Ah yes, as winter turns to spring a young man’s fancy turns to love, however I, as an old man, my fancy turns to guitars, by golly, it’s Dallas International Guitar Show time! Alas , apparently April wasn’t quite finished, so we start the show Friday May 2 with rain. Luckily, the rain decided to hold off long enough for me to take the wrong exit and head towards Ft Worth, get turned around, back on 35 north and make to Market Hall with minutes to spare. I even got a decent parking spot, (what on earth did I do right to achieve this treasure). Made to the front door without event, they found my name at Will Call for my media pass, so far as is well with the world. And, we’re off, dashing thru the vendors in a one horse…….. wait a minute, uh, never-mind. Both of the outdoor stages are closed down for the weather, so way in the back of this cavernous hall is an even smaller cave, one could refer to as “reverb” or maybe “echoplex”. Oh well you get what you get.
The first band on scene is “Empiires”, Darren Wise’s outfit, an excellent rock cover band with some very nice originals thrown in. I got in during Rebel Yell. Now if you get close to the stage and have proper ear protection, the sound is not too bad after all. Empiires put on a fine show, music from Van Halen’s Ain’t Talkin’ bout Love to the Police Wrapped Around Your Finger. The accompanying videos are the afore mentioned Van Halen and original song Stronger. Find Empiires on the “socials”, and go check them out, you will have a grand time with these guys.
Bands typically play for about 30-45 minutes, the schedule of play times get tossed aside as the days go on, but give credit as they are mostly close to scheduled times.
Got a few minutes before the next band, so it’s time to run thru the vendors. Grab my $5 Baby Blues amps t-shirt, and check out the crowd. A bunch of regulars that are here every year, quite a few new faces as well. Sweetwater had a booth, giving away copious amounts of their trademark candy baggies, Charley’s Guitar Shop had a booth as well. I got one of their t-shirts, I honestly didn’t realize they were still in business, glad to see them. I knew at the time that I should have written down some of the new names or I would forget them, which I, of course, did. Oh well, time to catch a new set.
Up next, is Larry Mitchell. Larry is an instrumental guitarist, whose sound is kinda spacey, heavily pedal driven, dirty yet crystal clear. Think Macalpine, Satriani meet David Gilmore. I always try to catch Larry as he is an easy, enjoyable listen. This is the second time I’ve managed to catch Mr Mitchell in the “echoplex”, makes it interesting to try and figure out just how much of that delay is from Larry’s pedalboard and how much is from the hall. No matter how you slice it he is always great.
Now it’s back thru the vendors to find and check in with my compadres at the Trinity River Blues Society booth. Got to chat with Pres Angela for a few minutes, also scored a shirt with our new logo on it. Go, get back to work Mr Dave, ok, ok, I’m going, geez.
Denny Jiosa is on stage, this stage is indoors towards the back, it is/was designed for solo artists, seminars, speakers, etc. Normally this is not an issue, but today, we have the echoplex just on the other side of that fake wall to content with, Van Wilks is there holding court. Denny was having a time trying to concentrate on his backing tracks with Van blowing the walls off next door. Denny, a jazz guitarist, will all that was going on around him did a fine job, an exquisite Wes Montgomery, along with a sweet version of Santana’s Europa were some of his fares.
Whilst traipsing thru the wilds of the vendors, I got the brilliant idea to find and vid the most expensive guitars I could find, this proved to be a rather fun job, however, I did learn something, that being, I should have narrated as I went, instead of thinking, I’ll just narrate during editing. Those vids will be inserted randomly thru this report.
Now we have El Hombre himself, yep Greg Koch, the “gristlemaster” in all his glory. He and the head honcho at Reverend Guitars always have a session to introduce new Rev products and such. They also play enough to make all the guitar players in the crowd to plan their individual bonfires when we get home. Greg is so stupid good, its mind blowing or numbing which ever you prefer. He is just an amazing watch.
Off thru the vendors again to grab more swag, followed by heading home as day one comes to a close.
We fire up Saturday Day 2, with yet again a decent parking spot, I’m on a roll. No waiting in line to get in, since I have my media pass, I get to cut thru the back via a security gate. (well la tee da, aren’t we special) After a quick run thru the vendors, it’s out to the front stage for “The Boogie Men”, these guys are great, a lot of fun, good tuneage. I was able to catch about half their set, which included Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va”, executed quite brilliantly. The Boogie Men is another band playing around town that one needs to go check out.
Rockin Robert T is next on stage, Mr T (sorry couldn’t resist), is old school, good times, roadhouse blues, played with honesty and fervor. The one song I wrote down was, I believe, “Shame on Me for Loving You”, a nice grindy slow blues. Robert had some cable issues that distracted him a bit, but he held forth and fought thru it like a professional.
Chris Buono was next on the inside seminar stage. I know Chris via Truefire, I own a couple of his courses, so I was definitely looking forward to seeing him. As with all live performances we are constantly battling it out with a certain Murphy. Chris fought thru some pedalboard issues, and still turned in an enjoyable set. I was lucky enough to meet and talk with Chris on Sunday morning, what a heck of a nice guy. His set Sunday a.m. used a looper to great effect, along with his custom fretless guitar. Thanks Chris, I owe you a beverage the next time you’re in town.
