"Here," Jeff told me, thrusting a box under my arm as I headed out the door at the end of my shift, "these ought to get you started..."It was a treasure chest of top-flight tunes that, for a blues-loving Deadhead like myself, has kept me enthralled for the best part of a decade now. They became the core of my bootleg collection, an odd assemblage that included Jerry Garcia, Santana, Little Feat, Muddy Waters, Miles Davis...and Bonnie Raitt.
Bonnie Raitt's acoustic performance at Syracuse University has long been a staple in trading circles, owing as much to the performance and sound qualities of this boot as it does to the on-going between-song banter that's just a guilty joy. By her own admission, Bonnie used to be quite a party-girl back in the day, as this show amply demonstrates; she's high as a kite and nothing short of hilarious through most of this outing.
"I am fucked up, man," she says, going into Woodstock. "I can't even fake it. At least I'm having a good time..." Bonnie was no sloppy drunk, let's make no mistake about that. Once she gets to playing, she leaves little doubt about her being on her game through this one. She was, working her way through an enjoyable, mixed-bag setlist that includes Raitt originals like Finest Loving Man and I Ain't Blue, I'm Just a Little Bit Lonesome, Buffalo Springfield and Robert Johnson covers (Love in Vain, Walkin Blues, Rollin and Tumblin...), and requisite nods to her mentor, Sippie Wallace.
Raitt was joined onstage by second guitarist Tom Jones, who plays with Bonnie for the first time on this gig. When Bonnie asks if he can play the Tommy Johnson standard Big Road Blues, and he cannot, Bonnie invites her accompanist to "stomp his feet or play with yourself," then plays on without him, delivering an energetic, top-notch version that plays homage to Tommy without coming on like a knock-off imitator. Raitt does this up with style.
This is a classic boot, a feel-good show, giving us vintage Bonnie at her crystal-voiced, flirtatious, raunchy best.
Peace, Mudcatz
Bonnie Raitt
Jabberwocky Club
Syracuse University
Syracuse NY
March 27, 1971
1. Something In the Way He Moves
2. Mighty Tight Woman
3. Bluebird
4. Rollin and Tumblin
5. Close Your Eyes
6. Richland Woman Blues
7. Let Me Be Your Blender
8. Kokomo
9. Woodstock
10. Big Road Blues
11. I Ain't Blue, I'm Just a Little Bit Lonesome
12. Finest Lovin Man
13. Candy Man
14. Walkin Blues
15. Can I Get a Witness
16. Can't Find My Way Home
17. Since I Fell For You
18. Love In Vain
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