12:00 I wake up to a
phone call from fellow intern Jihae, who gives me my first official
task of the day: buy beer–for the dressing rooms, of course.  Sign
number #1,893 that this internship is great: I’m required to buy beer
at noon on a Wednesday.

12:30 With task number one complete, I
proceed to the next objective: getting two cases and four bags of ice
into the building.  I get some weird looks from people around UT’s
communication, who are no doubt wondering what exactly I’m doing on
campus with so much Shiner Bock at this time of day.

2:00 An
hours-worth of set-up and standing around later, it’s time for the
dress rehearsal.  The band takes the stage. Kim Wilson immediately
electrifies the studio with some frantic, fierce work on the harmonica,
while lead singer Omar Kent Dykes growls with that raspy, grizzled
voice that only comes with a decades of booze, smokes, and Texas blues.

2:45 While the band is rehearsing, I manage to catch this gem during
songs.  Omar instructs the amazingly talented lead-guitarist Jimmie
Vaughan to “use syrup instead of molasses,” on a certain song, which
naturally leaves me completely mystified.  I encourage you all to share
any ideas and/or far-flung and possibly outlandish theories about what
that could possibly mean.

3:00 Austin’s own roadhouse blues
siren Lou Ann Barton takes the stage as one of the many special guests
featured in tonight’s taping.  She’s joined by fellow Texas legend
Delbert McClinton, who takes over harmonica duties and launches into
some immaculate harmonica soloing.

3:55 After watching the band
progress through rehearsals, I catch one of the many “the people behind
the show” moments:  Audio Supervisor Sharon Cullen diligently takes
notes on a sheet containing the set list and performers for tonight’s
show.  I have no idea what any of it means, so I have to ask.  She
explains that she’s merely trying to figure out which of the vocal mics
are being used at which times–with so many special guests, it’s hard to
keep track of them all, and if you leave on a mic that’s not being
used, the overall sound quality will be worse.
    ”If you shut down
mics that aren’t being used, you don’t get all that ambient crap,” she
explains.  “There’s less interference…it just makes it cleaner.”
    Lesson learned: Attention to detail = immaculate sound quality.

4:05 Next, I catch up with producer Terry Lickona and ask him about Jimmy Reed, the tribute show, and the artists behind it.
  
 ”Jimmie and Omar did a record and approached me about doing the show. 
It’s really an old school ACL show–we haven’t done a show like this in
awhile,” he said.  “Jimmy Reed is considered to be a quintessential
blues artist–he’s considered the God of Old School.
    As for the
show itself, he explained that they basically gave Jimmie Vaughan and
Omar Dykes free reign as to who they wanted for the taping.
  
 ”It’s basically up to Jimmy and Omar as to who they wanted to invite
to be a part of this,” he said.  “Everyone who shows up on this stage
has been there dozens of times.”

4:15 After a careful
examination of the show’s line-up–special guests and all–I’m impressed
that they’ve managed to cover all the bases of the blues spectrum.  The
supergroup ranges from old school bluesman James Cotton–who played with
blues legend Muddy Waters–to Gary Clark Jr. who, in his early 20’s, is
the newest of new-school blues.

5:00 The rehearsal wraps up and
I get a chance to ask few questions to lead singer Omar Dykes.  In his
grizzled voice, he happily spoke about the project, his band mates, and
what Jimmy Reed meant to him.
    First off, he explained that a tribute album was something he had been pushing for decades, but to no avail.
  
 ”I had been talking to my manager about the idea of doing a Jimmy Reed
tribute for 20 years, but his label wouldn’t do it,” he said.  “I
thought someone would beat me to it–he was always right there in my
mind.”
    After finally getting the go-ahead from a different
label, he enlisted the help of Jimmie Vaughan, who intended to have
merely a guest appearance.
    ”Jimmie was supposed to be a guest,
but we were having so much fun we couldn’t quit playing,” Dykes said. 
“Once he joined on, it kind of became both our projects.”
As for
Jimmy Reed’s influence on Dykes personally, he explained that he loved
many of Jimmy Reed’s songs before he even knew who Jimmy Reed was.  So
obsessed with Reed was Dykes that he would go to his local music store,
grab a guitar, and play some of Jimmy Reed’s hits as best he could.
  