Upward and onward, we head to the stage out back for singer/songwriter Ryan Berg, who happened to have Mike “Jr” Clark sitting in with him. This was the first time for me hearing and seeing Ryan Berg, very good music from Mr Berg, watching Jr play ain’t too shabby either. Be on the lookout for Ryan Berg, great voice, great tuneage, a mix of country, blues, rock all with heart. Go check him out when you get a chance.
Joe Mass is next on stage, he has Jimmy Haslip in the band. Now Jimmy has a unique take on the bass guitar, it took me a few minutes to finally figure it out. He plays a left-handed bass left-handed, but with the strings reversed. He’s got the low D string on the bottom and the G on the top (5 string bass). Joe has keyboardist Jeff Lorber in the band. This is jazz fusion, heavy on the fusion. On one of the songs, I didn’t catch the name of, Joe had one of the most impressive use of a 13th chord I believe I’ve ever seen, if I was able to catch it on video I will definitely point it out.
Managed to zip back thru the vendors in search of Martins, 335’s, L-5’s and of course, Goldtops. Never played an L-5 before, but I have a mad craving for one. I also, am always on the lookout for Fender Super Reverbs, univibe and Lesley pedals. I keep thinking, maybe I’ll stumble on some guy who just wants to get rid of his stuff at ridiculously low prices, yeah I know, Aerosmith wrote a song about this dilemma called “Dream On”, but hey, wishful thinking, you never know.
In the meantime, get back out back to the stage for Jr Clark and the Brotherhood, got the just in time to catch one of my favorite songs, “Big Legged Woman”, which they absolutely burned thru. Jr’s got tone for days, just a pleasure to listen to him play.
Hang on to your hat, batten down the hatches, and grab something sturdy, cause friends it’s about to get rough as Joanna Connor is getting ready to melt faces. Ms Connor has the intensity and energy of a major cyclone, she takes no prisoners! She emits the bluesiest, guttural groans, whines, shrieks and cries from her Les Paul. She plays incredible slide guitar to boot. Her set included an exquisite version of “Little Wing”. Joanna grabs the crowd by the balls doesn’t let go until she is ready. She is a must see.
Time to do a bit of filming at the Jimmy Wallace booth (section), he has one of the better collection of guitars this side of Norman’s. I am always impressed with variety of vintage guitars he has. Gibsons, Fenders, Heritage, Martin, PRS with prices from “hey not bad” to “Good God!”
As I head back out to the stage, I detect the final notes of “Stranglehold”, ah yes, one Derek St Holmes is holding forth. Must be clean living or pure dee luck, as his voice is as strong as in the Uncle Ted days, the tone he gets out a Les Paul is to die for, lots and lots of punch. I was able to watch a simply smoldering version of “Red House”, and a fist in the air driver of “Let it Roll”. Now I know that I know that I know that I shot video of Derek, but for some bizarre reason I can not find it, so it must be a severe case of “I know that I know but I didn’t after all”.
Time to catch up on my sunburn as I await the next act. Next up is The Band Feel, new up and comers from St Louis, I’ve heard of them just haven’t heard them. Remember a few paragraphs ago when I mentioned that scalawag Murphy, well he showed up in spades for our friends in The Band Feel. Their guitarist gets on mic and states that they are happy to be here, blah, blah. Then he mentions that the group normally has some ethereal walkup music, but today they are just going to rock it. He then turns around to the drummer, counts it off, strikes what should be a mighty opening chord and………………….nothing happens. Turns back around, says something humorous to the crowd, wiggles a cable, kicks his pedal board, and presto we have sound, or do we? Count it off, hit chord, this time we have static, rest of the band looks at each other, panic has not set in yet. Guitarist and tech pound the pedalboard with hammers, we got sound. Fire this puppy up again and we’re off, then guitarist breaks a string, but rather than just toughing it out, his tech grabs another guitar for him, meanwhile band is carrying on with the song looking at each other obviously concerned. Evidently, while they were questioning the family history of the pedalboard, they must have offended Murphy, because he left and the band was able to complete their set. Of course, that’s not the way they wanted to introduce themselves to Dallas, they handled it like pros, finished their set, the crowd dug them, all is well. Good band, I liked their sound, stage presence, the whole package. I likened them to if Zeppelin, the Black Crowes and Greta Van Fleet had a threesome. They will be in Garland, Tex on June 6 at the downtown square, go check them out if you can.
Last set of Saturday is the one and only Sonny Landreth, to describe Sonny as a slide guitar player, would be an understatement, he is an extraordinary slide player bordering on magician or as a friend put it “sorcery”. Slide is a style I have never been able to do, although I have certainly tried, it requires a sensitive touch and Sonny is just stupid good at it, a virtuoso if you will, and I will. Delta, southern rock, country blues Sonny has it. Plays a strat slung higher than most players do, which allows him access to all areas of the neck. He is just a fascinating watch. The man must have extra fingers. It was a really nice set to catch your breath before heading home as we have to get ready for Sunday, day three.
