The American musician's farewell show at the Mahindra Blues Festival at Mehboob Studio was a memorable one. These pictures capture him in his various moods
American blues artist Buddy Guy performing at the Mahindra Blues Festival in Mumbai, 2023. Photo: Rajesh Parikh
For me, the Mahindra Blues Festival is always about Buddy Guy. His name is etched into the character of the festival. Now that he has announced that he will retire after his current Damn Right Farewell Tour, of which Mumbai was one of the earliest stops, his big shoes will be hard to fill. I had those thoughts in mind as I arrived at the festival this past weekend, on the second day when Buddy was to perform.
Buddy is a real hero of mine. But I don’t let my fanboy feelings take over. I try hard to focus on taking the best pictures of this 86-year-old legend, who we might never see again. His guitar and voice that evening, like always, is overpowering and soul-elevating. The crowd goes higher. He tunes it like a guitar. “Hoochie Coochie Man” belonged to him. Muddy Waters must be rocking in Heaven.
Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam!
The gypsy woman told my mother
Bam, Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam!
Before I was born
Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam!
You got a boy child’s coming
Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam!
Gonna be a son of a gun
Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam!
He gonna make pretty womens
Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam!
Jump and shout
Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam!
Then the world wanna know
Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam,Bam!
That I’m your Hoochie Coochie Man!
At the festival, Buddy owns the song. He also owns us all! I try to run out before I am entirely taken! Someone from the crowd keeps pleading for Jimi Hendrix. Soon Buddy is playing the guitar with his teeth. Shades of Woodstock! It was more than 90 mins of divine bliss. I hope my pictures capture my feelings.
On the way home in the car, one guiltlessly turns on Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic. Peer Gynt. One needs to shake off the Blues to get working. Them blues are totally unignorable!
Dr. Rajesh M. Parikh is a poet, painter, photographer, and India’s first and leading Neuropsychiatrist. He is Director, Medical Research and Hon. Neuropsychiatrist at the Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre in Mumbai and Adj. Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa. He has authored two National Bestsellers on COVID-19 and Vaccination and a coffee table book of photographs of Kashmir.
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