Untitled Document

POINT BLANK “ROCK’N ROLL SOLDIER IN PARIS”
(Bobino, 09 octobre 2010)

They promised us it, they kept their word, so Rusty Burns and John O' Daniel’s Point Blank was back in France during a couple of days to remain us that they are still and forever one of the best Blues-Rock band from the 70’s still playing today. The little journey of our favourite Texans began on Wednesday, the 06th of October) with an amazing performance in Monaco in the Night Club “The Moods”! A first contact with the European ground that immensely impressed the audience of the French Riviera that
never could think that a band like Point Blank would turn up in its area in 2010!

A two hours show let the most part of the observers completely gob smacked and also allowed the band to confirm the osmosis with the new rhythm section bass/drums!
A perfect cocktail mixing songs from the new album like "Down Not Dead", "Fight On"
or "Deep Ellium Women" with some titles that made the Point Blank’s reputation, like
"Free Man", "Back In The Alley", "Mean To Your Queenie" and other "Nicole". The band got two encores and couldn’t quit the stage so much the audience was won over!

Some days later, we had a rendez-vous in Paris. Most of the french fans are here from
06 p.m., much before the doors open. A large part of them keeps inside the secret hope to meet the band’s members, to make some pics, to get an autograph, a souvenir...
well, Point Blank represents something very strong for those fans who learned to know the band with the mythical albums released in the 70’s !

As usual, Rusty, John, and all the band’s members, very respectful to the fans, don’t hesitate to pose for the pics or to answer to the enthusiast’s questions!

We also meet Tony, a very nice guy travelling with the band, who has the hard office to film the gig in order to release soon a video. About that, we are still wondering how a band like Point Blank, that played yearly more than 300 shows during the seventies, touring with such prestigious bands like Journey, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and so many others, never benefit from an official video like, for example, their "brothers" at that time :
ZZ Top ! An enigma soon solved, we hope!

It’s about 08 p.m. when the lights fade, the concert hall is packed, the audience is champing at the bit, and suddenly it starts..."Down Not Dead”! Wouahh... What a sound ! Our Texans are here and in great shape. We can observe a real pleasure on the fans’ faces, John O' Daniel sings fabulously with his high-pitched voice, Rusty and Mouse’s guitars are magnificently complementary, Larry and his keyboards strengthen with rigour a whole well driven by the new section bass/drums featuring Kirk Powers and Greg Hokanson. On the way, it’s very important for us not to let forget that we all had a very sincere thought for Phillip Petty, the original Point Blank’s bassist, who left us in June! « The Blank » goes on with "Back In The Alley”: man, what a thrill... it brings us back to our youth with the fabulous album "Second Season". And what can we say about the tremendous version of "Bad Bees", where Rusty and Mouse gratify us the fabulous chorus sequence that the band included in the middle of the tune at the end of the 70’s? Great !

Another great time with the strong tribute that Rusty pays to his father (lost a little time ago) in performing "Out Of Darkness", an instrumental with a great emotional density during which some fans have to take care of the lump in their throat to avoid the coming of a little tear of emotion... In any case, if we needed to remain some people that Rusty Burns is an exceptional guitar player, we are sure that it wasn’t necessary anymore after this tune! After this somewhat special moment, the show will increase crescendo to reach its height from the first "Free Man" chords (probably one of the tunes that qualified Point Blank in the fans’ heads), and above all then with the sequence of « Mean To Your Queenie/Highway Star ». We have to remember of the huge sensation that Point Blank produced at that time with the fabulous interpretation of this tune borrowed (but with
a personalization!) to Deep Purple: most of the time, the fans’ discussions are getting around details like this fabulous double lead chorus drawed at that time by Kim Davis (R.I.P.) and Rusty, and today magnificently revived by Mouse and Rusty, unquestionably
a great moment of the evening!

The band didn’t have the time to quit the stage too long because the "standing ovation" (in English in the text, T.’sN.) led by the French audience forced it to come back almost immediately for a tremendous conclusion on "Uncle Ned”! An evening like we’d like to live much more others that confirms above all that this flame lightened in Texas by Point Blank in 1974 never put out and that it has still today enough energy to shine on a
very long time at the Blues Rock pinnacle!

Keep on Rockin’ Rusty, John, Mouse, Larry, Kirk, Greg! (in English in the text, T.’sN.)

John Molet

Translation & Photos: Y.Philippot-Degand