Last Tuesday (July 12), Gary Clark Jr. continued to warm up for his upcoming 2022 headlining tour of the US with a performance at Budapest Park in Hungary, for which he recruited fellow blues guitar ace Samantha Fish as the support act.
The highlight of the night was its show-stopping finale, for which Fish returned to the stage to join Clark Jr. on regular set-closer When My Train Pulls In,
The standout track from 2012's Black and Blu played host to some seriously sweet soloing, with Clark Jr. and the Gibson SG-wielding Fish taking turns on an extended performance spanning almost 14 minutes.
Clark Jr. opened proceedings with some electric guitar improvisation, spending the first two and a half minutes of the track exploring the fretboard of his Bigsby-equipped Gibson ES-335.
Once the main riff is introduced, it’s business as usual until Fish makes her way back on to the stage and Clark Jr.'s six-string lieutenant King Zapata keeps the jam going on his Fender Stratocaster.
The “guitar battle” gets under way at 7:30 mark. Fish is up first, delivering an array of pentatonic licks and searing bends, which Clark Jr. follows up with a biting lead exchange of his own.
What follows is pretty spectacular. Fair to say, Fish absolutely crushes it, stealing the show with a blinding collection of furious note flurries, rapid-fire scale runs and wailing high-end bends.
It’s not the first time Clark Jr. has invited one of his peers onstage to close out his set with a performance of When My Train Pulls In. Last year, Eric Gales turned in one of 2021’s most astonishing live guitar solos when he joined Clark Jr. for an 11-minute rendition of the track in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Gary Clark Jr. is set to kick off his headline tour of the US later this year. Commencing September 9 at the Avondale Brewery in Birmingham, Alabama, the trip around the country will see Clark Jr. visit Queens, Madison and Salt Lake City, before concluding the tour on October 9 at Hard Rock Live in Wheatland, California.
For a full list of dates, head over to Gary Clark Jr..
