Following Walter Trout is a thankless job. His set has already pushed the room close to breaking point, and Jonny Lang is never going to beat him at his own game. Wisely, he doesn’t try. Lang’s blues is more soulful, smoother around the edges and rooted as much in R&B and gospel as in guitar pyrotechnics.
The former child prodigy is now long past the point where the novelty of his age matters. What remains is a powerful singer, an expressive guitarist and a performer capable of moving easily between restraint and release. “Lie to Me” provides the set’s high point, beginning as a hushed acoustic piece before steadily gathering weight and finally erupting into a fierce electric solo.
The real conclusion to the evening comes after Lang’s own set, when the three guitarists return to the stage together. The inevitable trading of solos eventually gives way to a frantic “Going Down,” Freddie King’s blues standard providing the common ground between three very different players. That is the blues in miniature: every generation bends it into a new shape, then eventually finds its way back to the same few chords.
