Tinsley Ellis' showcases his 'Winning Hand' at The Coach House

Review by Robert Kinsler

Photos by Bob Steshetz

Tinsley Ellis playing up a storm at The Coach House on February
28, 2018. / Photo: Bob Steshetz

To put it simply, Tinsley Ellis' 90-minute concert at The Coach House on Wednesday night (Feb. 28, 2018), was about both celebrating the blues and pushing the genre forward in the best of all possible ways.

The famed Atlanta-based singer-songwriter/guitar virtuoso –  backed only by a bassist and drummer – performed a dozen songs touching on the most traditional of Delta blues stylings via a short acoustic-styled set as well as offering up his own blazing Southern-friend electric selections that comprised most of the songs featured this night.

Kicking things off with the first track ("Sound of a Broken Man") off his outstanding 2018 Alligator Records-issued disc Winning Hand, Ellis, 60, immediately immersed the crowd with his muscular-meets-nuanced guitar work. The track was bolstered by two thrilling guitar solos, the second enhanced by the use of his wah-wah utilizing the classic sound to enhance the song's lyrical arc.

While influences ranging from B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan to Eric Clapton and Bob Margolin can be heard in Ellis' sound, his style is decidedly distinctive. That was evidenced across the fast-moving set, in large part because of the power of his songs and artful approach in how he fuses his guitar work into the songs. Take the soulful blues ballad "Saving Grace" (another highlight on his latest LP), his vocals were as prominent and emotive as his jaw-dropping skills on the electric guitar.

Tinsley Ellis playing his Gibson electric
guitar during the encore at The Coach House.
Photo: Bob Steshetz

Making his first appearance at The Coach House in five years, Ellis seemed loose and thoroughly enjoying himself. The blues-rocker "To The Devil For a Dime" was both playful and potent, with Ellis again using his wah-wah pedal to add fire to his lead guitar work.

On the electric ballad "A Quitter Never Wins," Ellis positioned him back from the microphone a bit to give his vocals a far-away sound; his sparse lead guitar matched the haunting effect.

There was also an acoustic-styled two-song set where Ellis had a chance to recall his own heroes; a faithful take on the Muddy Waters classic "Can't Be Satisfied" ("Bob Margolin taught it to me and Muddy Waters taught it to him," Ellis noted in his introduction) and a powerful take on the Howlin' Wolf classic (penned by Willie Dixon) "Little Red Rooster" elicited big cheers from the crowd of blues lovers.

The last half of the set was filled with an equal number of highlights including the rousing "Pawnbroker," which featured some of Ellis' most expressive lead guitar playing of a night.

Opening the night was the Anaheim-based Claude Von Trotha Band, a nine-man ensemble offering up a solid set of mostly-original blues tracks adorned by a mighty four-member horn section.

Here is an embedded video of Ellis' performance of "A Quitter Never Wins" performed at the concert:



Editor's Note: A special thank you to photographer Bob Steshetz for his wonderful photographs used here.