Chris Spedding has had a storied but under the radar career. As a 79 year old Brit guitar slinger, Chris was in the room for many “birthplace” moments in rock and roll. He infamously turned down an invite to be in The Rolling Stones, he produced some early Sex Pistol sides, and has lent session wizardry to the likes of Brian Eno and Tom Waits. I even notice that he is currently sitting in on a reincarnation of the cult progfusion outfit Nucleus. On this evening, he is joined by Keith Lenten on bass, and Anton Fig on drums for a stroll down rock and roll memory lane. Fig kept time for the David Letterman band, so he is versed in the live setting. Spedding’s vocal style was like Mark Knopfler’s grandfather, British, witty, and slurry. The set was compact, as to be expected from someone his age. He performed a few of his “hits”, Motorbikin, and the chestnut Hurt By Love. They did a wonderfully screwed down NyQuil-paced Wild Thing. The show highlight was Chris showing off his chops mimicking guitar greats. Duane Allman, Pete Townsend, Hendrix, Santana, Clapton, Leslie West, George Harrison, you could tell he could literally play the phone book. I always relish the chance to view a building block of rock and roll history.
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