On Thursday I was fortunate to be able to attend the Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’s Room On The Porch Tour. The two legendary Blues musicians, collectively known as TajMo, played at the Paramount Theatre in Denver. For two guys that have toured for almost 60 years (Taj) and the other for 50 years (Keb), they both bring serious energy and stage presence to this day. I didn’t just attend the concert, I also got to participate in a special experience that involved seeing the sound check, a 40 minute Q&A with TajMo, a swag bag, and more.
Only nine of us were there for the early check-in and Q&A which was great, because apparently half of the people that paid for the experience were a no-show. Given the price of this, ~ $300 a ticket, you might wonder why. We all knew the experience was happening and that the doors opened at 7:00PM. But we didn’t get the email about the experience until just three days before which informed us we had to check-in between 4:00PM and 4:30PM. For a Thursday, that is rough for people with day jobs then factor getting into downtown Denver at that hour. The late notice on that is my only complaint about the experience.
After almost an hour of listening to the sound check the stage cleared leaving just TajMo. During this time it would be trivial to mistake Keb as someone working the venue. Not playing an instrument, jumping off the stage to talk to sound, talking to others playing music. Being there for an hour listening was interesting because there were several times Taj Mahal would start singing other songs, as if it were an ongoing joke with the crew. Someone would sing one line and Taj would start playing and singing it.
When it came time for the Q&A, the person acting as moderator said we’d have 30 minutes but Keb Mo playfully told him it could go long. The group of us didn’t actually have a chance to ask too many questions because the two of them were loquacious in their answers which was great. When you are a fan of such legendary musicians and get one, maybe two questions, what do you ask?
I was able to ask them one question, and fortunately someone else asked the second I had in mind. My question was what up-and-coming musicians do they feel truly embody the blues that we should pay attention to. Both Taj and Keb immediately became rapid-firing names which was great. It was absolutely no surprise to me that both said “Kingfish” almost in unison. Referring to Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, he had actually put on a show just weeks before at the Bluebird Theatre in Denver. I was fortunate to be able to see him and he is an incredible blues musician, and I could write a mini-review of that show in this blog. Only 27 years old and he captured the attention of so many of the legends and was recognized by B.B. King many years prior if memory serves. After Kingfish, the names came pouring out:
- Sean “Mack” McDonald
- Kevin Dodge (?)
- Ronnie Baker Brooks
- Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton
- Eric Bibb
- Guy Davis
- Alvin Youngblood Hart
By this point, I’m sure I had lost track of a few names they threw out. But this is when Keb’ Mo’ paused and pointed out that they hadn’t mentioned any female blues musicians. I quickly asked, “So, what about female blues musicians we should be following?” Both men immediately threw out more names: The first three, before I couldn’t keep up:
- Shemekia Copeland
- Jackie Venson, who I think Taj says “plays everybody under the table!“
- H.E.R., aka Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson
There were certainly more names in the mix and I couldn’t type fast enough or remember all the names. Many of the people they mentioned I am familiar with, several were new to me though which I love. The other question I had intended to ask but someone else did, is what brought these two legends together. The cliff notes is that it was by chance. Keb Mo’ ran into Taj Mahal at a bar in Atlanta, got to talking, then talked with other musicians at the joint. One thing led to another and they got to talking more and it eventually led to the first album collaboration. I think Keb said it would be another decade almost before they worked together again. Jump many years forward and there they were on stage for this tour.
Several other interesting facts came out while the men talked, along with a couple great quotes:
- Keb was an understudy in a play in California before his music career.
- Both got advice from other blues legends, telling them they were “playing too many notes” on the harmonica as they learned.
- The first musical instrument each trid: Taj said vocals and Keb said trumpet.
- After that, Taj said the guitar came in and the romance started.
- Taj, when talking about the history of the blues and deep ties to the United States, said “You ain’t gonna find the blues in Yugoslavia!”
Taj, talking about coming up in the music industry and deviating from a style of music, “The industry blocks out the sun.”
After the Q&A we left the theatre for an hour while the rest of the stage was prepared, and returned just before 7:00PM for early entry. The concert was fabulous from the start and I was surprised at how many different guitars each man played. It was also interesting to me watching them switch almost every single song which couldn’t have been the most efficient, but I guess the set list dictated that. At one point, Keb said they were going to play a romantic song, just as a stage hand gave him his banjo. Keb smiled and said “Just what you need for a romantic song, a banjo.“
The band played for about an hour and forty five minutes with no encore. Taj Mahal, given his age, needs a bit of assistance walking off stage so I didn’t expect to see him slowly walk back in. That said, on his initial entrance and exit he did a little walking dance while getting support from a bandmate. These two are absolute legends in the world of Blues music and I highly recommend seeing them.