Tommy Z makes sitting still seem a slightly ridiculous response to Tommy Z Is Live in Colombia. The Buffalo blues guitarist has a theatre in Bucaramanga answering him, cheering him on and helping turn the evening into a party. He chats into the microphone, then the band kicks back in with enough force to make that little pause earn its place. There’s plenty of guitar to get excited about, though the crowd deserves a share of the credit for how well this works as a live record. Their voices keep reminding you that somebody had a very good night out while you’re sitting at home with your speakers.

He handles all the guitars and lead vocals, supported by “Handsome” Dave Herr on bass and backing vocals, Juan Valdez on drums and Steve Stempien on keyboards. Together they keep the evening moving, while Tommy switches between playing and addressing the room. The talking matters to his stage presence almost as much as the singing. I enjoy hearing him take charge of the whole evening. He addresses the room, returns to the playing and maintains a connection through both. The guitar performances and the occasional chatter belong to the same stage personality.

photo by Jose Santana

A shout of “Bucaramanga” becomes part of a song, and the record suddenly has another set of singers. During “Dónde Está La Fiesta (Tell Me Where is the Party)”, Tommy asks where the party is and the audience supplies its city’s name. For a moment, the city’s name becomes the hook. A further eruption accompanies him playing a guitar solo behind his head: something the people in the theatre can see reaches the recording through their response. The audience contributes in two different ways, singing a reply and reacting to the showmanship. The cheers carry a little of the spectacle into the recording, giving listeners at home a glimpse of the room through its reaction.

I appreciate the decision to keep the talking alongside the music. Tommy asked for the show to be recorded during soundcheck and later mixed the audio himself; the resulting album retains those changes between conversation and performance. Each spoken interval briefly moves attention away from the instruments. When the band returns, its entrance has renewed force. He lets anticipation build during the chatter, then gives it somewhere to go when the music returns. That stop-and-start flow keeps the record close to the experience of an actual night out. I’ve been to plenty of gigs over the years, including ones where the artist maintains an air of mystery with a quick “hello” at the beginning and a “goodbye” at the end. A carefully cultivated stage persona has its appeal, though I’ll usually take a bit of conversation with the people who bought the tickets. And Tommy, bless him, is a proper chatterbox. He makes the audience part of the evening, and I’d happily spend those extra minutes in his company.

The stretches devoted to keeping the party going place the listener under fairly constant pressure. “Pumpin (Lets Have Fun)”, “Plug In and Play” and “Gangster of Love” all contribute to that sustained enthusiasm, despite the change from Tommy’s own material to the song credited to Johnny Guitar Watson. Their shared role in the set is to keep the room fired up. People were dancing in the theatre’s aisles, so the emphasis on momentum has a clear context. For the audience there, that energy had a physical outlet. At home, the succession of forceful numbers starts to crowd together. Keeping everybody fired up takes priority, and some of the songs’ individual character gets caught in the rush.

A spoken pause renews anticipation for the next entrance; the breathing room offered by “Para Elitista” changes the musical mood itself. That easing of intensity does the record a considerable favour. The listener gets a chance to reset within the playing, and the surrounding energy becomes easier to appreciate. I would welcome another stretch with that degree of relief. The banter offers a break between songs; a gentler stretch gives the ear something different to follow during one. Across fourteen tracks, the balance leans heavily towards propulsion. A little extra space would help the stronger individual moments stand further apart.

The rolling shuffle and gospel colours of “The Blues Has Got to Come Home”, alongside the blues and funk of “Tommy Guns”, introduce different kinds of movement within the broader approach. There is variety in how the band keeps things going. The older composition also brings a different subject into the evening. The performance still drives forward, though its subject offers a change from the party invitations.

The crowd remains the most persuasive reason to hear this performance in its recorded form. Its contributions include the location becoming part of a hook and the reaction to a piece of physical guitar showmanship. Tommy can command the instruments and lead the songs; the people in Bucaramanga occasionally take responsibility for the next line. He asks where the party is, and they put their city on the record.