Bonnie Raitt & Mavis Staples concert set list @ the Minnesota State Fair, August 23, 2012

Saw an amazing gig on the opening night of the Minnesota State Fair featuring blues legends Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples.  Staples is actually a gospel singer who started with her family band, the Staples Singers.  Her band had many talented musicians, but her singing stole the show and she turned the concert in some places, into a church revival meeting, which might seem a bit awkward for a concert (feeling like a Sunday service in a Pentecostal gospel church).  But, the vibe was very cool.  Mavis Staples & Band

1. For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield cover)
2. Song For Everyone
3. The Weight (dedicated to the memory of Levon Helm)
4. Too Close To Heaven
5. On My Way To Heaven
6. Wade In The Water
7. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (feat. Bonnie Raitt & Mike Finnegan)
8. I'll Take You There

Bonnie Raitt's band scorched the stage with her well known pop and blues/R&B numbers as well as some great cover song choices.  This was my second time seeing Raitt after first seeing her at the Minnesota State Fair in 2009 with Taj Mahal as the opening act.  Her band lineup is:

Bonnie Raitt: guitar, slide guitar & vocals

George Marinelli: guitar & vocals
Mike Finnegan: Hammond B3 organ, keyboards & vocals
James "Hutch" Hutchinson: bass
Ricky Fatar: drums

It was ironic seeing Mike Finnegan as her new Hammond B3 and piano player as Finnegan was a member of Phantom Blues which was the band that backed Taj Mahal when he opened for Raitt at the fair back in 2009.  Finnegan is not only a talented keyboardist, but in his years with Crosby, Stills & Nash, and also in his time playing with Bonnie Raitt and in other settings, he has proven to be another fabulous blues singer who can wrench the emotion out of a song and really perk a listeners ear.  He has the same quality as a blues singing B3 player possessed by legends like Gregg Allman and the late, great Billy Preston.  People who don't just play the organ and leave it at that, but also, can just sing the fool out of a blues tune.

Mike Finnegan has chops, that's for dead sure.  Raitt's rhythm section of "Hutch" Hutchinson on bass and Ricky Fatar on drums has backed her for at least a quarter century now, as she approaches almost four decades into her career.  Here is the set list for Bonnie Raitt's show.

1. Used To Rule The World
2. Right Down The Line (a song written by the late musician & songwriter Gerry Rafferty)
3. Something To Talk About
4. Million Miles (Bob Dylan cover)
5. You Can't Fail Me Now
6. Love Sneakin' Up On You
7. Come To Me
8. Marriage Made In Hollywood
9. Take My Love With You
10. Angel From Montgomery (John Prine cover)
11. A Thing Called Love
12. I've Got News For You (Ray Charles song, feat. Mike Finnegan: keyboards & vocals)
13. I Feel So Damn Good
14. I Can't Make You Love Me

Encore:

15. Never Make a Move Too Soon   

Bad weather was looming just before the set ended, as there was lightning and rain in the grandstand.  So, the concert had to be cut short by a few minutes.  I know Bonnie Raitt would have wanted to play a few more songs for us as she did in 2009.  But, the crowd, and this music blogger, left the show happy.  Bonnie Raitt has a style all her own when it comes to singing and playing the guitar whether it's the gentle acoustic ballads she does like John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery", or, her fluid slide guitar work that is very pleasing to the ear and only over the top when she wants it to be, reaching for the higher fret registers only sometimes, or finding the sweet spot on the middle frets of her Fender Stratocaster's she relies on for electric slide playing.

Her music is an inspiration to many and is a joy to listen to, especially in a live gig.  She also really appreciates playing the Minnesota State Fair every time she comes there, and that's a plus.  She knows her audience and what they want to hear while still being able to just bear her soul as a singer and blues guitarist.   

That's my review.  Here's one from the local Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper.  
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/blogs/Artcetera.html