bozscaggs.JPGIt was the first of a string of long, hot (HOT!) summer days when Boz Scaggs took the stage at Woodland Park Zoo. As so many non-local artists do during outdoor concerts, Scaggs used his first few words to the audience to comment on the weather, asking the sun to set just a foot in the sky, if it would. He then lit into a set of groovy Scaggs classics.

To say his touring band is tight would be an understatement. The rhythm section pumped hard against the intermittent, dexterous fanfare from the horn section. Scaggs himself started the set stationary in front of the microphone but, as the band warmed up and the night cooled off, he proved a consummate performer, roaming about the stage and ripping it on his rhythm guitar.

“Slow Dancer” grooved easy, early in the set. Other highlights included a cover of the great Allen Toussaint’s “Hercules,” which pulled the Canal St. funk clear out of New Orleans, and dragged it dancingly into Seattle. The crowd was pleased.  Scaggs refrained from covering “What Do You Want the Girl to Do,” which sold well for him on his 1976 record, Silk Degrees. Instead, he followed up “Hercules” with Toussaint’s “Freedom For the Stallion.” Although Scagg’s originals were exquisitely performed, it was this brief string of Toussaint classics that most moved his set along.

Of Scaggs’ originals, “Sick and Tired” proved to be the highlight of the set, with trumpet player Dave Scott ripping hard against his solo, blowing his brass higher than most people could whistle. Finally, the greatest response from the laidback crowd came with “Lido Shuffle,” which saw everyone on their feet, dancing along. Once and for all, the ZooTunes audience gave into the funk.