(This originally appeared in Soundcheck Magazine)

Fat Possum Tour
Robert Belfour, Paul “Wine” Jones, and T-Model Ford
House of Blues, Cambridge 9/13/00

In terms of people, atmosphere, vibes, and character in general, Cambridge, MA is about as far away from the Mississippi Delta region as a place can be. Certainly, when people think about Cambridge, thoughts of Harvard, wealthy students in little cafes, and hip bars come to mind. The blues do not.
However, for three wonderful hours, three very special gentlemen changed all that. As part of a tour to promote the Fat Possum label, Robert Belfour, Paul Jones, and T-Model Ford were ambassadors of the blues, bringing their own high energy version of the Delta blues that they are masters of to the appreciative crowd at the House of Blues. As likenesses of blues legends such as B.B. King and Big Mama Thorton looked down from the ceiling, Belfour kicked off the show by walking on stage, pulling up his acoustic guitar, and conjuring up the spirit of Robert Johnson. Belfour, at age 60, played in the same finger picking style as Johnson, and sang in a voice that was distinctly his own. He took the stage a half hour early, which was a shame because the crowd didn’t swell until the last third of his set, and they missed out on a very tasteful and enjoyable opening. Belfour mixed his own material from his album “What’s Wrong With You,” with reworked blues classics such as “Killin’ Floor,” “Evil,” and “Smokestack Lightnin’,” making them sound fresh again.

Up next was Paul Jones, who took the stage with the energy of a football player taking the field. Looking every bit the blues musician in his dark cranberry suit and black fedora, Jones led his three piece band through scorching versions of songs off of his Fat Possum albums “Mule” and last year’s “Pucker Up Buttercup,” pumping the audience up in between songs with some colorful banter. At one point, several young ladies were dancing in front of the stage, with an amused Jones playing guitar and looking on with a wide grin. The love between the performers and the audience was an almost palpable vibe in the room, and Jones, in particular, seemed to work off of it. He dedicated his next three songs to the women out front, and had the room jumping on such cuts as “Grits Ain’t Groceries,” stretching out into intense, John Lee Hooker-like rhythm patterns that were absolutely hypnotic.

Jones put on such a good set that it almost seemed a shame that he had to end it, but the disappointment stopped as soon as T-Model Ford came up to play. the 78 year old Ford kicked off his set, accompanied by a drummer, by ripping into songs off his latest album, “She Ain’t None of Your’n,” while sitting down and sipping on whiskey. The embodiment of the classic Delta blues guitarist, Ford displayed his unique humor and rhythm-heavy guitar work, singing in a voice very similar to Muddy Waters. In fact, Ford kicked his own energy level up a notch with a version of Waters’ song “Rollin’ Stone,” adding a a bassist and perking up the tempo, sending the crowd into the fervor of a religious revival. Among those spotted in the crowd were Margaret Garret and Tara McManus, of Boston’s own blues group, Mr. Airplane Man. Garret and McManus were only two of a roomful packed with blues enthusiasts, a crowd which was treated to some of the best samples of the genre by some of the most spirited players. By the end of Ford’s set at 1 in the morning, people began to dry themselves off and trail out of the room, and this reviewer could’ve sworn that the images of the blues legends on the ceiling of the club were smiling, having seen that the music is in good hands.

By Neal Alpert