GReat guitarist
by ajab1952 on 3/28/14The Paramount - HuntingtonRating: 4 out of 5The concert was fantastic, and the venue is amazing. I loved the close proximity I was able to watch Robert Cray Bank perform.

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The Robert Cray Band in Concert
When it comes to live performance, The Robert Cray Band like to get right down to business. Though they're led by one of the most distinctive blues guitar stylists of his generation, and the rest of the band bears a similar amount of instrumental authority, they don't like to showboat. Flashy licks are simply not what Cray and company are all about.
Instead, they cut right through to the emotional core of every tune — whether they're playing the classics that put Cray on the map, like "Right Next Door" and "Smoking Gun," or killing it on covers of tunes by the likes of Bill Withers, Bobby "Blue" Bland, or The Mississippi Sheiks. Cray and his cohorts use their mighty musical prowess in the service of the song. Sure, you'll hear plenty of fluid guitar solos, but at a Robert Cray show you'll never hear a single unnecessary note — in other words, everything he and his band play on stage really matters.
The Robert Cray Band Background
Robert Cray did more for the blues in the 1980s than anybody other than Stevie Ray Vaughan. He started out small with a string of early-'80s indie albums, but by the middle of the decade the singer/guitarist's blend of blues, soul, and rock 'n' roll influences made its way to the mainstream with a major-label deal that introduced the world to the game-changing Strong Persuader LP.
Between his supple grooves, soulful vocals, storytelling songs, and stinging guitar solos, Cray emerged as the blues hero the '80s didn't even know they were waiting for until he came along. Over time, Cray's sound has become simultaneously deeper and more expansive. His reputation has grown to the point that he's an esteemed elder statesman of modern blues, a winner of multiple Grammy awards, and an artist as venerated today as any of his heroes were when he was growing up and learning his licks.
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The concert was fantastic, and the venue is amazing. I loved the close proximity I was able to watch Robert Cray Bank perform.
Cray is so smooth and cooool! Great musicians, obviously enjoy what they do.
I saw the show on March 25 at the Paramount in Huntington.The first act was not announced but they were great. Two guys playing Delta Blues,I don't even know who they were.The Blind Boys of Alabama were also good, but gospel music doesn't appeal to me.Robert Cray was awesome as usual,his lyrics are articulate as well as his guitar playing.The rest of Roberts band was outstanding.I would recomend this show to anyone who loves blues music.
one complain is about the fact that if there are two concerts that I am going to see it should be specify at what time 1st concert start and at what time the second will start. I care less about the Blind Boys of Alabama but I do care about my time and if the tickets that I purchased said 8 pm, I am expecting to see Robert Cray Band which is the band I am interested to see to appear on stage at 8 pm and not at 10 pm. Other than that the Robert Cray band was as usual a good show, good event.
Robery Cray was very good, however he did not come on stage until after 10pm and this was a night with a snow storm in the forecast. We travelled from the end of the North Fork and I was worried about the weather and the very late start. The Blind Boys Of Alabama were amazing!!
Cray was his usual great playing his clean guitar licks along with fine vocals. The band was tight particularly drums and bass. Blind Boys were a pleasant surprise getting the crowd going with their Motown inspired gospel music. Really didn't need a third act which was not advertised on the bill. Cray started at 10:00 pm which is way too late for a venue and performance like this.
did not play smoking gun, started around 10 pm - weeknight, less joking around and play the song that made you famous
Mavis Staples was a joy to listen to and watch. What a classic lady. Her band was outstanding. Robert Cray was very smooth and great musician. His band was awesome also
Legendary singer Mavis Staples was a joy to hear/watch. She still has such an amazing voice and rapport with the audience. Robery Cray followed with a fantastically dizzying sets of blues. He is an exceptional guitarist and his vocals are wonderful as well. This show exceeded my expectations.
What a terrific show. We only had one complaint and that was that the opening act Mavis Staples (who put on a terrific show) played longer than Robert Cray. There were so many more songs he could have done but the show was worth every penny and I would go again.
Great show! Robert Cray is vastly underrated as a guitarist. It's unbelievable what he can do. Love the stories that his songs tell.
Overall an excellent show. Only complaint was that it ended a little quickly. Played for an hour and a half but was hoping for 2 hour show. Robert and the band are excellent musicians and he interacts with the fans.
Ok, so my uncle who recently re-located to the VA. area, wanted to go to see Robert Cray, and I was only ever familiar with his two most commercial hits, you know the ones, so was not expecting a lot from the concert. I knew "Young Bob" (see I'm getting hip to the RC lingo now) was well known for his superb guitar playing skills, but that voice just blew me away!!! He never seemed to miss a note and the band was so tight, I'm sure that comes with years of playing together (although my uncle informed me the drummer, Les was new)....There wasn't a lot of banter between songs, but that was fine with me...left more time for the music....he ended his set with Time Makes Two , which was SO soulful and poignant it brought me to tears....that's definitely my new favorite song, but I was pretty smitten with Poor Johnny, In the Middle and The Forecast as well. Robert Cray got himself a new fan last night (and Jim Pugh, the keyboard player/organist did too!!!)
This was the third time I've seen Robert Cray Band. He is as amazing as he was when I first saw him around 10 years ago. He's emotional, powerful, and an amazing talent. His band equals him in talent. Just an incredible show--I would encourage anyone to go see him, and I will go see him any chance I get.
Concert was awesome, seating was terrible. We were second row back but had to turn sideways all night, a few less seats per table would have helped.
Mr Cray always put on a great show. I love his music and it was a pleasure for me to actually see him perform. Turning Stone is a nice place and was pleased with the fact that you could see the stage from pretty much the whole room. The problem i had is Ticket master made me buy two tickets on line when people were coming in and they were able to buy one ticket I lost the price of one ticket as i had no one to come with me
This was a great concert... Intimate and entertaining. He is an awesome guitarist. He played nonstop for about 2 hours. Don't miss him or hesitate to buy your tickets.
I first saw Robert Cray in 1987 and again around 1995. He still sounds the same and still puts on a good show. Some of the tunes are not as well known as Strong Persuader and Smoking Gun but they are true to his style. Besides Robert the band consisted of Richie Collins (been with Robert for years) and an organ player and drummer. The venue at Harrah's was perfect for this type of act. We sat in the last row almost dead center and were still less than 20 rows from the stage. The show started right at 8PM and latest about 1 hr and 40 minutes. We'll worth the modest price.
Robert Cray put on a great performance. The music and vocals were spot on and sounded great. He had a good sense of humor while interacting with the audience between songs. Any Robert Cray fan would enjoy this show. My girlfriend had only heard a couple of his songs that I had played in my car and she enjoyed the show as well.
Great show, Robert was animated and interacted with the audience!