week after I move to London I visited Rough Trade records in Notting Hill. I am in the store and I see a concert bill for a Honeyboy Edwards show. There are a lot of old posters and playbills on the wall in Rough Trade and I assumed this one was an oldie and goodie. Not so.
I was in disbelief and disoriented at the thought of actually being able to attend this gig. I rushed home to get tickets online. I couldn’t miss this show for anything. I had to be a part of this. I had to be one in the crowd, clapping for and cajoling Honeyboy to play those country blues.
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We got to the gig early I cemented myself in the front row to what would be Honeyboy’s left. The first act,
Les Copeland, proclaimed Honeyboy to be his hero. He played his set and played in a respectful manner that greased the skids for Honeyboy. I’m sure Les could have played with a bit more glint and flash; his subdued set was more than enough to let us know he has chops.
Near the end of Les’ set, Michael Frank came out to play an accompanying blues harmonica. Michael Frank is Honeboy’s manager. he is also an eccentric, a music producer and owner of
Earwig Music. Honeyboy and Les are Earwig artists. Michael played one song and then went out back to get Honeyboy.
Oh shit: Here come The Blues. Steady, Judd…steady.
Honeyboy came out dressed in trademark shirt, vest and flat-rimmed “Chicago” baseball cap. Ninety-four years old. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I anticipated feeling sympathy for the old buck. Surely the show was going to be more a figment of the blues than a fertile reading of it. Oh, how wrong I was.
Honeyboy Edwards played like a man possessed. Not possessed by the devil nor any other fabled figure…but with the spirit of youth. I can only surmise that it is the passion he has for what he is doing and what he represents that allows him to play with such vigour and showmanship as he did last Friday night.
He played smooth and he played dirty and he did each with a knowing confidence. He was engaged with his music and engaged the audience with kicks and gestures that were both a play to crowd and a natural reaction. He played for 1hr and 45min without a break. He played lead guitar (with Les playing rhythm far in the background), he played slide guitar and he played dobro. He played it all with a gusto and sincerity that only a man who has played as long as he has, could.
I was completely blown away by his slide work…especially when he brought the dobro out. It was a slashing and stinging sound that called for attention. In the audio clip I have provided for you, be sure to have your ears open for the 15:23 mark. Honey tears of a slide riff that give you the chicken skin (that is me with my knee-jerk “Whhooaa!” when the Honey takes off).
Yes, there were some bum notes, but no one cared. Honeyboy Edwards was serving some authentic Delta Blues and the crowd was lapping it up (just listen to us!).
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I didn’t move the whole night…literally transfixed with a huge, shit eating grin plastered on my face. Honey was looking at me a few times during the show. I was hopeful that my expression was egging him on, letting him know that he was nailing it and to keep stoking it. He must have thought I was some crazed lunatic. I could stop grinning.
Why should I have? This was the living Blues. A seminal figure who has toted the Blues Legacy around with him for many a year. I am so thankful for the opportunity to see Honeyboy live. He has a presence and I was in it. He is Honeyboy Edwards, but he is also the Mississippi Delta, West Side Chicago, South Side Chicago, Junior Wells, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, The Allman Brothers, Stevie Ray and Keith Richards and so many, many more.
He knows his past and he knows his future is a day-by-day uncertainty. Friday night he played like neither mattered. He was in the moment playing his blues, the real Delta Blues, for the people…as he has for the last ninety-four years.
Thanks, Honeyboy.
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Seeing as I was so close I was able to capture some sights and sounds of the show. In addition to the audio above, I have some snaps and some short clips of video (no disrespect to Honeyboy and his management intended…I just want to share).
The Goods
Honeyboy Gig Photos: Here are some snaps from the Honeyboy show. I only had my iPhone 3GS with me, so the pictures are not of the highest quality:
A short video clip of Honeyboy taking the stage and warming up:
Two quick clips of Honeyboy: Honeyboy giving his manager the business & a short clip of Honeyboy in action.
