Blues Boy and Lady in Red

Well, yesterday I was so pissed off that not even black was enough to register my anger, so I wound up wearing all red to the pub. Red crocheted skirt, red tank top, red sandals and red shooting from my eyes. My friend Kristen, bless her, got what I was doing right off the bat and said "So, black not enough, eh? Going for the angry red?" Damn, she is such a smart cookie, she always gets me. After a few attempts by the boys to warble "Lady in Red", we got down to the serious business of drankin'.

A lady came by and gave us a flyer for the evening's entertainment. Apparently her son (as I learned later) is a 15 year old blues prodigy named Krissy Matthews. As the pub usually has jazz musicians, I was rather pleased that we would have a change of pace (plus I way prefer blues to jazz hands down any day). We continued on with our beers. We were sitting outside enjoying the last of the light and the warmth, which was rapidly receding, when suddenly these perfect blues riffs came tumbling out of the pub and into the chill night air. It was like Albert Collins walked in and set up shop.



Holy shit that kid can play.

I went inside and sat transfixed as a skinny British teenager (with the face of a choir boy) with a very old soul played his guts out. What I liked was that he didn't pretend to be an ol' black man from Miss'ippi in 1923, he did some of his own songs and sang about school day blues, and such. His voice will mature with time, but his playing was amazing.

He kept making references to Austin Texas and Jimmy and Stevie Ray Vaughn and Omar and the Howlers and such, and I felt so proud to be from a place where the music is known world wide. I went up to him at one of his breaks and told him he needs to come and play Antone's, they'd love him in Austin, and he said he thought that might happen next year, bummer that Clifford died, but this weekend he was playing with Jimmy Vaughn and Omar and the Howlers at the Notodden Blues Festival. Well connected kid. (I'm always amazed how respected Austin music is here, and how it is sort of taken for granted back home.)

Not long after that Rich and I left, Rich ready to leave but not wanting me walking home alone as there have been some violent attacks against women here lately. We are all a bit freaked.

Just as I was getting into my jammies at home, Kristen called hollering and saying "He dedicated a song to you!!!!" Yeah, the kid dedicated one of the last songs of the night to "a young lady from Austin, Texas, who is here somewhere but I just can't see her"...me!!!!!! (And how much do I love him for calling me a 'young lady'?)

I'm very honored and totally bummed that I missed it. (It's also ironically just how my week went, you know? Something good finally happens and I miss it!) It's not often you get a song dedicated to you by a 15 year old blues player who is gonna be WAY famous some day. And I am already a big fan. He's one to watch.