Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Portogruaro / Teatro Comunale Luigi Russolo / Italy
Concert date: November 19, 2015
Attendance: 650
Ticket price: €15.00 (advance) / €16.00 (day of show)
Stef Burns is one of those special musicians who, with his one-of-a-kind approach to the instrument as well as to songwriting, definitely stands out on the planet of rock ‘n’ roll. He comes from Oakland, California, and is a highly respected player. Over his career he has played for Alice Cooper, in Huey Lewis & The News, and with his fellow Oakland natives, the famous American hard rock veterans Y & T. In the early nineties, the legendary Italian pop-rock superstar Vasco Rossi took Burns into his crew. Burns settled permanently in Bologna, Italy, where he has been earning his bread with Vasco since 1993.
To keep the whole night at the municipal theater in the middle of Portogruaro’s old town in tune with the spirit of Vasco Rossi, the promoter also booked the Infrarossi Tribute Band as the opening act. The seven-piece, who, as the name says, play covers of Vasco Rossi, hit the stage a little after 8:30 p.m. The hall was jammed. Packed to the rafters. Mixing Vasco Rossi covers with a hard-rock-spiced follow-up from Stef Burns clearly drew enough interest from the Italian crowd. The audience sang along to every verse of the charming opening set, which included Lo show and Gioca con me, and every song was greeted with thunderous applause and gestures of delight. Yet more proof that Vasco is the true king of Italian concert stages. A bold, tight performance from the crew.
Stef Burns came on with two other musicians backing him up. The Stef Burns League trio is made up of Stef Burns (guitar, vocals), Italian bassist Paola Zadra, and Juan Van Emmerloot, who has been holding down the drums for years now. Stef Burns, in great spirits and in top form, got down to business with his crew right away. He opened the show with two songs from his new album »Roots & Wings«, which came out at the beginning of last year: the punchy opener What Doesn’t Kill Us, followed right away by the no less rousing Miracle Days. Both songs instantly confirmed Burns’s exceptional musical sensibility when it comes to arranging. The posh venue, honestly almost too »starched« for Stef, came alive, even though people kept dutifully warming their seats throughout the show. Theater rules are theater rules, even when Burns told the crowd at one point to come closer, because his band needs the audience’s energy. Burns slipped a few covers of other artists’ originals in among his own songs. Right at the start, he surprised with Have Love, Will Travel, a hit by the British garage (punk) rockers Crazyhead; somewhere before the halfway point he took on a deeply tender version of Gary Moore’s Still Got the Blues, then built up the atmosphere near the end with an excellent take on Cooper’s Go To Hell, which was followed by two more The Who classics, Pinball Wizard and My Generation. In his own numbers especially, Burns showed off astonishing virtuosity, and in one of them he even came close to Hendrix’s bluesy »jamming« (Red House), except that Burns calls that one Burns Blues.
The band also unveiled a brand-new single, Heaven Is Blue, which more or less carries on the creative direction, sound, and style of the »Roots And Wings« album. At one point, Burns demanded more feedback from the crowd. He ordered them: »Be so loud that even everybody driving nearby on the highway toward Venice or Ljubljana can hear you!« Unbelievable. Burns actually mentioned Ljubljana. In Italian, of course: »Lubiana!« Over the years, Burns has learned Italian really well.
Burns and his crew closed out an evening of perfect musical infectiousness, loud rock punch, and virtuoso escapades and flourishes with a devilish encore: a skillfully and distinctively reworked Bad is Bad, originally by Huey Lewis & The News, while the concert was finally shut down by a supercharged Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love by the eternal Van Halen. So the Roots And Wings tour is wrapping up after a full two years. A thrilling new studio album with a thrilling stage interpretation. Stef Burns is a phenomenal master. Two Marshalls chained together in series kick up a massive racket and groove. His guitar fills a huge amount of space, and even during the solos the room is completely full of it. The trio is definitely ripening and growing, playing more cohesively and tightly from show to show. And Burns isn’t just an outstanding guitar virtuoso. Over the years he has also turned into a very good singer. His voice has an incredibly pleasant tone that suits the style he cultivates. Another fascinating concert from a fascinating musician. Let’s hope the new album comes soon and that new live shows follow.
Setlist
1. What Doesn’t Kill Us
2. Miracle Days
3. Have Love, Will Travel
4. Burns Blues
5. Heaven Is Blue
6. Glass Onion
7. Still Got The Blues
8. Cover You
9. One Way Out
10. Roots & Wings
11. Echo Lake
12. Go To Hell
13. Pinball Wizard
14. My Generation
15. Begin
—encore—
16. Bad is Bad
17. Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love
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