JASON RICCI & NEW BLOOD "DONE WITH THE DEVIL" Source: Orlando Weekly Date: 07/2009 Writer: Bao Le-Huu

Earlier in the week was Nashville’s Jason Ricci & New Blood (July 8, Plaza Theatre). They’re definitely a full-band effort, but the superlative harmonica skill of frontman Ricci is the soul of the group. After a lung-stretching 10-minute solo that almost made me pass out just from watching, it was clear that he’s as inspired a harpsman as I’ve ever seen. Besides impressive power, his playing also has amazing grace and range, working a lithe side of the instrument that’s seldom explored. What Andrew Bird does with whistling, Ricci can do with harmonica.

In an age when the blues is enjoying its most relevant reinvention yet, Ricci could be a huge figure. Tattooed, pink-haired and openly gay, he shatters the stereotype of the bluesman. The rub, however, is that the musical framework he’s working in remains pretty commonplace. Ricci cites unorthodox influences, and his band covered both the Misfits and Sun Ra on their latest album, but their sound is straightforward electric blues with rock and jazz touches as well as unnecessary jam tendencies. If he can clarify and deepen his artistic vision, he’ll earn the credibility to be a genuine rock star in the blues world. (Ditching those silly Hot Topic threads wouldn’t hurt none either.) But there’s something possibly big here.