Three-time Grammy Award winning bluesy singer/songwriter Keb' Mo came back to Milwaukee Saturday for a show at the intimate and acoustically perfect Northern Lights Theater inside Potawatomi Bingo Casino.
In the final stages of a coast-to-coast American tour behind his first indie album, "Live & Mo'," Mo (born Kevin Moore) is better than ever. The consummate friendly professional, his smile shows that he's still not only having fun but constantly working to hone his craft. For a guy who released his first album at age 43, Mo - now 58 - has a youthful spirit that shows respect to his elder blues musicians and their traditions while creativity blending the blues with rock, folk, and jazz.
Mo's 2006 release "Suitcase" is one of all time favorites, and in his nearly 2 hour and 20 minute show on Saturday he and his band showcased tunes from multiple releases while highlighting some of the new stuff from "Live and Mo'."
He gave a "Wisconsin cheese" shout out before his deep funky grooves in "Government Cheese" and the smiled, while telling us to "look out, there's a hole in the bucket" before launching into the back-porch blues of "Hole in the Bucket."
There's just something about Keb Mo. He gets better as the night goes on and his welcoming, graceful and fun style make you feel like he's playing only for you. His songs are real, full of heart and I'm not sure there's a better tune than "Life is Beautiful," the fifth song of the night and the one that garnered the biggest smile from this fan.
Throughout the gig Mo' changed guitars juggling his red Stratocaster, a hollow body acoustic and a gleaming National Steel. His band of Jeff Paris (keyboards, mandolin), Reggie McBride (bass) and Les Falconer III (drums) complemented his guitar work and was, simply put, stellar -- especially in the first encore of "Standin' at the Station" where all members were able to jam.
Mo's music is an expression of the artistic and cultural journey that has transformed the blues, and his own point of view, over time. It is, as I said, real. And, Saturday night at the Northern Lights Theater was about as real as you can get. A great show from one of music's great talents.
If you missed the show, Mo's Web Site now features a detailed discography featuring streaming music of his entire catalog along with a newly designed merchandise store called Mo' Stuff and a special section detailing his favorite guitars as well as his personal commentary on them. It's pretty cool stuff.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
