Ruthie Foster, last night was amazing!
11 April 2007
by Greg Ackerman
I arrived late to Ruthie Foster’s album release party for her latest, The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster at the now legendary Antone’s in Austin, Texas. After walking briskly through unusually cold temperatures on what appeared to be a quiet night in Austin’s upscale Warehouse district, it was rockin’ inside Antone’s with a nearly full house of blues devotees. The diminutive Foster was already leading the band assembled by New Orleans bred record producer and musician, Malcolm “Papa Mali†Welbourne with Papa Mali holding down stage right with his guitar. The band playing with him was handpicked by Welbourne; Drummer, George Sluppick (Mofro), Bassist, Glenn Fukanaga (Dixie Chicks, Terri Hendrix) and Hammond B3 player Anthony Farrell(Greyhounds).
The turnout was impressive. The seating on the floor in front of the stage was a bit of a surprise in what is traditionally a general admission/no seating type of joint. With the minor inconvenience of all those chairs (and people in them) to contend with, I waded into the fray attempting to snap a few publishable photos to accompany this story (my photographer was too short to shoot over the crowd). Ruthie was magnetic. All eyes were riveted on her as the band swung into a reggae cover with three ladies singing backup to compliment Foster’s strong, soulful voice. I glanced left and noticed local singer, Malford Milligan cheering on the band. Milligan is noted for appearing on Double Trouble’s 2000 release, Been a Long Time. I correctly assumed he would be joining Foster on stage later in the show.
It seemed like no sooner than I had arrived, the band took a set break, which gave me an opportunity to survey the crowd. Most of the crowd constituted a typical collection of young professionals common to the Warehouse District along with some seasoned musicians, fans, press (I wasn’t the only one covering this show) and curiosity seekers. My photographer, Elizabeth commented on how good Foster’s voice was. It was the first time either of us had seen Ruthie perform live, and we were both impressed. It seemed Elizabeth, who is more prone to be found at a Nine Inch Nails concert, enjoyed the show more than she thought she might. We even agreed afterwards that our teamwork was a success and I was encouraged to seek out similar gigs to cover.
After refreshing ourselves along with a sprinkling of smokers in the near-freezing temperatures outside the club (what global warming?), we hustled inside to the cocoon Antone’s had become that night. Everyone eagerly awaited more from Ruthie and her new band. She spoke of her new album landing number six on the Billboard Blues Chart, and of how positive an influence her mother had been and still was. Then the band launched into “Mama Said” from the new album. It was an introspective ballad that featured Foster’s gravelly, sweet voice. Once again the audience was in a trance.
All of the sudden it seemed, there was Malford Milligan on stage with the girls singing backup. Milligan belted out a vocal solo as the band settled into a nice groove. I noticed a few other “special guest†musicians up there I did not immediately recognize. I think the tune they sang for that rousing encore was “Heal Yourself” from The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster. Don’t quote me on that though because I had only heard the song for the first time the day before. What I do know for sure is keyboardist, Anthony Farrell, tore off a solo on his Hammond B3 organ that is still ringing in my head nearly a week later. Add a rousing harmonica solo and Foster belting out the vocals and playing rhythm guitar, and you have a great way to end an album release party. As the dust settled, there was a satisfied buzz of fans filtering onto the sidewalk on Fifth St., and heading home feeling refreshed not only by the cool air outside but the energetic, sincere voice heard inside.
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