Gary Clark Jr. delivers scorching set at Freeman Stage

SELBYVILLE — It's rude to talk, whisper or make any noise at all while a golfer is preparing to make putt.

And on Monday night at the 18th hole of the Jack Nicklaus-designed Bayside Resort Golf Club, blues phenom Gary Clark Jr. proved to be a really rude guy.

Bayside's final foursome reached their last green of the day just before the sun set and were met by a raucous scene across the water hazard. Just feet away, Clark and his band were unleashing a fiery version of "Next Door Neighbor Blues" at the Freeman Stage at Bayside.

It was an only-at-the-Freeman-Stage moment.

Fresh from a week of shows opening for rockers My Morning Jacket, the Grammy Award-winning bluesman delivered 2-plus hours of electric blues with detours into funk, rock and soul at the nearly sold out 2,500-person outdoor music venue.

Clark, the 33-year-old stylish yet subdued Austin, Texas, native is considered blues' brightest young torchbearer for a reason: he absolutely shreds.

At Monday's bluesy garden party, which drew a diverse crowd of 20-somethings up through the senior set, nearly every song set up a guitar solo featuring a different guitar. Some were ferocious like "Numb" and "Bright Lights." Others were more delicate, such as the night's stand-out love song, "Our Love," featuring Clark's surprisingly effective falsetto.

Throughout, Clark let his guitar do most of the talking. Good thing. That's what everyone was there for. Freeman's video screen to the left of the stage often offered close-ups of Clark's hands flying across his musically lethal weapon as a 75-degree breeze blew from across the neatly-trimmed golf course.

Clark will close out 2017 much like he started it -- alongside Eric Clapton on what the British guitar god is threatening to be his final tour. Their pair of shows at New York's Madison Square Garden in March included Clark and Clapton together with guitarist Jimmie Vaughan closing each night with "Before You Accuse Me." In December, Clark will join Slowhand for a pair of return engagements at Madison Square Garden before a four-night run at The Forum in Inglewood, California. 

Freeman's night of blues, which included a winning opening set by fellow Austin guitar stand-out Jackie Venson, is part of the venue's busy 10th anniversary summer schedule.

The music spot, tucked away in the Bayside beach community about five miles inland from Fenwick Island, has already hosted Jay Leno, The Wallflowers and Blues Traveler this summer. Upcoming national acts include Chicago (Aug. 1), Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (Aug. 3) and Mary Chapin Carpenter (Aug. 8).

Freeman Stage music fans have been met by upgrades this season, including a larger, new 40-by-40-foot stage, which not only allows for quicker changeovers in between acts, but bigger bands.

Literally.

The smaller stage would not have been able to handle last month's show by overflowing 12-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band or Chicago's show there next month.

Gates also open earlier this year —  5:45 p.m. for most shows — allowing patrons more time to eat at the collection of food trucks and beverage kiosks that serve pre-show meals. On this night, food trucks representing Grotto Pizza, Rosenfeld's Jewish Delicatessen and Sea Hogg by Zogg's were serving up dinner, alongside vendors offering $30 bottles of wine and beers such as Dogfish Head and Miller Lite ($6).

After leaving the crowd dancing by closing his 13-song main set with "Shake" off his most recent release,  2015's "The Story of Sonny Boy Slim," Clark returned for another half-hour of hardcore blues.

It's not like he had a choice. Nearly 2,500 were chanting, "Gary, Gary, Gary!" And who knows? Maybe four of them were newly converted fans dressed in golfing attire.

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).