WILKES-BARRE — It’s been 30 years since Stevie Ray Vaughan brought Double Trouble to our area, but if you’re in downtown Wilkes-Barre Saturday night, you’ll have the chance to be transported back to the late blues guitarist’s Kirby Center performance.
Locally-grown blues guitar trio Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen will be the latest band to participate in the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts’ “Live from the Chandelier Lobby” series, with the band performing a retrospective honoring the memory of blues guitar titan.
On July 11 1989, Vaughan, along with his band Double Trouble, brought his tour to the Kirby Center for a rocking performance. Unfortunately, it was the last time Vaughan was able to perform locally. He tragically passed away in a helicopter accident only a bit more than a year later.
This weekend, though, you’ll be able to relive that night.
“We’re doing the exact set they played that night,” Douglas told a Weekender reporter this week.
Douglas said a local promoter came up with the idea to do the tribute show to Vaughan. He admits he was initially a bit hesitant.
“Tribute bands are kind of all the rage,” he said.
Instead, he wanted to make sure the show was more of a retrospective. The Electric Gentlemen might be playing the music of Double Trouble, but don’t expect them to dress up like them. It’s not a tribute show, but rather just a look back at Vaughan’s legacy.
“Fortunately, it’s super fun to play and super in our wheelhouse,” he said.
Douglas said he and his band are effectively opening for themselves, an unusual position to be in, as Saturday night’s show will begin with a performance of the band’s original music, before moving into the Vaughan retrospective.
The show is sure to be a good time, Douglas said, as he and his band plan to continue Vaughan’s legacy of incorporating improvisational elements into the set.
“You don’t play the songs the same way twice ever,” he said, before adding that the band will stay true to Vaughan’s vision of the songs.
“It’ll definitely sound like the songs, but it’ll be driven by the energy of the audience.”
That audience will be a smaller, more intimate one, since the show is in the Kirby Center’s lobby and not on the main stage, so it would be a good idea to get your tickets early if you plan on going.
Tickets are $15 in advance, or $20 at the door on the day of the show. Doors open at 7 p.m. Saturday night, with the set of Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen’s original music kicking of at 8 p.m.
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Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan