Review: Glenn Noble
Photos: Jennifer Noble
Marty Mercer/ photo: Jennifer Noble
Marty "Big Dog" Mercer
Live at the Roxy CD release show
w/ Fruteland Jackson, Sonia Astacio & special guests
Buddy Guy’s Legends, 700 S. Wabash, Chicago IL
Friday 28 February 2025
By Glenn Noble/ Photos: Jennifer Noble
The time has come at last to celebrate the release of a brand new CD from one of the biggest guys on the Chicago blues scene, Marty “Big Dog” Mercer (who stands at nearly 7 feet tall). It’s been a lengthy spell since his last album (2016’s It Ain’t Easy) albeit a busy time filled with among other things, international touring, festival gigs and more. Marty finally found time to create a live album, Live at the Roxy, recorded in April 2024 at the historic theatre in Lockport, Illinois. Containing a baker’s dozen of his own songs, we looked forward immensely to hearing them live in the delightful setting of Buddy Guy’s Legends.
Marty was preceded on stage by stalwart bluesman Fruteland Jackson, telling stories and accompanying old time blues with the resonator in hand, a relaxed and mellow way to open the show. Next up was Sonia Astacio and her band. A vivacious and lively singer with a thrilling contralto voice, Sonia was formerly with the Nu Blu Band and she brought that band’s guitarist Marcil Maddox along to her current unit. Together with the rest of the band they put on an energetic and engaging set of blues standards, raising the energy level of the room in anticipation of the headline act of the night.
After a short break, the imposing figure of Marty, sporting a debonair blue velvet jacket and trademark flat cap, sprung to the stage along with his usual lineup of Aiden Dehn on tenor sax, Ra’Mar Leach on drums and Michael Bailey on bass. After a brief welcome, the band swung into action with a jazzy instrumental “Cookin’ with Grease”. Dedicating the next tune to his wife, they launched into “Buddy, She’s All Mine,” an uptempo funky piece. Next, “You Can Dig Your Own Ditch,” recounted some formative experiences which informed Marty’s career decisions. Both Aiden and Marty had ample opportunity to demonstrate their expertise with the tools of their trades!
Changing down tempo to a slow blues, “I Feel Like I Could Die,” expressed the despair of being cheated on: it proved to be one of the standout songs of the show, featuring an exceptionally soulful sax solo from Aiden. One cool thing that Marty seems to enjoy is dropping a quick change of tempo and rhythm into the end of a song, to keep things interesting -- a feature which this song and the next, “Enough Changes,” both exhibited. It is this kind of creativity that lifts Marty’s songwriting above the everyday standards of the blues genre. Not to say that he can’t lay down some solid deep blues grooves when he wants to, case in point “Real Foul Mood,” started with a “I woke up this morning“ lyric as so many blues have done, but with his own take on the trope.
And as if to validate Marty’s standing as a bluesman, none other than the undisputed king of the blues, Buddy Guy, strolled onstage and spent a lengthy session riffing and freewheeling with the band, to the delight of the audience. It was truly an iconic Chicago blues experience to be cherished.
Pushing on with their set, another instrumental, aptly named ”Funky Beat” moved in a more jazzy direction before returning to a light-hearted take on the city’s climate in “Windy City Blues” with its singalong refrain “It’s too cold in Chicago.” Switching once again to a more serious mood, Marty introduced “Helpless” by sharing his past struggles with substance abuse, although he’s been clean for many years now. A sense of acceptance and resolution to follow a straighter path was clearly articulated with yet another superbly lyrical solo from Aiden and a very neat twin lead passage between the young saxophonist and Marty. Approaching the end of what must have been a good hour and a half long set, a brace of lighter numbers -- “My Little Georgiadore” (an instrumental inspired by his pet Lab) and ”Cook It For Me” (about a fat guy who wants his woman to feed his big appetite) -- led into a break, which concluded the CD launch part of the show with a smile.
Following a quick break, Marty and crew kicked off a second set of all blues standards, with a little guitar action from the second member of the Guy family to join them that night, in the shape of Buddy’s son, Greg Guy. Closing out the show with a walkin’ style Blues, Marty proposed a well-deserved hand for the band, as he recognised the sterling efforts of the “engine room” duo of Mike Bailey (bass guitar) and Ra’Mar Leach (drums) and the “young man with the horn” Aiden Dehn. I do not believe they could have put together a better showcase for their CD, and whether recorded or live, Marty and the band will reward your attention. Go see them and buy Live at The Roxy.
Visit Marty Mercer's website for tour dates and to buy the music:
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