It may be farewell, but Trout Perqs up

Perhaps bringing to a close a 35-year association, Walter Trout delivered a blistering performance at Perqs Nite Club & Sports Bar on Friday.

A world-renowned blues guitarist, Trout had enjoyed a long personal and professional relationship with Perqs owner Gary Mulligan, who passed away in 2008. With new ownership assuming management of the club Oct. 1, Trout is not sure his style of rocking blues will fit in with whatever is planned for the valuable Main Street venue.

Vowing to go out on a high note, Trout did just that with an inspired set to the obvious delight of the capacity crowd. Playing a combination of blues classics and original songs, Trout and his band — who also performed Saturday at Perqs — demonstrated technical brilliance and the musicality that can only come from playing before a live audience for decades.

Trout defies categorization and is often said to be “too blues for rock, or too rock for blues.” Trout refuses to resort to tricks such as over-reliance on the tremolo or “whammy” bar or the use of sound effects pedals. Many guitarists have a bank of a dozen or more such devices that allow them to completely change the sound and tone of the guitar simply by depressing a button with their foot.

A musical purist, Trout gets amazing sounds from his Fender Stratocaster by finger placement and string bending alone. With incredible speed, Trout covers the entire fretboard, often playing leads using only his left hand (also known as “hammer-ons”).

Trout’s main accompanist since 2001 is Hammond organ virtuoso Sammy Avila. On song after song, the two traded solos and seemingly pushed each other to new heights as the evening progressed. Providing a solid “bottom” to the band’s sound are bassist Rick Knapp and drummer Michael Leasure.

Trout took time out from playing to dedicate a memorial wall plaque for Mulligan. The large caricature with an image of the old Huntington Beach pier in the background is a fitting tribute for the man who valiantly fought the city for years to save Perqs from falling victim to redevelopment. Trout talked movingly of his former employer and landlord (the musician lived above the club at one time), and referred to Mulligan as a “great friend.”

Trout is familiar to anyone who follows blues, and his last four releases have made the top 10 of the Billboard blues album chart. In further testament to his virtuosity, a 1993 BBC poll ranked him as the sixth-best guitarist of all time. The band is embarking on an extended European tour in October. Hopefully, its appearances over the weekend at Perqs won’t be its last.