The Birchmere
Alexandria, VA 
October 17, 2005

What a night to get your groove on!  A solo show featuring Richard Elliot took place at The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA.  The full house was ready for a fast-paced, funky show, and Richard and his band easily delivered.  The band included Nate Phillips (bass), Dwight Sills (guitar), Ron Reinhardt (keys) and Herman “Peanut” Johnson (drums).

From the very first note of “Crush,” the crowd was pumped and out of their seats.  Richard is one of the most energetic sax players out there.  He is all over the stage offering up a give-and-take with Dwight Sills and Ron Reinhardt.  After the last note, there was a standing ovation that seemed to take Richard by surprise.

Next up were a couple of tunes from his new CD, Metro Blue.  “Inside Out” is a very cool song with an upbeat tempo.  “Camella,” written for Richard’s wife, was a little softer, but had a terrific back and forth battle with Dwight Sills on guitar.

“Corner Pocket” and “Who” from Chill Factor followed.  Ron Reinhardt provided a funky keyboard intro that sounded like an electric guitar.  The audience was really into this show and with all of the kickin’ songs, they showed their appreciation.  Richard told us that “you have to pace your freak.”  You have to spread those rockin’ tunes out so there’s balance.  He then went into “People Make the World Go Round” where, at one point, he was down on his knees, making the sax “purr.”  Ron Reinhardt gave a keyboard solo that had folks stunned.

Another slower song was Richard’s cover of “Your Secret Love” from the tribute CD, Forever, For Always, For Luther.  He stated that this track had the “highest goosebump factor!”  The crowd loved it.

Richard followed with “Sly” (from Ricochet) where Nate Phillips had an amazing bass solo and then went into a medley of “I Wanna Take You Higher,” “Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself Again,” and “Sing a Simple Song.”  Herman “Peanut” Johnson gave the crowd a taste of his drum expertise with an outstanding solo.

The final song always makes crowd hold their breath, and this was no exception.  I don’t think anyone plays “When A Man Loves A Woman” like Richard Elliot.  The emotion put into that song is like no other ever heard.  And it’s not just the musical emotion.  Richard puts his whole body into that song.  Just when we thought the show was over, an encore of “Function at the Junction” was played.  The crowd was in dancing mode and didn’t want it to end.  This was a terrific, ultra-high energy show that was truly one of the best seen this year.

- Bonnie Schendell