It is always a blast hanging with rock nycer Woody Fuller and never more so than when Fuzzy G is taking the stage. On Saturday the stars alligned and Fuzzy thrilled us with a point making set. The point(S) were
1) The man can play guitar
2) The man can write a song
I don’t get paid for raving about this young Hendrixy rapper (yeah, a bit counter-intuitive, right?) but rave I will. Cool, sexy, smart, he shreds the guitar, struts the stage, and wins over. He kinda rules on stage.
I arrive at Bowery Poetry early and check out the sound check which is pretty good in itself and hang at the bar. Woody and some cute chick with curly hair arrive later. It’s a pleasure to talk music with all three of them and though Fuzzy goes on lateish it just primes us more.
There is a guy mixing and a drummer and along woth Fuzzy the sound is full and thrilling from the get go. Fuzzy opens with a raving “Lady Om The Water” and he sounds like, well, like a rock band -there’s a stepped up coolness to the performance, a distilled arrogance and self awareness. Song after song punches you through and by the midway point me, a hard sell by the way, am up and dancing.
The set is pro, it builds though to a gorgeous “Optimistically Speaking” and beyond. By a livelier than recorded set closing “It’s Our Turn” if you need proof that something special is happening here, you got it.
If this sounds like a testimonial I really don’t care.
By now you either believe me or you don’t so if you do: a first rate New York debut by the great Fuzzy.