Tony Joe White – Tuning Fork April 9, 2017

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The ol’ Swamp Fox returned to Auckland last night weaving tales of gators, garters and rattlesnakes. Tony Joe White held a sold out crowd spellbound as he and his drummer locked in to a Louisiana groove.

TJW has been no stranger to New Zealand, but it seems audiences can’t get enough of the down home Southern grits that the now-73 year old is able to dish out with such ease and charm.

After a set by local lad Tom Cunliffe, Tony Joe White ambled over to the chair placed centre stage, armed with his electric guitar and a few effects boxes.

“How ya’ll doin’?” he drawled before cuttin’ into his first song of the evening, the introductory Way Down South.

Then he invited his drummer to join him…I didn’t catch his name…but Tony let us know that they were going to “steam it up”, and the proceeded to do just that, starting with Undercover Agent For The Blues.

As anyone who has heard White before knows, his voice has the quality of pure honey…smooth and thick. Meanwhile, his guitar playing is rooted in the blues…think John Lee Hooker’s classic boogie…while being punctuated with blasts of feedback, distortion and effect.

But none of this is done to show off…it’s all in service of the songs.

And Tony Joe White’s songs are all steeped in myth, folklore and stories handed down…Southern gothic tales of religious snake charmers who test their faith with rattlers, shotgun-wielding men who have been cheated on and children raised in the bayou.

At times it was difficult to tell where a song ended and White’s between song patter began as he let the audience in to his own murky world, such as when, as a youth, he followed a “Rain Crow” into the forest and was sent running in fear because of its frightening cry.

Whether White chose songs from his extensive back catalogue or his most recent album, it didn’t really matter…the groove was the thing. And when he and his drummer locked in, there was nothing to do but close your eyes and transport yourself into the swamp.

Chomp Chomp.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Michael Flynn:

Tony Joe White set list:

  1. Way Down South
  2. Undercover Agent For The Blues
  3. Roosevelt And Ira Lee
  4. Do You Have A Garter Belt
  5. The Guitar Don’t Lie
  6. Holed Up
  7. Conjure Child
  8. The Bad Wind
  9. The Opening Of The Box
  10. Rain Crow
  11. Polk Salad Annie
Marty Duda
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