Dr. Rock's Music Adventures: Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang at the Fraze Pavilion (Kettering, OH) 8-15-14

I had never seen the blues legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Buddy Guy and was very much looking forward to this show. I was fortunate enough to see Jonny Lang live at the 2010 Cincinnati, Ohio "Experience Hendrix" show, where he performed with many other blues and rock artists.
VENUE: The Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio (a Dayton, Ohio suburb) is a favorite of mine. It is in a lovely park, parking in the park is free, access to I-675 is easy, and the set-up of seats is nice. I often have good luck buying good seats online through their website right when tickets go on sale. The Fraze is about 75 minutes from our home -- I used to spend more than that 75 minutes stuck in the Germaine/Polaris Amphitheater parking lot!
OPENER: Jonny Lang came onto stage energetic and rocking the blues right away. He had a really solid backing band with rhythm guitar, bassist, drummer, and organist. He played with skill and enthusiasm for about an hour. Jonny's voice and guitar playing were excellent throughout the set.
HEADLINER: Buddy Guy has a reputation for interacting with the audience, changing course during sets (no set lists here!), and alternating from playing and singing softly to rocking the blues with a loud volume. This show was no exception. Buddy roamed the stage, interacted with the crowd, and showed he can play ANYTHING on the guitar. He played many covers of guitar legends that came after him -- Hendrix, Clapton, and many more. This 78 year old has quite the salty tongue -- I have heard less cussing at punk rock shows!
Buddy was backed by a talented second guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, and organist. They provided quite a few highlights, including some excellent organ playing and guitar runs. Mr. Guy deserves an excellent backing group and these guys fit the bill.
Buddy threw more things into the crowd then anyone I have ever seen -- including the Marilyn Manson show I attended where a nearly endless supply of stuff came out into the audience. Buddy threw a broken guitar string (Buddy arrived on stage, picked up the guitar, and the string broke -- I am sure the guitar tech got an earful), towels, and probably 15-20 guitar picks. I was in the 5th row on stage right. Buddy threw one right at me. It hit my hand and it fell to the ground. A gentleman my age and I jockeyed for possession of it briefly and he had it in his hand. I need to practice my pick catching!
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.