Three days man! Three days! Thank you Wavy Gravy.
Sunday morning! Third and last day of the festival. I’m up early enough drain two large cups of motivation, grab a couple of protein bars and aaaaawwwwaaaayyyyy we go! How I scored good parking three days in a row I will never know, it certainly hasn’t happened that way for the last few festivals. Anyway, again we get to cut the line and go thru the security fence, thank you Jimmy Wallace for the media pass. I feel like a little kid with this thing (you mean I get to go in there too?). I am having way too much fun. Hey now! Come down from the clouds Dave, you got work to do. Yeah, Yeah, back to business.
At 11:00, Chris Buono is doing his Sunday set, again inside, but without a band next door. Made for much better listening.
Noon has us at the main outside stage, for one Jonathan “Boogie” Long, from Baton Rouge, La. Jonathan was/is a true treasure find, fantastic tone, great chops, extraordinary vocals, very expressive. Mr Long took the crowd along for a great ride of upbeat, driving blues, a little southern R & R, oh and of course some boogie blues. I mean it’s the man’s name for cryin’ out loud. Jonathan plays a custom guitar that reminds me of the SGB model double cut guitars that Yamaha had out a bunch of years ago. I found out, when I was talking with Jonathan after his set, that his guitar body is made of metal, and get this, it’s a hollow body that has been filled with spray foam, so it doesn’t weigh a ton and a third. Crazy thing sustains for days.
One o’clock finds us at the second outside stage, got my ears in, good seat, camera ready to go. Hang on to your chair as Chris Duarte hits the stage and he hits hard. Now, don’t take this the wrong way, watching Chris is exhausting, he absolutely gives 140% to the crowd, his music, his band. He is almost frantic in his stage presence, he seems like the kind of person who runs to relax. Watching Chris play almost makes my fingers bleed. Mr Duarte blazed thru “Letter to my Girlfriend”, “Lies, Lies, Lies”, and my favorite, “Big Legged Woman”. His band is a drummer and bass player, both of whom are rock steady, holding down the rhythm, albeit statue-like. I mean the only movement for his bass player is her fingers, in contrast to the erratic energy of Chris Duarte himself. A great set was had by all.
Another run thru vendor, still searching for the most expensive guitars. Murphy labs and Custom shop guitars don’t count, not that they are not beautiful, I’m only interested in pure D vintage. I prefer my scratches, dints, dings, and cigarette burns to come naturally. As mentioned earlier I am always on the lookout for Fender Super Reverbs, but I like all kinds. For instance, I found a Sunn Concert Lead head w/ a 6×10 cabinet, haven’t seen a Sunn in I’ll bet 30 years.
Up next we have the sheer genius of Mark Lettieri, (one day I’ll remember how to spell Lettieri without looking it up). Mark is a member of my bonfire club. His sense of melody, timing, tone is inspiring. He is a storyteller on guitar, not just a song writer. Each song takes the listener on a wild flight of fancy and intrigue. Brilliant! Mark talks thru his red s-style PRS guitar rather than playing it. Plus, he and Chris Buono had an excellent jam together, watch for Chris’s fretless guitar.
Finally, the headliner of the weekend, Mr Andy Timmons w/ the AT Band, yet another member of the bonfire club. A bit of a funny, I took some still pics while AT was setting up, not one time did I see any sort of dispute between any members of the band or stage crew. Yet when I was reviewing pics later I found one where it appears Andy is ripping a new one on one of the crew. I obviously saw the exchange or I wouldn’t have gotten the pic. Eye opening to think about some of those questionable pics we often see in the news media. Kinda makes one think. Meanwhile we have a set to review. So, let’s get after it. Andy is another storyteller on guitar, his sense of melody, tone, chops is both intimidating and inspiring. Andy’s smile while playing is so refreshing from all the bitter beer faces we are all accustomed to seeing on our guitar gods. Now, after saying all this about AT and Mark Lettieri, their jam together was magic. Rather than bore you, young reader, I will let the vids do the talking.
Alas, as they say, all good things come to an end, we say goodbye to the 2025 DIGF and the glorious pit that is Market Hall. Talked with some old friends and met some new ones. What a joy is to mingle with like-minded guitar/music freaks and geeks. Everyone from security to the dude who has to refill the paper towels in the restroom had a great attitude, was friendly. You did it again Jimmy Wallace and we thank you!
Make a Joyful Noise,
Dave “Mr Dave” Keltner
A quick note about this pic of Darren Wise, I got the brilliant idea that I would get a pic of everyone’s pedalboard, (which I quickly abandoned, for logistic reasons). Anyway towards the end of Empiires set, I went to the side of the stage to get said pedalboard pic. I clearly got to close for Darren’s comfort, as he walked straight at me, now he didn’t say anything or make any gesture, but he definitely was concerned I was too close. Oops.