Concert Review: Tu Tu Jones

Story by Patrick Moss
Photos by Melody Syer

The Tu Tu Jones concert on June 11, 2005, at the comfortable Granada Theater in Dallas, was an excellent showcase of this talented south Dallas blues artist who recently returned from Europe and was gearing up for a return to Germany at the time of this show.

Though the set leaned mostly on classic blues covers, they had all been reworked into very different versions from the originals that moved the music into a more contemporary vein without losing the connection with tradition.

The band backing Tu Tu: Shawn Pharas (keyboards); Johnny Woods (bass guitar); and, Lovell Jones (drums - and no relation to Tu Tu), are all seasoned local professionals and they do solid and exemplary work.

Begining the evening with his current favorite off his new Tu Tu Jones Live CD, he set he bar high with Freddie King's, "Have You Ever Loved A Woman", which gave you a good idea of what a powerful singer Tu Tu Jones is. Jones manages to mix the firepower and passion of Freddy King with the cool stinging economy of Robert Cray without really sounding like either, which is quite a trick when you think about it.

Two tunes later, the kicking funk revamp of "Look Over Yonder Wall" was yet another highlight to an already sweltering set. Next came a hard driving "My Own Fault " during which things got visibly sweaty and which featured some killer guitar and keyboards solos. "Teeny Weeny Bit" showed the strong drumming of Lovell Jones and got people dancing in front of the stage.

Next up was a very earthy performance of Albert King's "I'll Play The Blues For You", during which we were treated to an extented edge-of-the-stage guitar solo. Tu Tu then teased the crowd with a well known Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar intro that launched into "Sweet Home Chicago" which inspired more dancing.

The entire evening was played out with a constant gradual ramping up of energy and got good crowd responses throughout the set.

All I'm going to say about the final three or four songs and encore is you had to be there. The show was done with energy, enthusium and showmanship, and you got the feeling you could see them anywhere and expect no less.

See you there.