RICHIE KOTZEN - MASTER OF THE TELECASTER
by PCFROMJERSEY on 4/23/18Sony Hall - New YorkRating: 5 out of 5To say Richie Kotzen is a guitar virtuoso is an understatement; after all the Pennsylvania born “axe man” has been playing since the age of 7. Richie and his band (Dylan Wilson on bass and Mike Bennett on percussion), looped the Salting Earth World Tour around for a second stop in New York City at the recently open Sony Hall on 46th Street.
With his signature Sunburst Fender Telecaster in hand, Kotzen opened the set with the 2009 release “Your Entertainer.” Richie’s shows are far from glitz and glamour: They are about THE MUSIC. Playing without a pick, he shredded through the Kotzen classics Love is Blind, Go Faster, Fooled Again and High. With High on the last leg of the tour being done acoustically, it was a treat to see it performed electric.
Richie is a true road warrior, living for performing live. So it is only fitting that the highlight of the evening for most in attendance was the poignant ballad The Road. For this song, Richie was in front of his KORG keyboard, another instrument among many, the rocker plays with extreme precision. Rarely done live, the song is almost Hymn-like, and with Kotzen’s beautiful mournful tone/range, it played beautifully in the concert hall.
The beautiful ash Fender Strat made its appearance for the encore. Richie and crew closed the show with War Paint, off of his Cannibals collection. Wilson and Bennett are fine musicians in their own right, playing with Kotzen for years now and being the perfect compliments to this musical genius. The 2018 leg of this tour continues Friday 4-20-18 in New Hope, PA.
Opening at Sony Hall was Les Stroud, who most folks will know as the host of Discovery Channel’s Survivorman. This evening, however, Les provided some serious harmonica skills and blues type tunes that held environmental messages.
Pat Cacioppo – 04-19-18