In the movie version of the 2013 Crossroads concert, you will see The Allman Brothers band appearing at this event for the first time. The Allman brothers are featured on 3 songs and the absolutely kill it. If we gage the the crowd favorite by applause then the acoustic version of Midnight Rider is the undisputed winner. John Mayer came out and played Queen of California and seemed to be upstaged by Keith Urban and that surprised me and seemed to knock John Mayer off his pedestal for a moment. Gary Clark Jr. should receive the most improved yet most underrated guitarist award. Compared to Crossroads 3 where we saw Gary Clark Jr. debut in an auspicious but limited magnitude, this time Gary Clark Jr. is featured playing 3 distinctly contrasting styles of blues, thus he really digs in and shows us his vast guitar wielding skills. Gary Clark simply astounds the crowd at Crossroads 4. Watch and you'll be transmogrified into a Gary Clark Jr. fan at the first downbeat.
Missing on this years film are the antics of Bill Murray. For better or worse, Bill Murray's comedic antics were edited out rightfully leaving more room for music and musician's (I have nothing against comedy or Bill Murray's comedy - I'm a devoted fan!), however it was nice to see continuous music from collaborative musicians. Oh yeah, there are plenty of trading 8's and 16's sequences allowing everyone to stretch out and solo.
This year there were a few musicians missing from the mix yet we saw them in the Crossroads commercial teaser. For example, BB King, Jimmy Vaughan, and Johnny Lang were just a few missing from this year's Crossroad movie. You need to keep in mind that the scale of this musical event is enormous, with many bands and artists, it's impossible to include the contribution of each bands without creating a recording as long as the two event. Indeed, the aforementioned artists have been featured many times in the past so in the spirit of the event, other upcoming and established acts were allowed to entertain us on this recording.
If I had to pick one new artist who finally got some time to shine I'd have to pick Gary Clark Jr.. He is the real deal in terms ability and authenticity. If you are a huge Eric Clapton fan you might be disappointed by discovering that he plays with a lot of the guests but stays in the background unselfishly allowing others the opportunity to showcase their talents and collaborate with fellow musicians. Aside from raising funds for the Crossroads center in Antigua, this event is also about musical fellowship, camaraderie and collaboration.
Upon DVD release, I'll be watching this again.
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