Music Notes: Voodoo Blue at the Harbor

Took in a wonderful set on Thursday night by the Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute band Voodoo Blue.
Even if you have never heard of Stevie Ray Vaughan (and if so, I feel very sorry for you), and have somehow missed his tunes on the radio, I dare anyone to sit and listen to this band play and not be impressed with how good they sound or how fun they are to watch. (I say that at the same time I was flabbergasted by all the people mulling around during the show like they were just cruising the mall.)
Those who did sit still (or dance) were treated to some mighty good renditions of Vaughan classics, like “Little Wing,” “Pride and Joy,” “Crossfire,” “The House is Rockin’,” and my personal favorite: “Cold Shot.”


Voodoo Blue also provided the crowd with a few of the lesser known tunes from the SRV canon (meaning the stuff you don’t get on the classic rock radio stations) like “Willie The Wimp.” At the end, they played the National Anthem a la Hendrix and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return).” At this point nearly everyone was on their feet. Local groups don’t generally generate this kind of excitement, especially cover bands. But Voodoo Blue deserve it.
If you are going to do the music of a guitar legend, you better have some one better than good on the six string. Voodoo Blue does in Casey James. This guy is an exciting performer, even looking like Stevie Ray. From the opening number, he had us all electrified. But the whole band was good here. I loved the keys when I could here them and the singer was a punch of good blues.
There is nothing like the original. But this is pretty darn good stuff. If you are in the DFW Metroplex and need good fix of SRV that radio or your old cassettes and give you, this is the band to see.