Buddy Guy was part of the new generation of Chicago Blues players. He was a great guitarist and singer as well as being quite the showman. Not content to just stand on stage and play the Blues, Buddy had a great finale to his show.
With his backup band of bass, drums and two horn players keeping a steady groove, Buddy would jump off the stage and begin to wander out into the audience, all the while playing this incredible solo on his Stratocaster guitar. This was before the days of wireless electronics, so a roadie would follow Buddy out into the hall, all the while unrolling the guitar cable. The Rock Pile was about 60 feet long to the back wall, and Buddy not only went to the back but he went up the stairs into the balcony as well. He must have gone over a hundred feet.
As he made his way to the front of the balcony, the entire audience was in awe.
Still playing this amazing solo that had been going on for five minutes, Buddy stood at the edge of the balcony, looking down at the stage where the rest of his band kept on chugging. It was a strange thing to see and hear, Buddy standing way up there in the balcony winding out, jamming with his band that was on stage below him, while his guitar was screaming from the amp on stage.
I have no pictures of Buddy playing from the balcony, just these dramatic stage shots.
Buddy also played a very tiny venue called The Riverboat, which featured nothing but Folk and Blues acts.
On a winter night at The Riverboat, Buddy and his two horn players did the 'wandering solo'. They went down the aisle and out the back door of the club, all the while playing into the cold night air. From my experience with these two gigs of Buddy Guy, one of his sound-check requirements must have been to make sure the guitar cable went a certain distance and that he could hear the rhythm of the song and play accordingly. This time, the horns followed him to keep rhythm, but the audience inside the club could only hear what was coming from the stage.
As the bass and drums kept time with his guitar from the amp, Buddy and his backup horns could hear the band on stage while they were still in the alley outside the club.
All this time he's playing a wicked solo and then Buddy and the horns eventually came wandering in the front door, snowflakes still sparkling on their heads.
What a performance.
In this collection of photos, there are three acts shown performing at The Riverboat: Buddy Guy, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, and Jackie Lomax.