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As odd as it may seem, despite the dvd carrying his name in the title, 10 Days Out Blues From The Backroads is much less about Kenny Wayne Shepherd the entertainer, and more about Kenny Wayne Shepherd the facilitator.  On this just over an hour long DVD, no song written by KWS is sung or played.  This DVD is dedicated to the old school blues artists who helped shape an entire genre of music.

Now, to be completely and totally honest and up front with you, this review is coming from a person who is pretty well versed in Shepherd’s music.  While it was not my cup of tea at the time, KWS was first forced upon me by an eager blues guitarist to be and Shepherd continued to grow on me.  One cannot deny the passion and raw energy Shepherd brings to the front line of a style of music that can sometimes seem lost in translation, as we are constantly bombarded with the latest unoriginal teenie bopper craze.  He truly is quite a gifted guitarist.

Back to the dvd…

As I was saying before, despite all the great things that Shepherd is, this DVD is primarily about bringing the old guys out of the woodwork, hence the title.  I have to admit that most of the people featured on the DVD are names that I myself have never even heard of; names like Bryan Lee, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Jerry “Boogie” McCain, Cootie Stark, John Dee Holeman, and Neal “Big Daddy” Pattman.  Honestly, the only featured artist on this DVD that I had ever heard of before was B.B. King.  However, despite my ignorance of the artists involved, Ten Days Out is quite incredibly put together.  Basically, the viewer travels with Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his band on a small tour of towns; from New Orleans and Mooringsport in Louisiana, all the way to Hillsborough and Morganton in North Carolina. 

At each of these stops, the viewer gets to hear incredible tales of the trials and tribulations that each individual went through over the course of their life to get to where they are today.  Some stories involve the battles of becoming a musician in a still very racist country, while others deal with personal struggles of self sacrifice.  At the end of it all, Shepherd sits down and plays with the featured artist.  Sometimes his band joins the fray, while others it’s a simple acoustic melody with two guitars and one voice. 

I have to say that the most amazing of these interviews/performances was by a lady named Etta Baker.  While all of the people Shepherd visited were 61 years of age or older, Etta Baker was 91 years old.  As she was relating what it was like growing up in her home as a young girl, I found myself thinking that there was no possible way that this woman could play an instrument.  Low and behold, despite her talking a bit about health issues that she has, she could play that guitar pretty dang well.  It was simply amazing to see someone who looked as if she might have a great deal of trouble getting up from a chair strum and pick on the guitar just like she was taking a breath of air. 

Ten Days Out culminates by having an incredible homestyle concert with two bands of national recognition in the Howlin’ Wolf Band and the Muddy Waters Band, with Kenny Wayne Shepherd as the special guest.  It really is quite incredible to see men of their age able to still perform to the level they do. 

All in all, this is quite an awesome watch.  Whether you are a die hard fan of Blues or not, the stories that are told and pure talent that is displayed on Ten Days Out gives one a deep appreciation for soulful music.

Genre: Blues-Rock
Sounds like: Chris Duarte, Johnny Lang

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