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Touring as a double-bill with Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, GA-20 (not a Georgia Highway but a vintage Gibson amp model), began the evening with rocking blues. Although a relatively new band, the trio brings a world of experience and three albums, one of which exclusively covers Hound Dog Taylor, a revered Chicago bluesman. That album debuted at #1 on the Blues charts. Guitarist Matt Stubbs is quite the fan of Taylor, and the band uses instruments that are faithful to the legend’s gear and sound.
The trio differs from a power rock trio, or really any trio, in that they feature two guitarists and a drummer – no bassist. When one takes the lead, the other plays the bass line or otherwise accompanies… just like, surprise, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers. Pat Faherty, guitarist and co-songwriter, handles the slide guitar, mimicking Taylor’s frenzied 7/9 lick perfectly. The band’s first single, “Naggin on My Mind” featured renowned bluesman Charlie Musselwhite, who Stubbs previously accompanied, and North Mississippi Allstar’s Luther Dickinson. With Luther nowhere in site, the band still gave a nod to Mississippi Hill Country blues with a RL Burnside song.
For those not really in the know about the band, they were treated to a lot of Taylor’s songs, and one can only imagine what it sounds like with revelers in a blues club. This isn’t a “learn from the blues and take it someplace different” band. They’re true to the structure and stylings when they cover others’ work. For those who want to learn more, check the band’s Try It… You Might Like It! GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor and the 1971 original, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, noted by an AllMusic critic as “wild raucous, crazy music straight out of the South Side clubs,” also suggesting it as one of the greatest slide guitar albums of all time.
Though true to the blues, their show wasn’t by any means all covers. Their 2022 album, Crackdown, includes tens songs with only one cover, and they played a good selection of this record as well. The band was certainly entertaining throughout the show, setting up the humorous “Dry Run” from that album (“Well was that all I’ll ever be, your dry run?” as well as oft cited CDs, records and T-shirts available at the merch table to “literally” fill the gas tank. It’s a long drive to Boston.
Great show! Setlist and additional photos below.
