Except for his absolute devotion to Bob Dylan in his music, Shillong's legendary bluesman Lou Majaw is nothing like the sombre American folk icon in form
Who: Lou Majaw and Friends
Where: Blue Frog
When: August 12
Verdict: Hilarious
Except for his absolute devotion to Bob Dylan in his music, Shillong's legendary bluesman Lou Majaw is nothing like the sombre American folk icon in form. It takes a while to get over the colourful spectacle that Lou Majaw is on stage -- right from the fluorescent green beads around his neck that look like an extension of his fitting neon green sleeveless Tee to his denim hot pants and mismatched bright yellow and orange socks. The round of arguments on whether or not Mr Majaw waxes his stocky legs, a gleaming distraction in those denim skimps, ensues. We caught Majaw's second gig at the Frog, giving the Bob Dylan tribute night a miss.
For a 63 year-old, Majaw seemed to be in his prime, delivering covers such as Let The Good Times Roll with growl and an evocative Khasi (Meghalaya's regional language) number with equal finesse. Majaw, accompanied by a spirited band of Shillong-based musicians who were half his age, is also a generous musician. He let his drummer Noel take away three solos in one track, most of which included heavy grooves.
Lead guitarist Bari, a show-stealer, swung between acid blue and loud metal riffs, that drew a joke from Majaw, "Hey, we're not a metal band here. Easy." If it wasn't his clothes, then Majaw kept the audience in splits with his antics including odd hand gestures and stealthy moves as he tip-toed on stage as if there were snakes crawling about. Majaw also threw some curious one-liners when the audience cheered for him: "I like the spirit. It's like spirit within spirit."
The singer took a bow to Elvis Presley with his version of Jailhouse Rock titled Hey Bartender, wrapping up the show with an excellent cover of Dylan's Mr Tambourine Man. If you want fun on tap, make sure you catch Majaw's next gig.
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