Maybe it's fitting that dark gray clouds, lightning and spitting rain filled the Friday afternoon sky right before a blues show. And maybe it was fitting that the sun broke through the clouds, summoning a humid night.

Stormy weather -- personal and meteorological -- is at the heart of the blues. And some of the greatest blues performances have immortalized those storms' wreckage, while still leaving room for some sunshine.

Hubert Sumlin was the lead guitarist on his fair share of those tunes. Recording for Chester "The Howlin' Wolf" Burnett at Chess Records, Sumlin found slithery yet switchblade-sharp ways to solo and to phrase call-and-response with Wolf.

"Smokestack Lightnin.'' "Spoonful." "Wang Dang Doodle." "Killin' Floor." Those are just a few examples of a catalogue that inspired Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and other guitar giants of the 1960s and beyond.

Sumlin is among the last survivors of the first wave of Chicago electric blues. And on Friday -- he was in Roanoke, at 202 Market, with traveling mates the Nighthawks, who have their own legitimate parcel of blues. A loud, standing-room-only crowd of at least 200 greeted them enthusiastically, and most stayed into the early morning.

Sumlin, spry at 76 (thanks for catching that, Eva), showed that he can still put Chicago into the blues. The Nighthawks, of Washington, D.C., showed why they are so often on the road with Sumlin -- following every idiosyncrasy of his style while doling out plenty of their own road-tested licks.

The 'Hawks opened each of the two sets, playing mostly original tunes gathered over the band's 36-year career. The band's shuffles were tight like elastic, with harmonica player Mark Wenner and guitarist Paul Bell displaying plenty of taste to go with their seasoned, sometimes fiery chops. Wenner, bassist Johnny Castle and drummer Pete Ragusa each took lead vocals.

Highlights were HBO theme songs -- the band covered A3's "Woke Up This Morning" -- "The Sopranos" opening number -- as "Blue Moon In Your Eye." Later, the 'hawks did their version of Tom Waits' "Way Down in the Hole" -- theme song for "The Wire."

It was professional roadhouse fare, the kind that makes you shake out the hassles of a week past. Vocally, there's nothing to take the show to the next level, aside from Wenner's occasional moves into something akin to John Hiatt vocal territory.

But a smiling, animated Sumlin brought the vibe up at least a couple of notches. In Sumlin, you're getting source code for Chicago blues. And he has lost few of those chops.

The band brought him on to the bouncy slink of Howlin' Wolf's "Spoonful." The original version is a slashing, call-and-response run between Sumlin and Wolf, as Wolf sings about the trouble you can find over just a little bit of something good.

Sumlin didn't sound quite as nimble on Friday night as he did on the 1960 recording, but he was not really that far off. He still brought the big string bends and minimalist note application -- with the occasional, quick run down the minor pentatonic to bring contrast.

Sumlin didn't hold a pick all night, playing exclusively with his fingers, as he had taught himself to do after Wolf fired him for a short time in the 1960s. The digits still worked dynamically for him, as he put fingertip meat to string to pull out some wicked, fat and round lead notes, often dropping to a whisper for the next chorus.

He sang, too, occasionally displaying a gravelly rasp that could've been little brother to Wolf's. Generally, though, his style was talky, often delivered with a smile.

The thing was, he was obviously having a good time being part of this band. He started picking out the lead line of Wolf's "Smokestack Lighting" -- a riff that pierced the room -- and Wenner jumped in along with the band, singing Wolf's lyrics.

When it was over, Wenner revealed his surprise at the song. "Way to put me on the spot," he said, joking.

Sumlin had a big grin on his face. He threw up his arms and said, "Man, you can do anything."

Wenner reminded the crowd that despite Sumlin's history with Wolf, he went off to play with another Chicago blues icon, Muddy Wolf, for a short time. The band ended each set with a Waters tune.

"She's 19 Years Old" became "She's 29 Years Old" on this night. They performed "I'm Ready" so well at the end of the night that they almost made listeners forget that the song has had its most recent commercial life as a Viagra pitch.

Sumlin himself is beyond any commercial branding. Instead, his style is a reminder of how individualistic American musical styles can trump blatantly opportunistic commercialism and leave a decades-long impression. On Friday night, there were plenty of buyers.

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• Posted by Tad Dickens in Show reviews
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