By DEBORA SHAULIS
By DEBORA SHAULIS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- You can say this much for electric blues guitarist Buddy Guy -- he acts on impulse.
Even his true blue fans can't predict what he'll do when he performs live, as he did Thursday night at Edward W. Powers Auditorium. At least they know to expect the unexpected.
For the neophytes who attended the show because it was Community Corrections Association's 19th annual benefit, or based on strong word of mouth for this first "Tangled Up In Blues" festival, it was a maddening evening. Guy started more songs than he finished. Just as it seemed he'd ride out a kickin' version of "Mustang Sally," he stopped cold turkey, then played snippets of Jimi Hendrix, Cream and Albert King songs. One minute he was on stage, the next he was in the orchestra pit, the main aisles, outside via side exits or in the lobby.
He's eccentric, all right, but Guy's concert also had wildly pleasurable moments. He did his best to create the intimacy of a club, as if he were performing in his own Legends back home in Chicago. His guitar playing was razor sharp and bursting with emotion. His personable, modest nature drew people to him.
Vocal talents: Guy insisted in a pre-show interview that he's not a good singer, but he demonstrated otherwise Thursday. He changed instantly from a light purr to a jarring shout while singing "Hoochie Coochie Man." He turned contemplative on "Feels Like Rain." He growled every time he reached the title line in "Damn Right I've Got the Blues." All were punctuated by searing guitar solos, either by he or the young guitarist in his band, and delightful moments of saxophone.
And talk about control -- whenever Guy told his five-man band to back off, they went down to a whisper without sacrificing technique. It made their crescendos all the more effective.
In the spotlight: In wrapping up his set, Guy turned the spotlight over to someone from the crowd. Twelve year-old Dan Simon of Cleveland strapped on Guy's black-and-white, polka-dotted guitar and impressed many with his composure and competency.
Guy lauded him and begged listeners to be supportive of youngsters like Dan. "Kids like this is the ones helping me keep the blues alive," he said to hearty applause.
Afterward, Dan signed many autographs, exchanged several handshakes and fielded many questions.
Dan began playing guitar four years ago. This wasn't his first time on stage; he played maracas with Carlos Santana at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, he said.
This wasn't his first performance with Guy, either. Guy played in Cleveland last year. A relative of Dan's knew someone working on the show and got clearance for Dan play a song. When Dan's father learned of Guy's show in Youngstown, they decided to ask again for stage time.
Asked if he'll be a star like Guy someday, "I don't know, I just keep practicing," Dan said.
Also featured: The four-hour blues concert was a coast-to-coast affair that also featured Tommy Castro Band from San Francisco and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes from New Jersey. Castro and company had fun playing to the crowd with a little choreography, a mix of rock and blues and some fine guitar and sax solos.
Southside Johnny mixed it up even more than Castro. There were shades of another famous Asbury Park rocker, Bruce Springsteen, in his voice as he and his crew raced through "Talk To Me," a previous hit. Reeds, brass and keyboards offered the strongest moments of the band's set.