 ”When ‘Big Boss Man’ came out, that is when I identified it as Jimmy
Reed,” he said.  “Then I decided this was what I want to play.”
  
 And when asked about the show itself and its accumulation of fantastic
special guests, he explained that the group was a natural fit.
  
 ”I just thought of all the people I know who love [Jimmy Reed]–we’re
all Jimmy Reed disciples,” he said.  “It just seemed like a natural
fit, you know?”
    With regard to paying tribute to Jimmy Reed
through covering his songs, Dykes stressed that the key was to find a
medium between creating a straight cover and revamping the song
altogether.
    ”[Jimmy Reed's music] is simple, almost deceptively
simple,” he said.  “We didn’t try to carbon-copy it, just play with the
spirit of it.”

7:45 The studio dies down for a couple hours
before people start filing in for tonight’s show.  Initial crowd
observations: Older – especially when compared to the crowds for some
of the indie bands we’ve taped lately.    You get the feeling that
Austin’s over-40 crowd was calling in favors to get tickets to this
show (and for good reason).

8:10 After much anticipation, the
Jimmy Reed Highway takes the stage and busts into their first numberl,
a bluesy, grooving instrumental.

8:12  Best Dressed Award
While
Jimmie Vaughan’s half-buttoned, bright red western shirt is surely
driving all the moms wild, this one goes to bassist Ronnie James, who,
with his maroon suit over a creamy pink button-up (topped, literally,
with a gray fedora), plucks and bounds his stand-up bass with some
serious style.
Other clothing choices worth noting:  Omar, guitarist
Derrick O’Brien and vocalist/blues harpist Kim Wilson seem to have done
some color coordinating, choosing to wear all black for this one.  More
interesting was guitarist Derrick O’Brien, whose guitar playing is
apparently so electrifying that ‘he’s gotta wear shades.’

8:29 
Jimmie Vaughan takes the spotlight with his eloquent, emotive guitar
work on “I’ll change my ways.”  You know you’re an amazing guitarist
when you’re getting standing ovations…in the middle of the 3rd song of
your set.

8:40  Guest stars Lou Ann Barton and James Cotton
finally take the stage.  Cotton brings his unique, harmonica-driven old
school blues flair while Barton croons on “Caress me, baby.”

9:00
Gary Clark Jr. takes the stage for “What’s wrong with you?”  It’s good
to see musicians like Clark–easily two decades younger than anyone else
on stage–carry on the blues tradition of legends like Jimmy Reed.

9:12
Delbert McClinton follows shortly after Gary Clark, becoming the third
harmonica player in a row to absolutely astound the crowd with his
impeccable play.  And just when you think things can’t get any better,
a frenzied Kim Wilson / Delbert McClinton harmonica duet shoots the
crowd into blues Nirvana.

9:20 Everyone gathers onstage for a
raucous version of “Jimmy Reed Highway.”  Unquestionably the highlight
of the night, each artist is given ample time to simply tear apart
their respective instruments in about twelve minutes of continuous
technical genius.

9:31 Encore! The show winds down with “You
Made me Laugh,” which provides an outlet for all three harmonica
virtuosos to solo collectively (with fantastic results, obviously).

9:50 
And with that, the taping is over.  I weave through the crowd to the
back stage area to enjoy a beverage and some of the soup that Chief
Engineer David Kuipers prepares for every taping.  Today’s choices: 
Vegetarian Yogurt and Chicken Chile.  This intern’s verdict?  Chicken
Chile all the way.

Until next time…
Zach Patton