Doyle Bramhall II
BB King’s Blues Club
New York
January 27

With the dawn of the new American Reich upon us, music remains one of the only ways to deal with the daily insanity. In search of relief, we headed to BB King’s Blues Club in the heart of New York’s Times Square to catch one of Austin’s favorite sons, Doyle Bramhall II. A guitar virtuoso since his teen years, Bramhall has played and toured with great bands such as the Fabulous Thunderbirds and legendary artists including Eric Clapton and Roger Waters.

Bramhall’s father was a powerhouse Texas drummer who played with and introduced his son to fellow Texans such as Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Guitar aficionados have been consistent for years in their admiration of Doyle II, who plays it “left-hand” with right-handed stringing and his guitar flipped 180 degrees. Aware that DBII’s music packs a serious punch, his dedicated fans came out in force on a January Friday and were treated to a generous set of rocking tunes—old and new, borrowed and bluesy. Bramhall fronted a talented quartet of multi-instrumentalists and shared vocals with Antony Cole on drums and sax, Adam Minkoff on keys and guitar and Ted Pecchio on electric bass.

Beyond his guitar chops, Bramhall writes and sings as well as he plays. There were several cuts from early albums like Jellycream as well as his most recent release, Rich Man. With a band this good, it’s always cool to cover a classic tune or two, and Bramhall and company did not disappoint, offering a rich jam on Beatles psychedelia with “She Said She Said,” and a blasting-cap version of “Africa,” the Meters’ classic that Anthony Cole powered off the North American continent on drums and lead vocals.