Gary Clark Jr. made his annual pilgrimage to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Monday where he debuted a cover of The Temptations classic “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”. The Grammy-winning blues guitarist’s third show at the famed Morrison, CO venue in as many years featured opening support from Mavis Staples.
Soul music and civil rights icon Mavis Staples kicked off the show, the appearance coming just a few weeks after her star-studded 85th birthday party in L.A. (even though her actual birthday isn’t until July). Though Staples shows no signs of slowing down, she did use her opening set to look back on her prolific career with cuts from her time with The Staples Singers on “Heavy Makes You Happy” along with her more recent solo work on the title track to her 2010 album, You Are Not Alone.
Clark is touring in support of his latest album JPEG RAW released in March, and by the time audiences left Red Rocks they were well acquainted with it. The guitarist performed nine of the disc’s 12 songs, from the show-opening “Maktub”—which also opens the album—through the first encore song “Funk Witch U”. He also made sure to honor his influences with his debut of The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”, which he did with the help of MC Nick Chase. What audiences heard at Red Rocks on Monday was a bit different from the 1966 Motown hit, with Nick Chase adding rap verses between the familiar chorus. While Clark unfortunately didn’t handle much of the vocals on the R&B classic, he made his voice heard in other ways by adding a potent guitar solo to the cover.
Check out a gallery of images from Mavis Staples and Gary Clark Jr. at Red Rocks courtesy of photographer Kit Tincher along with a selection of fan-shot videos. Clark’s tour continues tonight, May 15th, in Kansas City with support from Abraham Alexander. For tickets and a full list of tour dates visit Clark’s website.
Gary Clark Jr., Nick Chase — “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” (The Temptations) — 5/13/24
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