KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD

Tonight included two firsts for me - I had never heard of "Kenny Wayne Shepherd," nor had I ever been to a concert inside a casino before. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised, on both counts. It had been a hellish day so far (tornados!) and I was looking forward to enjoying a night out.

The concert was set inside Horseshoe Casino's Bluesville, more like a club atmosphere than an auditorium. I immediately felt comfortable and relaxed. I felt like I was at a party. People laughing, hanging around the bar, ordering drinks, excited in anticipation of a night of great music. The crowd was widely varied, from ZZ Top-pers to the elderly. All were there to see the long blonde-haired "Kenny Wayne Shepherd" and his band play.

They opened up with "In Too Deep," which reminded me a little of Bad Company. I immediately liked them! By their second song, "True Lies," the audience was on their feet, clapping their hands in unison with the gritty music and words.

At this point, the bass was so deep that I could feel it in my chest. I decided to walk over to the bar and hang out there and watch the show from the rear. Actually it gave me a much better view, which was nice, especially when they spun into "Somehow, Somewhere, Someway." I could see the audience swaying back and forth. They actually looked like they were becoming a part of the music, and was by far the song that drew the biggest cheers from the crowd thus far.

"This Is My Last Goodbye" was my favorite song of the night. It was a truly beautiful song, which was beautifully performed. It left me with a sad, but good feeling, if that makes any sense. I was very impressed how he melded rock 'n roll blues to a rhythm that you could feel through your entire body. "Shame, Shame, Shame" was next, which was full of wonderful rhythm and soul. Definitely a blues lover's fave, I'm sure.

The next piece was an instrumental of which I do not know the name, but I will tell you that the piece was soulful and intense. It was just really well played and was both fast and slow.

The next part of the show featured the group seated on stools, relaxed and talking to the audience. They explained that many of their songs are written in the back of their tour bus. They performed stripped down versions of the songs "Where Was I?" and "I Found Love (When I Found You)." Both songs were very smooth and mellow. The effect of them sitting down made me feel like I was in their living room and they were playinig to me. They wrapped up their first set with "Big Boss Man," which of course got the crowd going again, on their feet because KWS played some awesome rocking guitar.

In the next set, they opened with "Electric Lullaby," then on to "Wild Love." "Blue On Black," which I was told is his most recent hit, followed. I can understand why. People even left the bar! The only thing I can say about "Blue On Black" is that it was just excellent. There wasn't a person around me that wasn't moving in time with the music.

And now we're up to Encore #1, which was "Kings Highway," with it's upbeat tempo, but raspy sound, leading smoothly into the song that put them on the map, "Deja Voodoo." What a great beat and tune! There was some very big time knee action going on in that room!

Encore #2 began with a soft opening, sweet, slow and blues-y. This was a very moving piece, with all three of the guitarists in one instrumental. KWS stood in front of a fan, his hair blowing with the wind. It was a perfect ending to the show. The ending build up was climactic.

For a person that had never before heard of Kenny Wayne Shepherd, I must say that his CD's will now be a part of my music library.