By Mark Plotnick
Photos: Jim Summaria
Larry McCray & Dave Specter
Concert Review
Larry McCray
SPACE, Evanston, IL,
September 12, 2024
By Mark Plotnick
Photos: Jim Summaria
If you’re old enough to have bought a General Motors vehicle in the late 1970s or 80s, it’s possible that Larry McCray helped assemble it. That’s right…the acclaimed guitarist, singer, songwriter and bandleader onstage tonight!
Backstory
Larry McCray was born April 5, 1960, in Magnolia, AK. He was the second youngest of nine siblings. Larry recalled, “Music was something we did for family entertainment because there was nothing else to do besides work, farm and go into the woods to shoot guns.”
In 1972, the Arkansas native moved to Saginaw, MI to be closer to his sister Clara. While finishing high school, he took a job with General Motors where he spent thirteen years on the assembly line. The wages and benefits were good, but just prior to being fully vested in the company’s pension plan, he quit.
Years ago, he told a Michigan college newspaper, “Leaving the security of a steady paycheck and benefits was a tough decision…I found myself caught in the middle of two things…I just decided [the assembly line] was something I didn’t want to worry about anymore…I had more fun with music.”
While working at GM, he played gigs with his brothers Carl (bass) and Steve (drums). Although the fledgling guitarist enjoyed rhythm ‘n’ blues, soul, rock and jazz, his muse was the blues. Larry’s aspired to bring respect back to the music form he loved and that had fallen out of favor.
He ventured out on his own and became the first artist signed by Pointblank Records, a blues and soul subsidiary of Virgin Records. His 1991 debut album Ambition sold well and put the blues rock community on notice that a new guitar slinger had arrived.
Jump ahead thirty-plus years and the former autoworker has amassed awards, released eight studio albums under his own name, and earned respect from big-name blues and rock musicians. He’s been onstage with many of them and they’ve reciprocated on his recordings. But until recently, greater recognition and commercial success – based on major label expectations - eluded him.
Influences
At age 64, McCray sees himself (like the elder Buddy Guy) as among the last living musicians who’ve been exposed to both rural and post-war blues. A few years ago, he told the editor of Relix magazine, “For somebody to really understand the blues and to know the difference, they need to have had firsthand experience and a deeper connection than what we have today.” By “today,” Larry means rock and roll guitar with blues lyrics.
B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, Albert Collins and Luther Allison are among his idols. While they were alive, he had the pleasure of meeting and playing with many of them.
Like many of his idols, McCray relates to the hardships they experienced. “If the greatest ones of this genre have to suffer, who am I to think that things might be better for me?” The rust belt bluesman knows well that music, and the business of music, are different creatures.
Living the Blues
About eleven years ago, McCray’s marriage ended in divorce. Then came a prostate cancer diagnosis with surgery and treatment. But there were more blues to come. His 30-year relationship with longtime friend and manager, Paul Koch, ended in 2021 when Koch died in an auto accident.
Their relationship was complicated. According to McCray, Paul’s demeanor caused missed career opportunities. Nevertheless, Koch’s fatal accident was a gut punch. Listen to the song “Blues Without You,” from his latest album dedicated to Koch.
The pandemic followed – a blow to those who relied on touring for exposure and income. “I was done going on the road. I had no plans of coming back to the business.”
But then came Larry’s Leon Russell - Freddie King moment. Or maybe it was his Elton John - Leon Russell moment? (Informed music fans will get these analogies.) Renowned blues-rock titan Joe Bonamassa (who Larry has known for many years) declared McCray a legend and signed him to his KTBA Record label. In 2011, Bonamassa founded the Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation to raise the profiles of under-the-radar blues artists and fund music education programs.
This relationship resulted in McCray’s latest album Blues Without You produced by Bonamassa and Josh Smith. With all original material excluding an Albert King cover, it topped the Blues Rock Review’s list of Top 20 Albums for 2022. McCray calls this project his finest to date. Bonamassa agrees. Tonight, we were treated to four songs from this star-studded collaboration.
The Performance
L to R: Greg Nagy (guitar), Larry McCray, Steve McCray (drums), Rocco Popielarksi (bass), Jim Alfredson (organ)
This was my second Larry McCray concert. The first was sitting far back on the lawn at an outdoor music festival in full sun and ninety-five-degree heat.
