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.
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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..
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Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
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