Dallasite Andy Timmons, the fourth horseman of the instrumental-electric-guitar apocalypse — along with Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson — is the aggregate of the first three.
He has the virtuosity of Vai, the tone of Satriani, and the melodic chops of Johnson. A fixture on the G3 set, Timmons is still working his last release, Resolution (Favored Nations), an exercise in both driving guitar heroics and lush blues, and one that helps tie up his career thus far, from his beginnings with the criminally underrated rock band Danger Danger to his solo debut, Ear X-tacy, in which he introduced his ability to say a lot in very little. Timmons’ band, featuring bassist Mike Daane and drummer Dan Mojciechowski, provides a blunt yet precise complement to his tasteful fretboard fireworks. In an environment like McDavid Studio, with its acoustically perfect walls, lush décor, and intimate setting, Timmons might tone down his incendiary inclinations, which may allow his bluesy numbers to go off like hits of aural LSD. A song like “Deliver Us” — at any volume — will still blow your hair back, but the spacey notes in the title track to Resolution and the somber, winsome “Gone” will no doubt create a brilliant, glazed stupor.
This is Timmons first local show in ages, though he seems to show up at The Granada Theater in Dallas pretty often. It’s only fitting that he gets to knock out Fort Worth at McDavid. Imagine Robin Trower playing a china shop, and you’ll get the picture.-Justin Press
Sat at McDavid Studio, 301 E 5th St, FW. $20. 817-212-4280.