Jason Elmore and the Hoodoo Witch at The Kessler

Jim Suhler, Jason Elmore, Brandon Katona. Photo: John MacDonald

Jason Elmore and the Hoodoo Witch
The Kessler
Dallas, TX
July 11, 2015

Jason Elmore and the Hoodoo Witch normally performs as a trio with Jason Elmore on vocals and guitar, Mike Talbot on drums and Brandon Katona bass. But for this special show at The Kessler, the group did one set as a trio and in another set Tommy Young was added on B3 organ and Larry White on pedal steel guitar.

Throughout the night Jason Elmore showed his prowess as a virtuoso guitar player and a talented singer. He was backed up nicely by his veteran drummer Mike Talbot and the younger bass player Brandon Katona who made the transition from guitar to bass with some success.

Mike Morgan and the Crawl opened the show.

In their first set, as a trio, Jason Elmore and the band played original songs like The Cross-eyed Woman and Midnight in Memphis. Each song ended in louder and louder applause.

Jason Elmore was dressed in denim with silver studs down the seams of his pants and a kind of orange-brown designs on his shoulders and his trademark long, curly hair. In addition to his guitar playing and singing, the show highlighted his skill as a songwriter. He is often described as a blues guy, but he is more a student of music with influences from the Memphis sound, rock and roll, classic country and even funk. He likes to call his music American music.

Jason Elmore came out with full band for the second set: Tommy Young’s B3 organ and Larry White’s pedal steel guitar added texture and color to the band’s sound on songs like When the Sun Goes Down, Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds, Your Cheating Heart, Back to Louisiana, I Can See Clearly Now; and what Jason Elmore calls his favorite song of all time, Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman.

Hanging out in the lobby of The Kessler was Jim Suhler, guitarist of George Thorogood and the Destroyers. As visitors walked up to greet him he told stories about how Jason Elmore started to come to his shows as a 15-year-old and that he recorded a song at the hideaway Compass Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. (The studio was owned by producer and entrepreneur Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records and champion of the career of Bob Marley.)

Jim Suhler came on stage for one song, Gypsey Woman, and his slide guitar accompaniment made for an even more memorable night.