Fabulous Thunderbirds preview
Clearwater Theater, West Dundee
Sunday, March 28, 2010
As the media spotlight recedes from Austin, it can go back to being what it is: a blues-rock hotbed.
Such bands might be a mid-March minority, but one of Austin, Texas’ signature sounds is that of a raucous Telecaster, and something similar to what the Fabulous Thunderbirds have been purveying for years. Though the lineup has changed since the mid-’70s, even time can’t detract from a tradition that has developed and nurtured Jimmie Vaughan, Duke Robillard, and Nick Curran. Never the most commercially successful of bands — minus hits like “Tough Enough,” “Wrap It Up,” and “Powerful Stuff” on the Cocktail soundtrack — what Kim Wilson and co. have continuously offered is hard-scrabble, Texan blues rock. The kind that bruises.
— Steve Forstneger
Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly
