Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones - The Alamo, Springfield IL

Monday, March 17, 2008

St. Patrick’s Day can be a rough and rowdy time, and it sure was at the Alamo in Springfield IL this past Monday night for Blue Monday. Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones fit the bill as he served up the near capacity crowd of regulars and St. Patty’s Day revelers with his heavy dose of Texas-induced soul-blues.

From the opening number to the final chord, Jr. Boy brought one of the largest dance crowds to the Alamo that I’ve seen in recent times with doses of funk, Texas shuffles, and soul-fused ballads. Playing songs off of his latest release Jr. Boy Live and off of his last studio release Mr. Domestic, Jr. Boy hardly played a cover all night long; showing the blues fans and the non-blues folks that you can be original and still get funky.

The covers that Jr. Boy did give the crowd were two very familiar songs from the Pop-R&B realm, Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On?” and Ray Charles’ “Georgia On My Mind” with the latter being joined by local Springfield, IL trumpeter Frank Parker.

Jr. Boy’s crowning achievement, in between playful banter from the crowd, was his story about the title track to his last studio release “Mr. Domestic” in which he spins the tale of a bluesman without a job doing chores for his woman. The rapid-fire guitar attack and the tongue-in-cheek lyrics were a bargain at the $2 admission. At one point the police and ambulance showed up just to see what the good-timing ruckus was all about! Jr. Boy also paid great homage and tribute to his late mentor Freddie King. Jr. Boy rocked the Springfield crowd, who stayed up till the last chord well past the 1AM call. Next time Jr. Boy’s in your town, don’t miss this playful, high-energy performance and all around great musician. To see all the pictures of the fun CLICK HERE

Ben Cox is a Blues Songwriter, Musician, DJ and Journalist.