Rocking blues jams were the order of the evening for Jonny Lang on April 25th at Orlando’s Plaza Theatre. Lang’s music has consistently evolved ever since bursting onto the blues scene as a guitar prodigy with 1997’s Lie To Me, whether it’s adding more of a pop rock influence with 2003’s Long Time Coming, going Gospel with 2006’s Turn Around, or his venture into folk pop with 2013’s Fight For My Soul. On this night, Lang showed all of those sides, but the dominant sound was the blues roots with which Lang cut his teeth.
Over his two-hour set, Lang and company improvised at will, playing songs sometimes slightly and other times drastically different from the studio recording. Long jam sessions accompanied many of the numbers, with every song featuring at least one jaw-dropping guitar solo. In his most recent albums, Lang has emphasized his distinct soulful singing voice, which is one of the most powerful and emotional around. His immense vocal chops were on full display here, especially on the slower songs like his solo acoustic performance of “Breaking Me” and the Gospel crooner “That Great Day,” which riled up the crowd like a Pentecostal revival.
Not surprisingly, though, it was Lang’s guitar work that stole the show. His tone was pristine, his vibrato seemingly endless, and his string bends and speed soloing ridiculous. The incredible soloing elevated mediocre songs like “Rack ‘Em Up” and “Angel of Mercy” into vibrant crowd pleasers. Lang’s backing band was equally as impressive, more than holding its own with the guitar hero and providing a solid foundation for Lang’s fretboard mastery. Of the straightforward blues numbers, the best performance was “A Quitter Never Wins,” with its dynamic sonic range, going from soft, nearly whispered verses to Lang’s screaming guitar solos.
The set featured two new songs from an upcoming album, both of which are harder rockers than most of Lang’s catalog. On the new song “Signs” in particular, Lang tears through a Jimmy Page-esque heavy riff over a funky start-stop rhythm. One highlight of the show was Lang’s performance of “Turn Around.” From the song’s iconic intro, all hand claps and spiritual humming, to the inspirational sing-along chorus to Lang’s soaring falsetto at the end of the song, the bluesman and his band nailed every hook of what is possibly their catchiest song.
For the encore, Lang appeared onstage alone for solo performances of the aforementioned “Breaking Me” and a cover of Muddy Waters’ “Forty Days and Forty Nights,” Lang dueling his vocal chops with distorted guitar riffing. For set-closer “Lie To Me,” Lang began playing it at half-speed alone on his acoustic guitar, wringing every bit of emotion out of the song’s deception. As he started belting out the final chorus, the band joined him onstage and Lang exchanged his acoustic guitar for his Thinline Telecaster for one last extended jam session. Even breaking a string didn’t stop Lang from sending off the crowd with soloing of incredible virtuosity.