Seeing Larry McCray at SPACE was immensely more enjoyable. I believe a club environment best serves blues artists and fans. My table was close enough to see his facial contorts when leaning into a riff. His commanding baritone had even greater impact at close range.
Larry and his bandmates took the stage without fanfare. No introductions. The Arkansas native had his game face on as he surveyed the room and stage; not surprising since he once remarked, “I just like to read the people and see the type of crowd I have so I know who I’m playing for.”
Wearing all black garb, McCray’s cherry red Guild Polara guitar stood out against his broad torso. Perched on his head was his signature Fedora hat. And a silver chain around his neck displayed a medallion engraved with the word “BLUES.” No further explanation needed.
Throughout the concert, his bandmates backed him with unwavering, top tier musicianship. Sitting directly behind Larry was his brother Steve on drums and backing vocals. Standing to Larry’s left was Greg Nagy on second guitar and backing vocals. To his right was soulful organist Jim Alfredson with his Hammond B3 and swirling Leslie speaker. And standing to the left of Alfredson’s Leslie was stoic bassist (only his fingers moved) Rocco Popielarksi. Larry’s brother Steve McCray has been playing with Larry for decades while the others have their own music careers back in Michigan.
L to R: Greg Nagy, Larry McCray
Songs: Sugar Coated Love/Arkansas/Smooth Sailing/Down to the Bottom/Without Love It Doesn’t Matter
The show’s opening song was a bit of a mystery. It sounded to me like “Sugar Coated Love” by Lazy Lester, a blues song rarely included in McCray’s setlist let alone used to open. A few days after the concert, I contacted Greg Nagy by email and asked for confirmation. He responded with an LOL – “I can’t remember. Larry threw us a curveball!”
The next song began with a familiar Bo Diddley rhythm pattern – the signature beat for McCray’s single “Arkansas.” Although long gone from his native state, he’s never forsaken his roots:
“Well I was born in Arkansas, come up feeding hogs and bailing straw. Sorghum fields in mid-July, it was hot enough to make you fry. Way down south from Saginaw, well I was born in Arkansas.”
When McCray sings, you don’t just hear the words, you feel the words.
Harkening back to 1998, the bandleader chose a song from his album Born to Play the Blues. “Smooth Sailing” was a vehicle for McCray to channel his idol Albert King on vocals and guitar.
At the song’s conclusion, the guitarist fiddled with his tuning while strumming pretty chords. The crowd turned eerily quiet. Perhaps many were self-conscious about expressing outward enthusiasm and drawing attention to themselves? Not me. Two songs in, I was well into hoarseness. Some audiences – like musicians - need time to “warm up.”
Larry then pulled out another gem from his latest album. “Down to the Bottom” was one of the evening’s most moving performances. This beautiful, slow-building blues ballad is packed with metaphors about lost love, healing, searching and finding it again. It was co-written by Larry’s main squeeze, Peggy Smith, who he met at one of his gigs and who came to him at the right time in his life.
Another slow and soulful blues ballad from the same album followed. When he sang those heart-wrenching lyrics from “Without Love it Doesn’t Matter,” you felt his anguish.
“Well, it makes no difference when your baby’s gone. No matter what the reason you’re still all alone. So, you sit there crying and wondering. What can you do to make it right.”
For several verses, the song’s tension was built upon mournful vocals, chunky guitar rhythms, unconventional time signatures and thick organ washes. And then came the release. Larry took a moving solo that was fluid and visceral. His tone was thick and biting. Strings were stretched and held for maximum sustain. Then came rapid note flourishes that showed off his agility. Guitarists who play with their hearts like Larry understand phrasing, dynamics and economy. Moving an audience with the fewest notes is what the greats strive for.
Songs: Don’t Need No Woman/Can’t Lose What You Never Had/Good Die Young/Blue River
After giving his Guild a much-needed rest, the man in black garb strapped on a cream-colored Gibson Les Paul and shouted, “Give it up for Dave Specter in the house.” Not only is Specter co-owner of SPACE, but his resume includes veteran guitarist, singer, songwriter, bandleader, recording artist, producer, podcaster and member of the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame. Like Buddy Guy, Specter often takes the stage at his club.
“Don’t Need No Woman” was next on the setlist. It’s the kind of song that Robert Cray and B.B. King have made before and had success with. A song with crossover appeal. A potential rhythm ‘n’ blues chart topper. Why wasn’t the music industry giving this man a major record deal back in 2007? It’s puzzling. Larry’s response? “I know I worked my ass off to do everything I could.”
For the Michigan blues belter, it would have been grand to achieve greater commercial success at an earlier age. But McCray’s priority is about acceptance and recognition from his peers and then having folks out there wanting to hear his music.
McCray once said, “I don’t need a whole lot to be happy. I’m comfortable with who I am.” The lyrics from the song “Don’t Need No Woman” are proof: “She wants a Cadillac…She wants a diamond ring… She said if you want my love, I’ve got to have these fancy things…But I don’t need no woman like that, from the other side of the tracks.” No gold diggers for Larry.
It was time to lift up the crowd with another blues standard. You can never go wrong covering the Muddy Waters classic, “You Can’t Lose What You Never Had.” Sitting at my table was the Managing Editor of Chicago Blues Guide (and Blues Hall of Fame Inductee), Linda Cain and her husband Bruce. Linda kept perfect time playing air drums and then the two were up and dancing to the blues.
McCray paused for a few sips from a can of Liquid Death Mountain Water. Beads of sweat on his forehead were increasing as the evening went on. Then, he spoke to the audience: “They say the good die young and I ask myself that a lot.” He does so in the song “Good Die Young” from Blues Without You. At one point in the song, the guitarist clenched his fist and brought it to his chest. It was a classic B.B. King type nightclub gesture from his disciple.
“Blues River,” was the evening’s first instrumental. Larry had been using his Cry Baby wah-wah pedal mostly for expressive volume modulation, but it got an aerobic workout with this funky jazzy jam. I kept waiting for the song to go off the rails, but the pros onstage kept this challenging instrumental on track until the final notes.
Dave Specter & Larry McCray
Songs: We Can’t Agree/Mr. Easy/Buck Naked
It was back to the blues with a cover of the B.B. King song, “We Can’t Agree.” Larry urged the audience to put their hands together when Dave Specter replaced Greg Nagy on guitar and vocals. Specter and McCray took turns playing lead guitar. Other times they dueled it out like gunfighters. It was a contrast in styles and tones. Telecaster vs. Les Paul. Ying and yang. Both men drove each other to greater heights. These are the moments that musicians relish.
A few years ago, Chicago area musician Don Laferty told me that admiring a guitarist’s rhythm playing is one of the nicest compliments you can give. So let me take this moment to compliment Larry, Greg and Dave on their exceptional rhythm guitar abilities.
It was time for the evening’s fourth and final song from McCray’s latest album. A slow, funky blues groove kicked off the song “Mr. Easy.
“They call me Mr. Easy, but they don’t call me easy long. Cause when things get complicated, I pack my bags and I’m gone.”
Is this song autobiographical or a composite of all those who have strung along several women who now want a commitment? But the song’s Mr. Easy isn’t worried because he’s a rolling stone, a moving target who can’t be pinned down. Larry sings and plays like it could have been him in his younger days, but maybe the point is to keep listeners guessing.
The evening ended with a break neck instrumental jam titled “Buck Naked.” No explanation on the origins of the song’s title. The jam was packed with Chitlin Circuit and classic rock influences. McCray’s wah-wah infused “chicken scratching” sounded like Charles Pitts’ guitar on the theme song for the movie Shaft. Not to be outdone, second guitarist Greg Nagy unleashed his most aggressive playing of the night while organist Jim Alfredson contributed a luxurious layer of swirling organ. When McCray took his lead, he resurrected Jimi Hendrix from the dead.
It all worked thanks to the groove-steady bass playing of Rocco Popielarksi and the rock-solid time keeping of drummer Steve McCray. This was a true ensemble effort.
Bandmembers walked away from their instruments. The lights went up and quickly and quelled any hope for an encore.
If an artist chooses to do them, that’s a bonus. If not, no tears shed.
Tonight, we received our money’s worth. Larry McCray and the band delivered, leaving us with a natural high to carry us home. That’s my kind of encore!
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Larry McCray will join the Allman Betts Family Revival Tour, which makes its way to the Arcada Theater in St. Charles on Nov. 30. For tickets, click HERE
About the Authors: Mark Plotnick is the co-author, with photographer Jim Summaria, of the book "Classic Rock".
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